Sunday, March 09, 2008

Grab the Bull by the Horns

Aero vs. bullhorns

I know that aerobars are faster.

I've tried aerobars in the past & I just can't get used to them. It just doesn't feel right. And plus, aerobars don't look right on the bike either.

So, what's a struggling triathlete supposed to do?

Slap on a pair of narrow bullhorns & ride'em cowboy/cowgirl.

There's something special & traditional about grabbing onto bullhorns as opposed to resting your elbows on the bike. Bullhorns just want you to crank & go.

So for tri's/TT, I get low, stretched out & narrow with my DYI (flipped & clipped) bullhorns. These bars are very narrow (less than 40 cm). My buddy calls them my "goat horns".

I do OK with this setup. I'm sure a wind tunnel test would tell me to go aero, but it wouldn't be the same.

Bullhorns are classics.

May be I'm just a traditionalist (actually I am), but whenever I watch an old film clip of a rider flying on a TT course with bullhorns, I say to myself, "man, that's cool."

Grab life by the horns as they say & enjoy the ride, especially as you pass a cramped up, hunched over triathlete.

Alternatively, riding some narrow track bars on the drops may also do the trick for you.

1 comment:

Bluenoser said...

Yes RH, straight up on that one. Like the site.

-B