Are aerobars effective for gravel cycling races?

Question

I have come across various views on the efficacy of using aerobars while racing on gravel. Would you be in a position to inform me whether or not they are indeed effective and, hence, worth using?

Answer 1

In gravel races, the use of aerobar can offer considerable aerodynamic benefits. In wind tunnel testing, the use of aerobars reduced the power output by 41.4 watts and time taken to complete a 200miles-35km/h course by 27minutes and 35 seconds. It should be remembered, however, that different types of terrains will not allow aerobars to be used throughout the race, and the types of races have certain rules about it. However, if a rider is able to utilize aerobars for 1/8 of the race or more, then the cost of the aerobars is justified. Furthermore, the benefits of aerobars only increase when confronting a headwind. There are limits that need to be placed on the application of aerobars, with whip and rider skill-comfort level being the key governing factors.

Comments

Great vid. I am an aerospace engineer and not much surprises me and frankly delights me! Expect the unexpected in aerodynamics. I am wondering how much effort you would gain closing up the frame entirely. I saw a vid of one of the gravel winners with the top half closed of with some self made plastic housing to contain water and tools and such.

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I love this content and it’s a great resource. Quick point about aero bars though, anywhere you can use the aero bars you could also be in an aero hoods position so the penalty on those sections would be 10.3W and not the full 41.4W, while the gain from not having them is 4.5W when you don’t use them. This means you would have to use them 44% of the time to see a benefit which you said is not possible. This makes some assumptions about your core strength and wind speed, but aero bars aren’t actually that much faster if you compare them to the best alternative and not the worst.

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Great information.  Love the SOG-leveling arguments.  Thanks again for introducing a smidgen of sanity to all the vibe talk.  It's always fascinating to learn there are still people (newbs?) who don't consider their speed while riding down hills as factors in the aero equation.  Unbound may be flatter but it still has about 7-8000' elevation throughout the course.  Most of the hills can be freewheeled down at 20mph and, if running any mid-section wheels  you'll be able to get almost half way up the next one before putting down real power.  The only difficult part for us less-powerful riders will be safely navigating all the mid-packers riding their brakes down the hills in search of their next flat.  As for aero bars I use them to gain speed in the wind and, almost as importantly, for comfort on long rides; to take pressure off my hands for a spell.  And thanks also for the pack numbers.  Really.   I have five (5!) run-specific hydration packs, three of which are light weight and two are somewhat aero but I'm now considering the Uswe which I've resisted in the past.

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Awesome content. For calculating how much time you have to ride in the aerobars, should we be comparing "In Aerobars" to "Aero Hoods", the next best aero position, and likely the position you'll take if you don't have aero bars installed?

So the aero bars gain a significant amount of time (vs aero hoods) and cost some time (while upright). Doesn't that math work out to say you need to spend over 1/3 of the race in aero bars (a significant portion of the race) versus the next best aero position (1/3 of the race in aero hoods position, the rest in upright).

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I’d be interested in seeing results of different aerobar positions. I read one article where the mantis position was significantly faster than the more parallel to the ground position. Also, what are fastest sunglasses, gloves(or not) and also is a front derailleur slowing you down or giving an aero advantage?

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You 2 crack me up. I knew aero bars were a big difference. in 1986 I did 5 flat in Kona. The next year 4:40 with Scott DH bars. Thanks for saving me $$. I'll just buy aero sox vs compression sox. They're cheaper. We stayed at the same Ultra Luxurious hotel in Beaver.