[Yak] Bike Friday + Aero Bars = no problem

[jeffry buechler]

Jim-

i've had years of experience riding big-wheel bikes with aerobars,  
and 99.99% of the time i've had my PRP(15 months), it's had  
aerobars.  i noticed no extra squirreliness on the PRP than my other  
bikes.  i've been on the aero bars on my PRP at speeds of at least 45  
mph, and i have felt as confident as on the previous bikes.  which,  
come to think of it, isn't entirely confident.  one tends to wonder  
about the tightness of various screws at such moments.

the aerobars i've had are ancient scott bars which i modified over  
the years to resemble what are now the standard, clamp-on, low- 
profile bars.  it takes a snitch of extra time to pack/unpack them,  
but it's well worth it.  in fact, on my debut tour with my bike, some  
300+ miles, i deeply regretted not having them on, as i would have  
given my box of donuts for another arm/hand/shoulder/back position.

that said, if you have a bit of struggle on aero bars period, you  
might indeed feel even less secure with them on a PRP.  it could be  
that i'm just insensitive.  one thing you might do is to set the bars  
as wide as possible/comfortable at first, and gradually work them  
towards eachother over time.  i did so when first getting used to  
aerobars for triathlon, and in just a few months, i was comfortable  
with my arms very close together.

good luck, and gobsospeed,


-jeffry

  "It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country  
best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus  
you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a  
high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of  
country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle."   - 
Ernest Hemingway