A few stats about aero bars and elitism.

[Dickie]

I decided yesterday to ride the Potomac loop up Macarthur to Falls road and back. I ride this pretty frequently and have started to notice a trend over the last year. Yesterday I decided to keep the stats in my head, and it proved pretty consistent with what I had witnessed each and every ride. I decided that each time I was passed I would note if a warning was provided and if the rider had aero bars or not. I would also turn to the passing rider and say “how are you doing?”. Here are the stats from yesterday:

Total passes: 9

with aero bars – 7
without aero bars – 2

Passes called: 2

with aero bars – 0
without aero bars – 2

replies to my comment: 2

with aero bars – 0
without aero bars – 2

Have I stumbled across Elite 2.0? If I mount aero bars on my bike am I no longer obliged to be a gentleman? Because lets face it, having to acknowledge another human being just gets in the way of my Strava achievements!

Topic

[baiskeli]

The title should read “ELITism.”

[Drewdane]

@Dickie 53283 wrote:

I decided yesterday to ride the Potomac loop up Macarthur to Falls road and back. I ride this pretty frequently and have started to notice a trend over the last year. Yesterday I decided to keep the stats in my head, and it proved pretty consistent with what I had witnessed each and every ride. I decided that each time I was passed I would note if a warning was provided and if the rider had aero bars or not. I would also turn to the passing rider and say “how are you doing?”. Here are the stats from yesterday:

This drives me absolutely up the frigging wall. I’d never thought about the aerobars angle, but in my experience as a pedestrian and as a bike commuter on the WOD, “roadie” types are the absolute worst at calling out passes. By my estimate not even a quarter of them provide a warning.

In terms of raw numbers, manual laborer-types on WalMart bikes might be worse, but I cut them slack for most likely being unaware of the issue. It’s the folks who look like they really ought to know better that really chap me because, you know, THEY REALLY OUGHT TO KNOW BETTER! 😡

[mstone]

@TwoWheelsDC 53316 wrote:

As Tim mentioned, my guess is that the aero-barred folks were training. One thing that seems to characterize many (not all, of course) triathletes–the main users of aero bars, generally speaking–is that cycling is just one part of their overall training regimen, and one that they seem to focus on less, so they may not be as attuned to the cycling “norms” as most people who ride as a primary means of exercise/transport.

Or, to paraphrase BSNYC, ‘those guys who use bikes to crash into each other and fall over a lot’. Maybe they’re in a training program for that?

[JeffC]

I’ve found that women in the aero bars/road bike kit are much better about announcing passes and being polite than men decked out the same way. One of these days there will be an accident involving one of these bike racing clubs. I hope that club has some serious liability insurance.

[txgoonie]

I ride the MacArthur Loop semi-regularly, as well, and don’t personally notice a correlation between no calls and aerobars. I do, however, find the overall instances of pass calls abysmally low. I really don’t care if it’s a Strava segment or a known TT area. If you’re going over 25 mph and passing within inches of another individual (or group of individuals, which is when it’s actually more important) on a bicycle on a 2-lane road with no shoulder, you say something. Anything. A “left” — however breathless or curt it may be — is all it takes. It’s safer for everyone. And this is just me, but I really appreciate nods or hellos from other cyclists when I’m out there suffering. Some camaraderie wouldn’t kill ya!

[Mark Blacknell]

When I pass you on MacArthur, I will not call my pass. If you look closely, however, you will notice that I will briefly extend the three fingers on my right hand. Generally this occurs at an angle that is perfectly perpendicular to the radius line through my hand’s position in the drop bar. That will be my acknowledgement of you.

You’re welcome.

[Vicegrip]

D00d 9 passes? Rule 5 please.

I am a roadie (without aero bars and I don’t tend to swim before I ride or run after) I call or ding 100% of my passes when on a MUP. I don’t tend to call passes on streets much if at all unless there is a wide delta in speed or the person I am passing is displaying disconcerting behavior. Things like little kids on bikes or trikes, dogs not being tended by aware owners, turons looking up or down at things, yoga tights clad ladies engrossed in arm waving conversation or their I-phones or both count for added attention and a ding or call on my part.

[vvill]

This is what I think of when someone says Aero bars

[NicDiesel]

@JeffC 53323 wrote:

You could not pay me to ride the MVT on the weekend, unless it is 100F so nobody is out there. I did that once because I had to, otherwise forget it.

When I do ride the MVT I go out of my way to ring my bell nonstop to A) attempt to get the clueless iZombies attention and to keep the ELITEs aware that I’m going to be passing at some point and that they’ll have to wait.

[Author]

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