Fitting aero bars while recovering from wrist injury- anyone done it?

So having accepted I need to let my wrist heal, I’m wondering if I can still get out for some road miles using aero bars, and what I need to know re: fitting and position.

The idea is to spend as much time as possible on the aero bars taking the weight with my elbows, so I will be trying to achieve a set up that doesn’t result in too much extra reach or drop, is it practical to try and achieve this or do they force you long and low whether you like it or not?

Anything else I need to be aware of?

Got a broken wrist myself just now and using aero bars albeit on the turbo. Its fine.

Good stuff, figured I could raise my stem a bit before fitting them, that would stop the position getting *too* prone.

I did something similar on my turbo while my arm was broken, in the end I just taped a cussion to the bars to rest my elbow on.

yeah… I’m thinking after the first 50 miles in the pouring rain that cushion could end up a water logged liability 8)

Although, what did the cushion do that the aero bars didn’t?

If anything, if you fit aero bars to the top of normal road bars, then you’ll get less drop, reach is relatively unchanged – normally you have to lower the stem a lot with aero bars to get a good position. One possible alternative is Spinaci bars, which result in a very similar position and do take load off the wrists.

I’m not 100% sure it’s the best idea though if you’re trying to let your wrist heal, as you’ll still end up on the normal drops at some point, and those will be the most critical points you can’t avoid. Not on the road – turbo is a lot better.

I would have thought it would be OK riding along, but I would be worried about having to brake.

How badly trashed is the wrist? I did mine a few years back (left hand, distal radius). I had 2 weeks off riding completely, then stuck flat bars on my fixie commuter and continued riding in the cast, which nicely transferred all the weight straight into my forearm. Only had a front brake, mind so didn’t really have to worry about gripping properly.

(I was reasonably careful to make sure the cast set in a “gripping the bars” shape, whenever it was changed.)

Another vote for Spinacci bars… in fact I’ve got a pair I don’t use any more if that’s any use…

Wrist isn’t so bad that I can’t cope with a bit of braking or shifting, it’s more putting weight on it for an hour or so at a time which aggravates a bit of tendonitis, hence the aero bar idea.

Will probably stick to relatively easy rides where I can focus on braking with the other hand where possible!

Might not work out, worth a try though, and much cheaper and simpler than a turbo considering we live on the fourth floor! (good idea though, will be doing spin classes anyway, which is what gave me the idea of aero bars).

Spinaci Bars look good (and cheaper than the Deda Parabolica Bars I was looking at) but where are the elbow rests, look like they could be uncomfortable over an hour or two?

Borrowing a set tomorrow, the weekend shall reveal all, weather-bombs permitting… 🙄

Although, what did the cushion do that the aero bars didn’t?

i was in a cast over my elbow so twisting my arm out front was uncomfortable. And yup, suitable for indoors only!

Add a bit of extra foam padding below the bar tape. You could probably add a lot more padding or even proper arm rests, but I’ve always found them comfortable for extended periods with just a little (I have them on the front of the tandem for use touring).

My top tip for exercise with a cast is to drill sh!t loads of holes in it to aid sweat dispersion. After breaking my arm last year and not being able to ride for a while I started running to and from work instead. 130km later the 1-week old cast was a major biohazard and I could barely stand the smell. There is a limited distance one can hold a cast away from one’s own nose so it had to go! Within half an hour of getting it replaced with a fresh new one I had attacked it with a dremmel and this one remained much more tolerable!

While commuting wasn’t possible with the cast I did still participate in an olympic-length duathlon which while perhaps not advisable was possible, and I only fell off once 😆

Cheers, Rich