Love hearing all the different viewpoints (and looking for myself in the background!) I would say on the 200 I spent at least 30% of my time comfortably on the aero bars and no, it wasn't always to cheat the wind - though that is an undeniable benefit I find crazy to argue against - in a Race of all places - lol. For me - a non-pro, non-contender, they are a comfortable alternate position that takes pressure off my palms and wrists for a bit as well as giving my quads/strings/knees/achilles a different stroke pattern. This is very important on a race that runs 10-15 hours.
Love hearing all the different viewpoints (and looking for myself in the background!) I would say on the 200 I spent at least 30% of my time comfortably on the aero bars and no, it wasn't always to cheat the wind - though that is an undeniable benefit I find crazy to argue against - in a Race of all places - lol. For me - a non-pro, non-contender, they are a comfortable alternate position that takes pressure off my palms and wrists for a bit as well as giving my quads/strings/knees/achilles a different stroke pattern. This is very important on a race that runs 10-15 hours.