# Riding the aeros in a strong cross wind?



## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I tend to ride out in the country and if it's windy, it's a lot worse out there. Being a lightweight, I'm probably a little more sensitive, but I almost feel like I need to have one arm out of the aeros to keep control. Is this normal or should I try to stay in the aeros and try to maintain control? 

Yesterday was my first day using a solid disc in back, which didn't seem much worse than my Mavic CCUs due to the damn bladed spokes. Oddly enough, with a tail wind, it seemed insanely fast.


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## saird (Aug 19, 2008)

You just need to toughen up, little one :thumbsup:


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

saird said:


> You just need to toughen up, little one :thumbsup:


Fair enough. So is it best to just stay in the aeros and just practice more? I used to get completely out when it was THAT bad, but I'm half in.


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## JohnStonebarger (Jan 22, 2004)

spade2you said:


> ... I almost feel like I need to have one arm out of the aeros to keep control. Is this normal or should I try to stay in the aeros and try to maintain control?


This bothers some more than others. Ultimately, if you can't comfortably control your front wheel from the aero bars, you should probably try something less deep. White-knuckles are not a sign of confident, relaxed performance.

That said, I think it's also easy to over-react at first to getting blown around. Give it some time to see if you get used to it, and remind yourself to relax -- despite feeling every gust of wind, you don't need to struggle to maintain control. YOUR BIKE WANTS TO GO STRAIGHT. Let it.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

JohnStonebarger said:


> This bothers some more than others. Ultimately, if you can't comfortably control your front wheel from the aero bars, you should probably try something less deep. White-knuckles are not a sign of confident, relaxed performance.
> 
> That said, I think it's also easy to over-react at first to getting blown around. Give it some time to see if you get used to it, and remind yourself to relax -- despite feeling every gust of wind, you don't need to struggle to maintain control. YOUR BIKE WANTS TO GO STRAIGHT. Let it.


I've been assured that Mavic's thick blades on the CCU tends to have more issues than a deeper rim, but I could probably swap out wheels sooner or later. Mostly did the TT because my other bike was in the shop and I had been wanting to try out the Sub9. A couple of my friends have commented that the bladed spokes on Mavic alloy rims tends to catch more wind than much deeper dish wheels. 

Regardless, I'll try working on staying in the aeros. It could potentially be a confidence thing. Then again, maybe the winds out there are that bad. With wide open farm land, it tends to be 10mph stronger than where my weather data comes from. I'd probably say that ~3 miles of the 10 mile TT route have some crosswind issues.


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## JohnStonebarger (Jan 22, 2004)

I do most of my riding between cranberry bogs (Plymouth, MA), so I know what you mean. Think of it this way: a steady crosswind wouldn't bother you much at all, you'd just lean into it a bit and be fine; the hard thing is gusts of wind, but then they only last a second or two, so stay loose and enjoy the ride. Getting tense won't help you either way: by the time you're out of your aero bars, you've lost time and the gust is over.

I've been thinking about this recently as I just switched to a 90mm deep front wheel (disc in back) and can easily feel the difference. (And I'm not particularly small.) While it's a bit startling at first, so far so good...


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## orlin03 (Dec 11, 2007)

I have no problem riding with one arm out of the aero position, usually the right so I can shift and brake at will, when the situation calls for it. There will be hilly, crowded, windy, and otherwise dangerous races in the season, so why no be comfortable in those situations? Like mentioned, being taunt in the position and fighting the wind isn't going to be any better, and may wear you out anyway. 

I've also found using a disk in the rear seems more stable than two semi deep rims. I believe it's because it balances out the forces effecting the bike (my Physics 151 answer): the front wheel has less weight on it, so if the front and rear have the same surface area and are hit by the same speed wind, the front will tend to move farther than the rear. If the surface area in the rear is increased enough so that the final force is equal to or greater than the front (once the force pushing down and the force to the side are factored), the front won't seem so crazy as the whole bike is moving. It may sound bad at first, but the rear of the bike can move around a lot and still feel controlable; when the front wants to tuck by moving farther than the rear, we get scared.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Thanks for the tips. At 120lbs, I think I'm naturally a little more prone to the crosswind issues. By reflex, I tend to steer with the arm opposite from the cross wind or perhaps I'm not steering so much as trying to balance? I don't think I'll be in a situation where I'll need to brake, but I've had the occasional pause while some guys are hogging the road during a race. 

I don't think I'm heavy enough for something like a 90mm front rim, but hoping that getting away from the Mavic's bladed spokes will help.


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## tommyrhodes (Aug 19, 2009)

for starters, gain weight. My gf weighs more than you and she's a marathon running yoga instructor!! lol. But, keep in mind being in the aero is not only less stable, its also not aero in a crosswind. Or at least AS aero. If the wind is coming from the side, your presenting a bigger area for the wind to catch by being aero. But, if its wind gusts your worried about and not constant wind, staying relaxed helps me keep from getting blown across the road when I ride aero. Good luck!!


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## Andrea138 (Mar 10, 2008)

Practice, practice, practice...

Go someplace that's really, really windy. Ride there for a week. Go home & laugh at the wind if it's <20mph.


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## oily666 (Apr 7, 2007)

Relax. It's mostly in your core. Sometimes you can counter a side gust just by tilting your head into it. Your upper body will follow in the right amount with practice.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I'll look at staying in the aeros more. I think Friday is looking to be pretty damn strong with 20mph+ winds and 30mph gusts. That could get interesting. 

As for gaining weight, nah. I do well in the TT and climb very well, and that's about it.


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## JohnStonebarger (Jan 22, 2004)

Just to be clear, I have no doubt that at a certain point it will be too windy to comfortably run a given front wheel. And you're probably right that it takes less wind to get there for a lighter rider. But:

It's the gusts of wind, not the steady cross wind, that'll make it hard.

It takes a while to get used to the idea that getting blown around some is OK.

Everyone needs to relax and push it a bit to really see what they can get used to.

Once you do, you're probably better going with a shallower front wheel on those too-windy days rather than coming out of your aero bars with the wind gusts. Especially if you have a shallower-but-still-kinda-aero option you can use.

Let us know how it goes Friday, huh?


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I have no doubt that Friday could be "interesting" to say the very least. 

I don't quite have the luxury to try out all sorts of different depth front wheels, but I'm kind of deducing that the obnoxiously wide Mavic CCU spokes probably play a little more of a role than actual rim depth. I could possibly use my alloy front wheel if my usual roadie is done being fixed up. Still, hard to imagine that the bike handled about the same with the Sub9 than with the rear CCU. I mean, look how wide these are!

I plan on using these until the warranty runs out, then they'll become my backup wheels as the spoke design makes them a little too fragile. Yes, I wish I were on RBR before I made that decision........


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## MarshallH1987 (Jun 17, 2009)

unless the wind is crazy strong it's in the aerobars for me. If relatively calm you should be running a front and back disc.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Son of a.....SE 24mph w/31mph gusts. When it was cross+tail, I could stay in the aeros without much problem although it certainly takes more core strength. Head+cross.....nope, had to put one arm out. Freaky at times, but I didn't really feel that I wasn't in danger. I don't know if this is a legit strategy, but I'd stay to the side of the road where the crosswind was coming from.


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