Aero bars advice please

[wrangler_rover]

Hi.
I've recently purchased a fixie, Carrera Subway Zero. Great bike, the only thing I don't like are the handlebars, 65 cm wide.
I've thought about fitting some aero bars to get a lower riding opsition.
What is it like to ride with aero bars?
Is it difficult to balance or is it the same as riding any other bike once you have your speed up and you are in position.
I'm a little wary as I haven't the best sense of balance, I still can't ride a bike no handed.
I don't want to invest in a set of aero bars only to sell them a week later because I can't use them.

[frank9755]

I don't think they are what you want.

They take a little bit of getting used to, but after a couple of rides they start to feel ok.

However, they are designed for speed rather than comfort. A couple of consequences of this is that they put you in a position where it is harder to look over your shoulder and you do not have the brakes immediately at your fingers. Also having the grip so close to the centre line of the bike means that they do not steer as well as normal, wider bars.

I do ride my time trial bike (which has aero bars) out on the road when going to time trials but, although it is a good bike with high quality components, I would never otherwise choose to ride it in traffic.

[Si]

I think that it depends on the set up. I had aero bars on my old MTB (when i was using it for 50mile round trip commuting) and on the long flat, moderately straight bits it was OK. Not recommended for use in traffic or going up hill on a fixie through. My MTB bars were reasonably high so the position on the aero bars wasn't quite an extreme TT position - more like the old, original aero bar position used for long distance events, with the elbows down and hands up. You might be able to find a second hand 'clip-on' set for a tenner so it wouldn't cost you too much to try it out.

But, if your bars are 65cm then they are probably MTB ones? Why not just cut them down a bit? My road going flat bar bike has been cut down to 19inches and is much more comfy now.

[wrangler_rover]

Thank you for the advice, what I have done is:
Removed the rubber grips from the bars, they were 64 cm riser bars (25").
I have cut 1.1/2" off each bar end with a hachsaw & filed the metal smooth.
I intend to refit the rubber grips & fit a par of stubby bar ends to give me a varirty of riding positions.
I could have taken more than 1.1/2" off each end of the handle bars but I thought a small piece at a time, it's preferable to cut a bit extra off it they're still too long than have to but new handlebars if they have been cut too short.

[wrangler_rover]

Update.
I bought a secondhand set of aero bars off ebay for £11.
Fitted them to a hybrid that I have just built up.
First ride, rode with them set at their shortest, managed to balance no problem, being short 5' 7" tall was about the correct length.
Tried a second ride but with them extended about 3", disaster, was over reaching and felt off balance when I tried to use them, have reset them back to the shortest length.
I won't bother putting them on the fixie as I think the riding position will feel too stretched forward leaving me feeling off balance when using them.