Aero Bars

SarWah

 Hi Guys,

 

I'm ready to put some Aero bars on my bike - I'm looking at the Profile brand, either Legacy or T2 or T3

 

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/profile-legacy-alloy-aerobars/

or

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/profile-t2-plus-aerobars/

or

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/profile-t3-plus-aerobars/

 

Does anyone have any suggestions? or recommendations?  I'm a complete newbie about this sort of thing!

 

Cheers

Sara

John Withrow

Hey Sara- A lot of that decision really depends on your personal preference and what feels comfortable to you. The mechanic at my LBS likes the Legacy version because he thinks they're more aero if you can tuck your head down behind your hands/fists. I tried them and simply got a cramp in the back of my hand near the base of my wrist.

I personally prefer the t2+ version and have that type of extensions on all of my bikes now. I like that you can simply rest your hands on top of them for long goes, but you can also grab underneath by wrapping your fingers around them if you need a little more leverage on say a short climb. I don't know if most will ship to AUS, but they are much cheaper on eBay. I once bought a set of the Cobra T2+ (the Carbon Fiber version) on eBay for around $100...

Peter Wick

Is this on a road bike with carbon handlebars? Unless some big innovations have come along that I've missed make sure your handlebars are aluminum before you put on those clip ons.

kimmydct

I honestly can't remember what kind I have, but I know the elbow pads flip up so you can still grab your handlebars when not in aero. I like that feature as I'm not always in aero on the hills of CT.....

Peter Wick

I was referring to the higher likelihood of carbon handlebars cracking around where the aerobars are clamped on.

[Deleted User]

 @Kim -- Peter is right. Double check your bars before you drop the money. If you don't know if the bars are carbon or Al, swing by the LBS and have them check.

Ever visited Center Pizza in Vernon?

SarWah

Thanks everyone I've got a specialized Dolce road bike that I use so the clip on bars will be fine from that perspective.
I suppose I'm more curious about the hand positions whilst riding. I think I'll watch the footage of IMWA this afternoon & see how the different positions look on the bike.

I'm heading towards the T3 as I think I'd like the J style bar

kimmydct

Checked this morning and this is what I have:

http://www.profile-design.com/profile-design/products/aerobars/aluminum-aerobars/airstryke-s.html

I really like them and I think they are pretty adjustable. Can't say they are the lightest or most aero but just coming in to aero, these were good for me.

Peter Wick

Sara, are you sure the handlebars on your Dolce are aluminum? Please check that out, regardless of whether your frame is carbon. You need aluminum handlebars that will resist cracking from the torque the aerobar clamps will put on the handlebar's top tube.

Darren Freeman

Just a note about the Profile Design T2+ aero bars. There is a design difference between the clamps on the Aluminum and Carbon aero bars.

The aluminum version the pad rest clamps are adjustable independently of the clamps that connects to the base bar. The carbon bars the pad rest is not adjustable and is fixed as part of the clamp that connects to the base bar.

Simply put, the aluminum bars are more adjustable than the carbon bars and actually weigh less than the carbon bars.

If you look carefully at the produce images you will see what I mean.

Brad Marcus

I used The PD Legacy bars on my road bike before I got a tt bike. Pros: price, easy to install, getting aero CONS: not the most adjustable, took me a good few weeks to be able to get comfortable with them.

All in all, definatly comes down to fit. I used them to train and in a number of races, and when I'm sure I benefitted from the aerodynamics on the bike as well as some degree of comfort. Not being able to adjust the length of the bars were a bit of an issue for me since I have long arms. All in all, they did a decent job for me.