I just recently found out about the recall on the Shiv aero bars from Specialized. I was relieved and a bit angry because I experienced the fault of the aero bars without even thinking that it could be an issue with the system that they built. Last October I was racing for my first time in Kona on my brand new Shiv that I had been riding for about 6 months. It was tuned and perfect, ready to race. I took it out on a practice ride and it was fine the week before the race. The day of the race, on the downhill after Hawi, my right aero bar completely fell straight down. I stopped at the next aid station about 6 miles later but the volunteers refused to call for help and said I needed to find a van, but quite frankly I was terrified to keep riding because I couldn't even shift gears and my aero bottle kept sliding out, not to mention the fact that it was already difficult to maintain balance with the strong wind. A volunteer had a van with some tools and said that he may be able to help, he fiddled with my bike for about 18 minutes as I panicked and my emotions were bringing me to tears after all my training and hard work, minutes were just slipping away from me. He couldn't fix it afterall and I kept riding. Anyways, after about 8 more miles I finally found a van and they were able to stop and help tighten it back on after about 5 minutes. All in all it completely panicked me in terms of my race and was a huge bummer to have to go through on race day. I made the most of my race and that whole experience and I am not one to complain or blame others for these types of things and am thankful I wasn't hurt and still had the opportunity to cross the Kona finish line. But when I found out the aero bars are being recalled I couldn't help but feel like it wasn't fair that happened on the most important race of my life thus far. I am 24 and new to the sport of triathlon. Kona was a huge deal to me. Is there anything anyone would recommend I do? I saw we can go and get replacement aerobars, but maybe I should share my story with the company? Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Sarah Munar
Sarah Munar