I was looking at them seeing how I lost both aero pads at IMTX this year. Curious to hear if others have similar feedback.

I looked at them as well and from the looks of them what you are experiencing is what I thought would happen. they look to have no sweat absorption. They need some fabric on them i think.

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2019 T-Rex Tri Series

They are very comfortable and I didn't have an issue in the winter on the trainer, but now that summer as arrived, I find myself slipping more and more on these and wanted to see if others are having any issues

yes - same experience here

I have an email into them about something else going on with arm cups. If I can ever get them to call me back instead of email. I will ask them about this as well

Yes. I sold mine because I did not feel safe on them. I live in south Florida and I sweat a ton. I rode on them in the winter (not nearly as hot but still warm) and I almost slipped off them a few times over a few bumps.

I like the cups (felt more secure) but I don’t like pads. If they changed the pads to have more texture and not as slippery, I’d buy them.

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blog

Response from 51 speedshop

While we have not experienced it firsthand, we have had a few customers discuss the "slipperiness" with us. What we have seen work for a few riders is that they revisit their fit a bit, to make sure that their shoulder to elbow angle gives them a better "kickstand effect", and this has drastically reduced slippage. Of course, the material will play a part no matter what in super humid weather like you have down there.

What a disappointing response.

Mat is a regular on this board and usually pipes in when there are fit discussions, as being a fitter is his primary gig (or has been)--he may be more focused on 51 SS products now I don't know. But if he does get on this board and answer, give him a chance--I'm sure he will listen to feedback and make future adjustments. He wants his products to succeed for obvious reasons. He may have someone taking emails and that may not be his actual response, but a canned one (again, I don't know if that is true).

That said, have you tried Cee Gee Cushies with his arm cups? I just installed some new ones on my 3T Brezza II bars (I know--old bars but I like them). They work great, are not slippery and good traction. We have had issues with my wife's Cee Gee pads TWICE where on the Oval Concepts replacement pads--the Cee Gee bottom layer just peels off and isn't sticking--separating from the actual pads.

I have not experienced the same issue yet with any of their pads for my bike. The response from Cee Gee was they had a glue problem with a few shipments. But try Cee Gee pads with 51 SS cups. That may be the fix you're looking for.

For the price of these arm cups. I don’t feel like spending anymore $$$ on other pads for this product. I asked for a call today to discuss this and another issue I had on this today and was told all warranty questions or info is thru email only. I have the aero bars and pads so that’s close to $300 spend and they can’t call a customer to discuss or answer questions, unreal

Same as all said here as well. I like the shape and size, decided to keep them but use 3mm textured neoprene as the pads now
https://www.etsy.com/...ting_top-1&frs=1

FWIW I was talking to Nick at Tririg and he was just mentioning this as a feature to his arm pads, as in they are made of a layer of Neoprene and I believe that helps with the slickness of normal pads.

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I'm a big sweater, and just started using the 51 cups this year. In an effort to reduce my frontal area, I moved my cups closer together and the result is no slippage and I brought my shoulders in. I believe it's like the "kickstand effect" the 51 Speedshop owner is talking about. I feel like I'm locked in. Took a little getting used to the more aggressive position during training, but it's all for the better and my training and racing times show I'm clearly more aero.

No issues at a recent race either (Eagleman) where it rained and the pads got soaked. My only issue is on warm days when I sweat a lot the pads don't dry at all. They just stay wet. I bring a few sheets of paper towel with me now to dry them occasionally. Maybe a couple dozen of needle-thin perforations would help with air flow and drying these pads?

I'll take the Speedshop pads over Cee Gee's cushy pads which absorb al my sweat (and stink); twice had the fabric material separate from the pad; and the stack height is so high I'm sitting almost completely out of the arm cup on my 3T Auro Pro's and another set of Profile Design Aero Bars.

I love my Cee Gees. Very comfortable and I have not had slippage issues.

That's great that you found a "solution"--and likely improved your fit/speed while doing so. But, I'm sorry, changing your fit to address slippage in cup pads is not a solution to a real problem. Its a work-around. Hopefully, the company addresses the material of the cups (as well providing fit advice).

So I went out last thursday morning at 6am for a ride. My workout had me doing intervals. I was on the last set of 3rd interval at about 250watts and about 21mph . My left arm slipped off the cup and I almost wrecked with cars behind me on a busy road. Going in for another fit or adjustment tomorrow and taking these off. Either will go back with Zipp that I took off or something else. 51speedshop, you really need to do something before someone gets hurt. These are not safe

Dang glad you're okay.

Saw these concerns and went with the tririg ones.

Replaced OEM pads on my Speed Concept Gen 2 back in January. Since then done 2 70.3's in the rain, about 3000 miles on the bike so far this year. never slipped, never felt like I was going to slip. Could not be happier with them.

Very slippery. I almost crashed the F out in Oceanside this year when going back into aero. Til this day I don't know how I manage to keep control of the bike after my left elbow slipped off the arm pad.

Hey Everyone-

Thanks for the feedback on the product. We take these concerns seriously and are always looking to improve.

While I've not received a lot of feedback on the product being slick, it's obvious from this thread that some customers are having issues here. This will be something we'll work to improve in the future iterations.

I don't directly monitor the customer service email, but feel free to private message me here if you have any questions or concerns.

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Mat Steinmetz

51-SPEEDSHOP.com - instagram - @matsteinmetz - facebook

Live in Florida. When first had pads I felt slippery. Not unsafe but def slipping.

I haven’t had that recently. Possible residue from production?

I feel locked in and comfortable.

got email from 51speedshop, looks like they are going to take care of me on the arm cups. Thanks for the response 51 speedshop

Just ordered one sheet from etsy to test this out. May just keep the 51speedshop cups, but dump the pads until they solve this issue.

if possible, also check if the outer side wing could be raised a little more.
Pass from a profile design arm race, to 51 speedshop, because it is longer, but I miss the support of the profile design a bit.
Anyway very good product

TulkasTri - could you load of photo of the armcups with the 3m added? Almost crashed out at Ohio70.3 slipping off the pads.

As soon as the neoprene arrives will do.

I don't know if I sweat through my arms more than normal, but it's become an issue now that SoCal is mid-summer; I find myself slipping off of them frequently, and I don't want to end up on the ground with road rash or worse.

following this. I have the full 51SS cockpit on my Ventum and love the product. I agree 100% on the slippage issue in humid conditions. I am sure it's easy to solve and that Matt will solve it for the longer term as well.

The replies make me laugh...." go spend a ton of $$$$ and get a new fit so you can use our $40 pads"

I had accident where my bike came off my bike rack going down the road. It was my fault, forgot to hook the front tire hook. I had to replace my zipp carbon bars, after looking around it was hard to pass the deal tri rig was running on alpha x bars. I did a 71 mile ride this weekend and no issues at all with slippage with the tri rig arm pads. So far I am very pleased with new setup. I think if 51 speedshop would change the material on their armcups they could solve this issue easily

Do you guys having this slippage problem have tilt on your aerobars? Just installed my 51 speedshop bar but haven’t ridden it yet. I had max tilt on my Alpha x and will likely do the same with the new bar. I can’t see how I could slip out of the pads with tilt.

mine aren't tilted that much. it is definitely an issue with the composition of the pad surface, non absorbent.
I contacted CeeGees yesterday and they responded to me that they expect to be releasing their product for 51SS within weeks (maybe sooner)

yes I had a tilt on mine and still had issues.

Someone let me know when those ceegees come out... the slippage is real here in humid Virginia Beach. I will order some the day they come out.

I use these pads, I sweat, I don't slip.

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

 

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

... might I suggest you try some decaf ?

Because you are kind of being an ass.

some of the posts above REALLY need a like button.

I am a 51SS cockpit user. While I have observed the issue, i never really saw it as a "problem." Matt actually reached out to me having seen my post earlier in this thread and I know he's working on something. He's a great innovator with a great small business Give it time and I think all will be happy. We need more innovators and independents like Matt in the marketplace!

I too have purchased product from Matt, and here in Colorado, know of many others. He has a great reputation, and He puts out High Quality well engineered product.

For some folks to continue to pile on, is not necessary.

I am amused. You got me at grease to sweat ratio.

Well, here is my experience FWIW ...

I read this thread, agreed with it, never took action. I was 8 weeks out from my A race and was in a group ride, hit a bump while on someones wheel, arms slid off the arm cups which were good and sweaty at this point, lost control 24mph ended up going over the handlebars and landing on my shoulder. Season done for, 400+ hours of training gone, $5k+ wasted on a race I cant take part in, medical fees for the last two weeks of hospital visits (plus whatever is to come - surgery, etc). This isn't the only incident I have had with this product.

My recommendation at this point is obvious ... but I wanted to share my experience.

Why were you in aero during a group ride while riding on someone’s wheel?
That’s group ride danger etiquette 101.

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Alex Arman

Strava

 

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

Ha, well let me put it this way, the guy in front of me hit the same bump same place, same speed, he didn't have the same issue. I am not sure how much more of a comparison test you would need to prove the issue. So feel free to claim rider error, but this thread is probably a bad place to claim that given the number of similar complaints outlined in previous posts.

It is not my intent to rubbish the product, it is my intent to let people know what happened.

 

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

Ugh man, we can argue about this all day long but your affiliation to SS51 really exposes your bias here ...

You have removed your comments around me rubbishing the product and I think for good reason. Reference my original post, I did not even mention the product once apart from where I state this is not the first time I have had an incident with this product. Again, my purpose is to share my experience as I state in the opening line of my post.

Feel free to deflect with philosophical and hypothetical questions around rider handling skills, the frequency of hitting bumps, rider holding extensions, bar tape etc. If you need to control all of these variables in order for a product to be safe, then it is not a safe product. I can assure you, I am an experienced rider, I have hit many bumps, I am able to handle my bike.

So, as more people bring these issues forward, feel free to continue to show your bias by defending the company without any direct knowledge of the incidents posted here but in my view it wont remove credit from the experiences shared by many on this thread. Again, I am here to share my experience, not to get involved in an argument.

For my last two sets of bars (Zipp, Profile), I added a loop of silicone rescue tape to the pads for extra grip. Cheap ($8 a roll at any auto or hardware store), easily removable (no residue), and it has helped with deltoid pain I had from working to not slide forward. Might be an easy fix.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

My group rides like that with no issues. It’s not hard to ride a bike.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

You shouldn’t have to have all these scenarios to use Aerobar pads. Multiple people say they are slick. Are you the lawyer for 51 Speedshop or something?

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Outlier? BULLSHIT!!!!

Not everyone that bought the arm cups is on Slowtwitch, and there's already several of us with this issue. I lucked out at Oceanside where I managed to take control of the bike, and I wasn't on anybody's wheel. I am very surprised 51S have taken this long to address this issue.

Yeah, agreed the attack on the poster who got in the accident is ridiculous--heal up!! I mean, you don't even need to experience such slippage with these pads to understand how easy it would be for this to happen. The material is comfy but naturally slick. Just feel the material and employ a little common sense. So, while unfortunate, none of these incidents are surprisingly in the least. After simply feeling the pads, I quickly changed direction with my cup/pad choice.

to no one in particular:

if you want to post an opinion, or a personal experience incident, you may do so. but what i won't allow - and i just pulled some posts - is for 2 of you to engage in a beat-up of a product; and i won't allow any posts that demand an outcome that you consider the only one appropriate.

you may post your experiences. if you go much beyond that prepare to have your posts pulled.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Also had some issues with the pads being slippery. First thing I did to try and remove the slickness/grease was use some rubbing alcohol, second thing I did was use some low grit sandpaper to rough up the surface. No issues since.

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IG: NCGregory8778

I have ‘em. I like ‘em. I sweat a lot. No slippage, but would prefer a pad that absorbs the sweat a bit better. Not planning on switching.

Sorry to hear about your crash. I just crashed this weekend. Same thing, hit a bump that 300+ other riders hit and were fine... but I slid out of the 51 Speedshop aero cup pads and forward onto the cockpit, jack-knifed the front wheel sending me flying off the bike.

I've been riding triathlon bikes every year since 2007. I have over 25,000 miles total logged ON A TRIATHLON BIKE with 6 Ironmans, 16 Half-Ironmans and this is the FIRST TIME I'VE EVER CRASHED. I also mountain bike weekly during every fall/ winter so my bike handling skills are excellent.

Do you ride with elbows on the pads or forearms on the pads?

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What's your CdA?

there are, in general, 3 kinds of pads. open cell (skin sliced off) blown rubber pads. fabric upper pads (zipp, profile, etc.). and foam pads with skin on. Felt has made some of these with its Devox bars that go back a half-dozen or more years, they are slipperier (in my experience) but easier to keep clean. that's the plus/minus. cervelo's new P5 disc and P3X pads are easy to clean and they're not slippery. that's probably my favorite current pad material.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I was looking for new cups and pads. Mine (PD) were getting old and I couldn’t get them as narrow as I wanted to try. I was really considering the 51SS. A few weeks ago I did a ride with some friends and new guy was there. He had those and I asked him what he thought. He said they were comfy. I asked if they were slippery and he said for him they were, and that was the one thing he didn’t like. I’ve heard good reviews too, but I sweat a lot and it worried me, so I ended up getting TriRig ergo cups. Very satisfied with them.

I have the 51 speed shop bars and pads set up at 10degree+and have never had a slipping issue.
I live in Georgia and it’s hot and humid 8 weeks of 90+ degrees.
In my opinion the new Cervelo pads feel the same as the speed shop pads.

Looking for replacement arm cups and came across this thread. Just wondering if there have there been any updates or modifications to the 51 Speedshop material or design to alleviate some of the concerns highlighted in this 2+-year old post.

Or otherwise any new feedback on the use of 51 Speedshop arm cups? I have the Carbon Ultimate extensions and it may be nice to match them with these.

Thanks,
@Kid

Short answer is no. I picked up some ceegee pads to use with the 51ss cups to mitigate the issue.

However, there are some pro's that have been on new cups/pads for quite some time. It sounds like those will be available in the spring along with their new extensions.

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Huge thank you on this recommendation - Cee Gee's work amazing and feels great to be planted in the cockpit again.

Anyone know the weight of 51 speed shot cups and pads?