Let's hope they figured out to make a brake that actually brakes....

Jack

---

---

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack

Many of us have no problems braking with the Omegas. You need brake levers that pull a lot of cable to really have great braking with them. Shimano Dura Ace levers work very well with Omegas.

---

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

Since they already do, and it is excellent...let's instead hope you figure out how to properly set up a brake :-/

---

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Would love an estimate of time saved over 40k from switching to your new cockpit from stock 2011 p3 cockpit. Thanks.

Not that I am aware of.

---

---

Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Appreciate the quick response. Aero gurus' knowledge and opinions help remove a whole lot of guesswork for us duffers. :)

A $300 aluminum version of the Alpha would be really cool.....;)

There's very little public data specific to aerobars. Probably because frame manufacturers who do generate a lot of the publicly available data don't often have incentives to do bar tests.

---

--
TriRig.com

I run an original Omega with a Ventus bar which has the tiniest brake levers ever and no return spring. For me it was all about the brake pads.

---

/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

I was hoping actually that the wind tunnel testers on ST like Aeromantis et al, coaches, and athletes who have done tunnel tests might chime in with a few insights re the Alpha's aerodynamic competitiveness.
Don't get me wrong. Majority of what I've heard on ST about the original Alpha has been great. Just checking in case there might be some data I might have missed.

ETA: And in terms of aerodynamic public data and knowledge, jackmott is better than Google. Thus my original question to him.

What worked for me was using high quality, low compression (but not too stiff that I couldn't route it through my Devox bars) cable outer, and taking care over finishing the cuts off nice and square with a file. A little bit of helical steel wire sticking out into your cable stops can introduce slop. Filing these down to make them square and smooth is 5 minutes of your time well spent, I reckon. Using a decent cutter helps. Then make sure they are rammed fully home in your end caps.

Decent cable outers, a bit of care and the Swisstop pads provided, and I'm happy with the performance of my Omegas.

Nick has done exactly what I thought a bar manufacturer should do - test a lower end bike with a bar upgrade vs a superbike to show that bars are a significant part of what makes the top bikes fast.
Looking at the design of the Alpha and now Alpha X I have no doubt that they're fast.
Having run tests in a local tunnel (with a big test area and a lot of experience) that were also run at FASTER I do have doubts about the magnitude of the advantage shown. Where the tunnel I use gave bike only results that followed the same pattern as tests from other reputable tunnels the FASTER results jumped all over the place and created differences where I found none.

Apart from that reservation - I think Nick has done a great job both on design and provision of information.

Thanks for that input! By any chance in your tunnel tests did you have any available Alphas for testing? But even if not, your opinion is highly appreciated.
Looks like a possible field test for me in the near future - if I can afford it!

How does the TriRig bar compare to the old Vision aluminium bar - the UCI illegal one - with something like a Profile Design clip on extension?

---

-------------------------------
´Get the most aero and light bike you can get. With the aero advantage you can be saving minutes and with the weight advantage you can be saving seconds. In a race against the clock both matter.´

BMANX

It would be better to test that basebar with something like the HED Clip Lite which is a low stack aerobar but I get what you are saying. I used to run the Old Vision with HED clip lite and vision levers and I believe for the amount it cost to run this set up which for me was $250, it was the best bang for the buck set up. Now that being said, I also snagged some old FELT DEVOX aerobars in Aluminum (Aluminium for our Euro family) and that set up might have been the best bang for the buck at $100.

I now have to wait for the new Sigma X stem as that is what I want to set up on my P2 build and while I am at it, might as well update my brakes to the new Omega X on the front of both aero builds.

I´ve got a pair of NOS Shimano Adamas aero brakes sat around here not doing much! I reckon they´re even better than the TriRig Omegas as they have a smaller frontal area, the whole brake pad thing is a bit of a ballache though as you have to cut and shave pads down to fit the holders.







Looks like a pretty good front end....

---

-------------------------------
´Get the most aero and light bike you can get. With the aero advantage you can be saving minutes and with the weight advantage you can be saving seconds. In a race against the clock both matter.´

BMANX

Find someone with a 3D printer and get some covers made for those.

A certain Dr. Coggan may have told me that the equivalent AX Dura Ace brake - without a cover - may perhaps have tested extremely quick...

`Just an FYI: if those are the Dura-Ace versions you put on your old QR, you might want to hang onto them, and/or sell them separately. I say that because I expect them to take a bit of a jump in value once I release all the wind tunnel data I've been collecting´

---

-------------------------------
´Get the most aero and light bike you can get. With the aero advantage you can be saving minutes and with the weight advantage you can be saving seconds. In a race against the clock both matter.´

BMANX

You should build up a cool 1 X 10 build with those brakes and bars.

Odd you should suggest that!

The next build is a tribute to Nick´s ´Project Liberty´, http://www.tririg.com/...ty_Cervelo_S5_Review , but I´m going to use all recycled bits and as much junk stuff as possible, and call it `Project Poverty´.

---

-------------------------------
´Get the most aero and light bike you can get. With the aero advantage you can be saving minutes and with the weight advantage you can be saving seconds. In a race against the clock both matter.´

BMANX

I think the Alpha is a great bar, but this is my primary complaint with the current generation Alpha - there's a lot of flex when in the horns. Much more so than other carbon bars I've ridden extensively, including the Felt Bayonet, Speed Concept 9-series aerobar and the Felt IA aerobar.

I don't use them, but ride with a bunch of guys who descend like grandmas due to their fear of not being able to stop... I like the look of the brake, but have only seen them be a PITA unless they are perfectly set up (which doesn't seem to last from what my mates tell me).

Jack

---

---

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack

I already have the Pro Missile Evo on my BMC TM01, time-wise for an IM, is there any gain if I use the classic Alpha?

Hmm. Maybe I'll pick up a used stem in the classifieds...

No gain. They basically tie.

---

-------------------------------
´Get the most aero and light bike you can get. With the aero advantage you can be saving minutes and with the weight advantage you can be saving seconds. In a race against the clock both matter.´

BMANX