Throw all of the bar and stem in the garbage and buy something else.

Fair enough but what? I need something that can go lower than what I have now.

Thanks!

The IAxx has been around for over a year this is the first time I can recall everything slipping so I have to think it's the mechanic. Is the bar being set up with a torque wrench? I set my IA with a Zipp aerobar and the Felt stem and I've never had a problem. The guy I sold the Felt aerobar to hasn't had a problem either. I don't know of any other bar that will get you lower than the Felt with the extensions under-mounted.

To get things tighter you could try making shims out of soda cans. Use as many shims as necessary, it works every time.

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

Ditto this. Ignore the "throw it away" reply; this is a very good performing bar. It's only real downside is the number of screws.

I would keep diagnosing. Maybe you have an extra washer or something in one of the clamps that prevents it from clamping enough. Or, maybe your torque wrench is off. The bar slipping in the stem is a major mystery. That is so simple mechanically that it is hard to imagine anything being a problem except inadequate torque. Unless there is grease between the bar and stem.

I actually did have one of my arm pads & extensions loosen, but that was my fault. I cleaned and reassembled my arm rests and pads the day before and forgot to torque the arm rest screws. I had to r-tighten them by finger for about 30 miles on the tail end of the ride. I got home, torqued them properly, and they were perfect afterward.

I have tried to tighten the bolts to the specified torque and they were way too loose. So I went ahead and tightened them as much as I could. That helped a little but did not solve the issue completely. Also, the clamps that hold the extensions are way too big with the recommended washer. So I ended up removing it and which helped but again, did not completely solve the issue. I might try the aluminum can.

Thanks!

Hi exxxviii,

I don't have another race for quite a while so I have some time experimenting. I'll definitely try to clean the bar as much as I can and will put it back together. I'll let you know how it goes but if nothing helps I'll just go with another aerobar.

Also, the basebar was only moving in the stem when I was climbing up a steep hill and pulled on them like crazy. Otherwise they are pretty stable.

Thanks!

I rode mine last year in a century with almost 12K feet of climbing. I was dropping >>300W climbing up some decent mountains, and it never moved a skosh. If you can move yours, even under extreme climbing force, there is definitely something funky going on.

I've never had mine slip even once - and I'm a big guy who throws his front end around when I climb.

Are you torquing everything to spec?

Have you even the slightest rationale for this comment or are you just trying to be dramatic but actually have nothing to offer?

If you're saying the Bayonet 3 is a bad cockpit, why? It's certainly not the consensus as far as I'm aware. Nor is it my own opinion.

Is there another shop in the area that sells Felt tri bikes? I'd consider taking it some place other than the original shop and seeing what they have to say. I've also got an IA16 and the whole frontend is rock solid (even after hitting some otherwise teeth rattling bumps). I watched the shop put mine together and there are tons of parts so if the original shop was unfamiliar with the bars/didn't follow the instructions it's possible you're missing parts in key places. You also should have gotten a pretty substantial number of spare/adjustment pieces when you got the bike originally.

Well, there we have a shop and sell a lot of Felt's and every once in a while we have a slipping aerobar bracket that either slips on the base bar or the aerobar extension slips and twists a bit.
We have never found out what caused this, we just replace them with another piece, torque everything and it is solved. But it does happen, so the OP is not alone in this although i would say we have 1 out of 50 or 60 bikes that have this. But never that all parts slip st the same time on 1 bike.

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Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands

I actually found the instructions online and verified that it is put together properly. I'm also using the same torque wrench that I used for many other projects and this is the first time I'm seeing issues. I'm really puzzled too that's why I decided to post here. I might try the aluminum can solution but that's all I have so far other than replacing either some or all of the parts.

An aluminum bar should never slip unless there is something seriously wrong with it.

This system is slipping, therefore it should be replaced.

I wouldn't risk my face/body on a bar that has a chance of slipping.

This is an actual issue with recently shipped IAx bikes. Felt, or their manufacturer without them knowing, changed the bolt spec on the Bayonette III bar, and the new ones are not good. They are very weak and tend to twist/bind as you tighten them which gives you, and your torque wrench the impression they've been properly tightened when they haven't. The fix is easy...grease the bolts. Since I began greasing them, I haven't had a problem.

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Jim Manton / ERO Sports

Jim, I really appreciate the advice. I'll give it a try and will let you know if it helps. Thanks!

That "something seriously wrong" often turns out to be user error, though perhaps not in this case.
Nevertheless, it's not as simple as you suggest, but I do agree it's not worth taking chances with certain components, especially forks, cockpits, brakes and tyres.

You've a habit of making these brief posts without any explanation of your reasoning. Is it because you think there's no need or because you like people asking for more info?

To me, it is obvious that a slipping bar should be replaced.

Brand new IA1, and I am having issues with the aerobars slipping. Double checked torque with another wrench and still have issues. I'll try greasing the bolts as well.

I think I would just buy a better grade of bolt.

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Let food be thy medicine...

you can use carbon paste on aluminum as well, works wonders to keep from slipping

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Yellowfin Endurance Coaching and Bike Fits
USAT Level 1, USAC Level 3

Hi Matt,

See my original post. Tried it and that did not work either. I'm just as puzzled as everyone else is.

Thanks!

I have the original first run IA and I've had issues with the extension clamps slipping. I had replaced the extensions with TriRig ones and even with carbon paste it wouldn't grip and the arm pads would rotate around the extension with any kind of bump. To fix this I added an extra washer onto the bolt which was "bottoming out" when tightening things. This helped the bolts from doing this and increase the clamping force on the extension clamps. I also added in some ParkTool carbon paste and it worked great ever since; rock solid!

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

Another interesting suggestion. I'll try it if the other proposals don't help and will let you know how it goes.

Thanks!

My IA 16 Bayonet bars have been a real headache. Very slippery, the interior clamp bolts (seriously... it annoys the living hell out of me to have hidden clamp bolts) came loose 60 miles into my IM last year. I am actively searching for a replacement cockpit but haven't pulled the trigger yet.