After some extensive shopping and research, I ordered a new R700TT aerobar. It was between that bar and the 3T New Ahero (the new Hed is out of my price range this year). The New Ahero was about $75 cheaper and lighter. The big deciding factor in favor of the oval was the flat rather than dropped cowhorns. I really like the hand position options this gives. As I am still in the process of building the bike these will go on, I won't have ride test info for another month or so, but I know a lot of people are interested in these bars, so here's my attempt at a quick review. First, this bar is solidly made. The welds are very nicely done and the bar is super stiff. There is an round bar (in front of the base bar where the stem clamps) that is integral to the design, but happens to double nicely as a computer mount. It does make tightening the stem bolts a bit of a trick though. The clamping mechanism for the extensions is simple and functional. The cowhorns themselves are nice and short with a little bit of rise to them (better than completely flat IMHO). The wings are drilled for internal brake cable routing. The pads have multiple bolt options and the base bar has two width options as well, giving you plenty of adjustability between the two. The pads come with two different heights of risers. It looks to me if for some reason you needed a really low pad height that you could buy shorter bolts and go without the risers all together. All in all, it is a very nice design and construction.
My gripes are pretty minor but should be included. First, my bars shipped with no instructions whatsoever. After sorting out the parts, it was pretty self-explanatory, but I'm still not sure that I have the pads installed in the right direction. Second, unless you have really long forearms, most people will have to cut the extensions down for a proper fit. After I determine which set of risers I will be using, I will probably also cut off some of the tops of the extensions. Similar to the Syntace bars, there is more than needed here height-wise. I like the minimalist cowhorn design, but I have average size hands and still wish there was another 1/2" there for a better grip.
I'll let everyone know how they ride later on.
Sweet
My gripes are pretty minor but should be included. First, my bars shipped with no instructions whatsoever. After sorting out the parts, it was pretty self-explanatory, but I'm still not sure that I have the pads installed in the right direction. Second, unless you have really long forearms, most people will have to cut the extensions down for a proper fit. After I determine which set of risers I will be using, I will probably also cut off some of the tops of the extensions. Similar to the Syntace bars, there is more than needed here height-wise. I like the minimalist cowhorn design, but I have average size hands and still wish there was another 1/2" there for a better grip.
I'll let everyone know how they ride later on.
Sweet
