One thing that I would reccomend for the HED bar is to put a little blue loctite on the two short bolts that hold the elbow cups to the extension clamps, you may have noted that these bolts were extremely short. The bar is very solid, I'll be on mine next week for some test rides. I'm getting it built up this weekend after a local TT on Saturday. I just got a SantaCruz Roadster frameset, beautuful aero bike (for 73 degree seat angle) with a 28mm wide and 75mm deep downtube! Strange for a MTB company to put out a great road frame, but I guess thats how Specialized got started.

Great article Tom, one problem though, I went to the site "just for a minute" to read the article, and ended up sitting there reading ALL of the articles you archived. I think the boss is wondering what the heck I'm doing today! I would be really interested in reading a follow-up once you've had a chance to get on the road with them. Do you see any issues with the integrated brake levers being replaced if one was to get damaged in a crash? I also noticed, that the Profile Carbon X is suddenly on sale all over the place. Performance is selling them for $245. I also was greatly interested in your article on the San Marco Azoto. Maybe if I get one of those I could stop using the QR Mr Flitie pad. Thanks for the great details on the Bar Wars.

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- Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
P. J. O'Rourke

Tom - great job! Answered all my questions...cool!

Saw a typo under the "final thoughts" section. Mis-spelled ounce, it reads once. Spell check don't catch dat one!

Thanks for the review. It helps me with something I have been contiplating. I will buy a Soloist this week. The LBS said that if I switch to the forward seat position for triathlons and TT I might need to put a different length stem on. My thoughts are to get an integrated system for when I switch to the foward position. What are your thoughts on that being that this position or bike is not full blown aero.

Thanks for the critiques and kind words guys. I second GarySD's recommendation on the loctite. This was a fun piece to put together. I'm looking forward to a few more projects we have in the works I hope people find helpful. As always- let me know if you guys have ideas or suggestions.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

great job! Those kind of reviews are very helpfull, thanks to put in the work.
I use a 3t integrated aerobars since about 5 years now and I love it. The new one they make is less ajustable though.

PS: ..."Syntace claimed their small C-2 clip-on weighed 370 grams and we got 394. That's almost a one once discrepancy. Yes, we checked our scale, yes, we measured three pairs. They were all within 1 gram of each other".

Doesn't this sound familar? I guess that goes down as leagal marketing, right?
don't take me too serious though, I just love bitching some times :-)

Great article Tom, I recieved my HED bars last week and think that they are really nice. As someone not in a bike shop however there is s decent amount of work to get them setup and get the position dialed in. I also noticed (being anal) that compared to the C-2s these pads are about 5 mm further away from the steer then the c-2 pads, an interesting dilema because I have not been able to locate a 95 mm 0 rise stem.

Anyway on to my question. While many will say that I am ruining the advantage of these bars, can you think of any way to use a jetstream with the new HEDS, it appears as if a little rigging will be required. Just looking for some advice.

Thanks in advance,

Neal

Hmmm, OK, I think it can be done with some improvisational engineering. Maybe that little "U" shaped aluminum bracket that comes with the Jetstream? I'm sure some bending will be required. Also, I think Steve and Anne Hed have something in the works for that. Give them a call at 651 653 0202.
Good luck!

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I'm really not trying to be a dick, but I have some constructive criticism here, Tom. I know I'm beating a dead horse, but for the price difference between integrated and separates, I think some justification may be in order. The article mentions time gains numerous times, ("The effects on aerodynamics are substantial. You will save time.") but this is based on what? In the pictures of the front on view of the bars, they are described (presumably for their aerodynamic properties) as "good", "better", and "best". Again, based on what, the way they look? I've always thought that it's very hard to determine the aerodynamic properties of a shape by just looking at it.

The time gain issue is brought up often, but the only attempt at hard numbers is "According to their website and the data depicted there you save about 1:40 (a minute forty seconds) at an average speed of 22 m.p.h.". Over what distance? It seems that everybody is in agreement that integrated bars are faster than separates. It is my feeling that MANY integrated bars may be faster than most separates, but the fact that a bar is integrated doesn't necessarily make it more aerodynamic. Also, the big question is "How much faster?" I just felt like this was a big promotion for the more expensive integrated setups. I know you don't do aero testing, I don't expect you to. But since the article claims all these substantial time gains, it would be nice to back it up. Otherwise, I'd rather just read about specs, build quality, installation, adjustability, and comfort. After all, that's all the stuff you can measure, have expertise in, or have an opinion on.

Now, that said, I can't wait to one day have one of them bad-ass looking Hed bars on my bike. I thought the most insightful part of the article was "There is no denying that integrated aerobars also say, "I've got the best stuff, no compromises". And for some people there is a lot of value in that too."

Pooks, you do make a very valid and true point. Last night Michael R. Rabe (Michael R. Rabe for short)and I debated at length the validity and accuracy of these claims. He said "There is no way to back these up!" There is truth to that.I thought about linking the test results on the Vision Techs to their site, where I got the data from- that way people could just jump over there to see Vision Tech's "data". I'm not sure how to handle that. Maybe I need to jump back in there and put some qualifying statements. For your information though- the reason I asked for feedback is becasue of exactly what you have mentioned. I do truly enjoy the positive comments and they make me feel great, but your commentary is of greater true value and I do take it seriously. Thank you pooks. Check back next week for a couple changes....

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

According to the Vision Tech website (the testing was done by Jim Martin) the original Vision Tech bars with the 1 inch threaded quill stem are still the fastest. If these new gollygeewhiz bars are faster I'm sure it can't be by much. I hope Martin goes back and tests them.

The older data (which the newer results closerly parallel) are from testing performed for Project 96 by Dr. Jim Martin.

OKy-dokey, I'll give you heavier and more expensive. But I will politely suggest that:

1. Durability: This guy from Texas used them while touring in France. Now given, he was coming off an illness a few years ago, but nonetheless, the other fellas touring France with him had a tough time keeping up with him. Chances are if they didn't break for him- they won't break for us.
2. I think they are as adjustable as Syntace. I think!?!?

As for justifying lust: My friend, you only live once. Better to live one day as a Lion than a hundred years as a lamb. :)

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Nice quote.

The guy from Texas only needs to use them for a portion of a season. Most of us need to get a few years and many more races out of ours. In addition, they were custom built for him and monitored DAILY by Team Mechanics.

The guy from Minnesota won the Tour using a Coke Can as a Shim on his Aerobars...I'm not sure we're recommending that though;-)

Seriously Tom...Based on that logic, we'd all be riding "SLAM" positions...Yes, the Pros can be a good reference and they are awesome for product testing, but still...

OK...You got me on the adjustability.

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http://wattieink.com/elite-team/
Raising funds to help wounded veterans and racing RAAM 2013 with http://team4mil.org/
"If you are gonna charge... CHARGE HARD!"

MMmmmmmm, wellll- OK. But I still like them. :)

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

The guy from Texas did not use them in the tour.

Tom,

I'm not trying to start a flame war or point fingers or discount your efforts, but I can't help but get the feeling that some of your posts (like this one, the Zipp disc thread also comes to mind) are thinly disguised advertisements for products you sell.

People respect your opinion, I know I do, so with that respect comes a little bit of responsibility. I think it needs to be perfectly clear here that you have a biased opinion, one that is based on profit for you. I find it odd that you just have to post on the newest most trick stuff, that just so happens to be in your shop. Let's not even mention the fact that your "review" is not even all that scientific. You fail to even show any proof of the aero advantage of the new bars over the others. The only "proof" you provided is that of MARKETING text of vision. Sorry, that's not a review, it's a mouthpiece for you to sell the latest widget that may or may not offer an advantage to the average trifolk. Those bars are REALLY EXPENSIVE and for that kind of money you or anyone else selling them better be able to tell me more than Lance rides them or that they look cool. Show me some real proof that these bars are worth the cost. So far, it's just a gee-whiz factor. As I said in the thread I started a few days ago, there are serious diminishing returns with bicycle exotica, and with these bars I don't even see any advantage.

I understand you are in a bind since you do have a retail business. But, I just see it as you leading those that are easily influenced into your store.

I'm not trying to be harsh or judgemental, it's just my perception.

AL

 

It's not a disguised attempt to advertise what I sell. It is an attempt.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

He didn't?

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Now that the kind of answer i respect, honest. :)

Oh, I should also mention- and I thought I did touch on this in the article- all I can say IS they do look cool and how much they weigh. I kind of thought I said that. I hope you didn't find the article misleading. That is my biggest concern. And regarding Armstrong using them, one other poster on this thread has pointed out that he/she believes Armstrong did NOT use them in tour. He may not have- I don't know what bar he used, I think it might have been a "camouflaged" Hed prototype with Deda decals or a Deda prototype that looked similar to the Hed. Steve Hed told me in a telephone interview that Armstrong did use early examples of the Hed bar in testing and in some races. I will tell you honestly though, I do appreciate your candid response. This feedback helps us "tighten up" our reviews and forces us to go to a higher standard. I expect some heat. Sure, I want more traffic on my site and more sales, but I also am on the forum to learn and try to help other people with questions or opinions. So, although I am here for business reasons along with Frank and Gerard, I also love doing this and hope I am offereing something tangible in return. I should probably pay Dan for an ad at some point, I'm on this thing so much... Thanks for your thoughts though :)

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

You make a good point, and I don't think Tom needs any defense, but I've always gotten the impression that he is a triathlete first, business owner second. He seems to go just as nuts (probably more nuts) over the high tech stuff as everyone else. Though he tries to make money at what he does, my experience is that he isn't in the business of selling things simply for a buck. I've spent time in his store, taking away from time that could be spent on people shelling out lots of money, having his staff look over my position on a bike that he didn't sell me (though he sells the brand at his store). Since there wasn't "much" that needed to be done, I wasn't charged a dime, and was told to come back in a few weeks to have my position looked at again after I made some changes. To me, there is no better indicator of what kind of a person, or establishment, I am dealing with.

Personally, I didn't take his review as an advertisement at all (other than this is good, so we endorse it and sell it here), and from my experiences with his staff have no reason to think otherwise. I learned a lot from it.

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"What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind and body can achieve; and those who stay will be champions."