The goal with this project was to get my hands up higher and tuck my head a bit lower, while also being able to roll my shoulders down and inward. Also, the new bars needed to integrate hydration, mount a Garmin and hide Di2 wires (still on order). The hydration "box" needed to be removable for cleaning, as well as refillable on the fly. This is the process for how I made this custom/one off part, including the design, sourcing, shaping, carbon layup and finishing.
On this bike, I also made a custom Cal-Pack (bento) and Tail Box. The process for those can be found in my previous post: https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...=quarantine#p7245330



First, I shaped a sheet of plastic to fit my forearm and wrist. This was trimmed down to a rough arm shape, leaving lots of extra (just to be safe).
These arm molds were covered with five layers of carbon, put in a vaccum bag and cured for 24 hours.
One of the challenges of creating the shape of the bars was how I was going to mold them. I decided to use a light-weight foam insulation as a "plug mold" to then layer carbon onto.
Since I only needed a small amount of foam, I didn't want to purchase a full sheet (always trying to be frugal). I headed out (by bike) to search some dumpsters for construction waste, and hit the jackpot on my 3rd stop.
The foam is easy to shape with hand tools. I used a hand saw, rasp, file and small band saw to whittle the pieces down to the shape I needed.
This is probably the most important part of the whole process. The foam has to be the right shape to get my arms in the right position. The angles all need to be exact. Because these bars are built to be a single piece, there will be no way to adjust them once complete. I had to make sure the length, reach, width, rise and every other measurement was correct.



It was important to think several steps ahead before the final assembly. One important detail is to run some tubing inside the bar for cables/wires to pass through.
I used a portion of my old extensions for hand grips. These already had a good curve and kept me from having to try to make my own. These were bonded in place and reinforced in a later step.
Now, I get to lay the layers of carbon on all the faces and surfaces. There are three main areas: the chanel where the hydration box sits, the front fairing and the legs or risers. Each of these areas needed a different cut of carbon and quantity of layers. All in, there are about 50 unique carbon pieces.
These layers are each added and cured or 24 hours in a vacuum bag. Sometimes you can lay several layers at once, other times they need to be done one at a time.
The last parts to get assembled were the arm rests to the base/fairing and laying carbon sheets across them (essentially creating a single foam core carbon part).
The bars and hydration box got sanded and finished with deep black and raw carbon areas to match the existing paint scheme of the bike.

All in all, these took about 100 hours of work over 4 weeks. Material cost: $100. My labour: Free

Lessons learned/modifications for next time:
• Try to remove foam and leave just the carbon shell to reduce weight
• Minimize size and materials as much as possible
• Integrate hydration into the hollow bars
• Order parts well in advance to have on hand during build