I think it's _o_kay. Pubes could have brought the same level of evisceration with more tact. Maybe a clue for the future. That voice is needed but the excessive vitriol is not required to make the same point.

Back to the thread... here's the thing tho with Tri Rig, the world needs to know that on a personal-customer-interaction level that Nick is a huge, massive, gargantuan dick. You know this too and I theorize that a few years ago someone had a chat with him about it and he shaped up for a bit, but now he's back to previous SOP. The way he innovates is really great, but in the few interactions I've had he's just AWFUL at interacting with anyone in a decent manner. And don't take just my word for it, ask the other well renowned coaches and fitters on this forum, we loathe having to order stuff from him.

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36 kona qualifiers 2006-'23 - 3 Kona Podiums - 4 OA IM AG wins - 5 IM AG wins - 18 70.3 AG wins
I ka nana no a 'ike -- by observing, one learns | Kulia i ka nu'u -- strive for excellence
Garmin Glycogen Use App | Garmin Fat Use App

Innovation is fine as long as people don't get hurt.

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

Geez, this is going to look like i'm defending him, I'm not but......

This feels a _little_ bit like Tesla having some minor issues IN ONE INSTANCE and suddenly the world jumping all over them. Like shit hasn't broken with Chevy, Ford, Profile Design or 3T before?

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36 kona qualifiers 2006-'23 - 3 Kona Podiums - 4 OA IM AG wins - 5 IM AG wins - 18 70.3 AG wins
I ka nana no a 'ike -- by observing, one learns | Kulia i ka nu'u -- strive for excellence
Garmin Glycogen Use App | Garmin Fat Use App

I feel your pain...I know exactly what you're talking about...:(

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"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

Lots of people use the Omega brakes and are plenty happy with them. I wouldn't hesitate buying them for my bike.

Don't know about the aerobars, as I have not met anyone that had those.

I have the Alpha (not "X") and am very pleased with them. Also have ordered them for fit clients and athletes. Have no experience with "X".

Omega's are good-ish. Not really the best at stopping (compared to shimano) but they are aero.

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36 kona qualifiers 2006-'23 - 3 Kona Podiums - 4 OA IM AG wins - 5 IM AG wins - 18 70.3 AG wins
I ka nana no a 'ike -- by observing, one learns | Kulia i ka nu'u -- strive for excellence
Garmin Glycogen Use App | Garmin Fat Use App

I was just thinking this same thing after reading this thread. I have Omegas on my TT bike, and I think they've been great for an aero brake...especially when it comes to adjusting when changing wheel widths. Of course, when one brake fails, you still have another one. Not the same when it comes to bars/stems.

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"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

sell out.

Out of curiosity, how many miles/year do you put on your bike with the Alpha bars? How often do you pack/ship your bike to races/training?

From what I have heard of them having issues it is often related to the clamping area of the bar. Therefore, the more you pack/ship/fly it (take it apart and put it together) and ride it the more likely you are to experience issues (if you are going to experience issues at all).

Not responding directly to you - just the last message detailed.

The following is a screenshot of a response from Nick back to a buddy of mine who had just purchased an Alpha X aerobar. He reached out because his extensions were slipping mid ride. He was using the recommended torque outlined in the installation guide - that Nick so often loves to reference for his products.


The suggestion of using cut up soda cans as a fix for a brand new $1k aerobar was not only a upsetting but entirely unreasonable. And insulting. Nick also admitted this was a known issue.

Further and in my opinion, more troubling, was Nick's own suggestion to actually EXCEED the recommended torque amount. As you can imagine, should something end up going wrong after heeding that instruction, the customer would likely be held wholly responsible.

Understand that Alpha C bars fail, or have failed, around the stem clamp. I know of two immediate friends who had issues with slippage because theres no instruction around torque detailed in the instruction guide (really - go have a look) beyond following stem manufacturer guidelines (Zipp, PD, etc all have min and max detailed in addition to stem manufacturer notes). When pressed on how much torque to apply after continual slippage issues - Nick offered up 8nm. Which led to cracked/crushed stem clamp areas. See the most public incident - Matt Hanson.

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"One Line Robert"

Despite what some on this thread might think, I completely agree. The Omega has always been a solid product. And the X was even better than the OG.

I just can't, in good faith, continue to use his products. I know many who share the same sentiment. Unfortunately.

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"One Line Robert"

that's polite! The best text i got after posting that was "ass wipe, dont give him an inch"

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36 kona qualifiers 2006-'23 - 3 Kona Podiums - 4 OA IM AG wins - 5 IM AG wins - 18 70.3 AG wins
I ka nana no a 'ike -- by observing, one learns | Kulia i ka nu'u -- strive for excellence
Garmin Glycogen Use App | Garmin Fat Use App

2k

2-3x in 3 years with these bars.

Have there been posts about the original alpha going bad? I've only heard it in regard to the "X".

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36 kona qualifiers 2006-'23 - 3 Kona Podiums - 4 OA IM AG wins - 5 IM AG wins - 18 70.3 AG wins
I ka nana no a 'ike -- by observing, one learns | Kulia i ka nu'u -- strive for excellence
Garmin Glycogen Use App | Garmin Fat Use App

See quite a few of the posts prior to your first. Lots of examples of original Alpha

Never had an issue with my Alpha either.

I hope this isn't referring to the guy who got decapitated by a semi truck. Because that wasn't a minor issue. That was a huge, catastrophic design flaw. It's also not minor because it killed someone.

Makes me wonder if we were not working on the same product a couple of years back...

Yes and...

MattyB wrote:

I had a TriRig stem break on me a couple years back. I hit the ground like a bag of hammers, slid 15-20 feet across the pavement

Yes.


While I still use TriRig's products (Omega X and Alpha X [for fit purposes]), I had quite a few issues with them. The first one being a few years back when the same that happened to MattyB happened to me. Borrowed the bike of a friend so he could 'teach me' how to pedal (he had a PM at the time, a hot commodity). Equipped with the first gen Sigma. Well, it snapped in half at the bottom of a hill, full speed.
Was lucky enough that I got away with scrapes and bruises (and a broken phone), no broken bones. And the bike was pretty much OK. I wasn't part of the email exchange but apparently a recall had been issued a day or two before my crash.


Fast forward to now, I had an issue with my Alpha X (bottle cage holder broker) and emailed TriRig about it. Abrupt and dry response but, after a few email exchanges, I received the replacement part the next day (he overnighted it).


So bottom line, I think the days of mass recalls of stems are (hopefully long) gone, but there still needs to be a lot of work on (a) communication and (b) QC. But to be fair, (b) is a never-ending task.


Would I recommend buying TriRig? I'd just say, know the risks and wait for steady state before shelling out the cash.

Thanks for the information.

TriRig brakes are the best that I have ever installed. nice work.

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I shall never misuse Rex Kwon Do
I shall be a champion of freedom and justice

Statements like this are why I welcome the Tririg criticism. Too many people seem to have a complete hard-on for Tririg.

The Omega brake has positive points. It's aero. Width adjustment is easy.

It also stops poorly relative to Shimano brakes (even compared to the rear integrated TRP brakes on my bike), has serious issues in poor weather conditions when mounted below the bottom bracket and the brake cable retention bolt has some slippage issues with certain coated cables (at least on my gen 2 Omega).

It's fine for what it is. Most aero brake? Sure. Best brake? Seems a stretch.

Everyone has an opinion .........I like them .....a lot.

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I shall never misuse Rex Kwon Do
I shall be a champion of freedom and justice

out of curiosity (and not aimed at anyone in particular) what do you all propose is the solution?

Anyone have anything helpful?
Better PR man to work with customers
More time testing the final product before release?
Stricter QC?

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

Maybe it's the only brake he's ever installed.

1) Someone that's not Nick and has a long and proven history of customer/technical service correspondence that can liaise better between the product and the consumer
2) More emphasis on solid, potentially heavier, construction. Give up some grams of weight for more reliability (don't post pictures of the Beta on a scale that say it's "simple" and "lightweight" but not include the 4 EXTRA bolts you need to make it not fail...as an example)

TriRig still seems like a one man show, although he constantly uses plurality when referring to TriRig (us, we, etc) so I don't really know how many people "they" have working there. But someone that works near whatever factories he (sorry, "they") have chosen might be useful. Additional overhead is a negative, but if he (/they) want(s) to be a boutique company that sells a high dollar product then I think those are necessities. And yea, someone other than Nick handling general marketing and customer service.