do you prefer s-bends or j-bends? or no bends? is one more aerodynamic? is one more ergonomic?
it seems like pros prefer to use s- or no bends? why?
I have j bends (FSA carbon pro)…I am thinking of trying S bends…the straight bars look too un comfortable to me…
s-bends
Aero, maybe. I find them to be very comfortable, others can’t use them. My wife thinks they just look “Fast”
I have carbon strykes and they are just about the ideal aero bar IMHO. They are multi adjustable to get a perfect fit. The only downside is that the upturn ends are a little too upright if you ask me. They need to be flattened about 5-10 degrees so the top of the hand (side really, since the forearm is rotated about 90 degrees) is flat and in line with the flat forearm.
I like a relaxed forearm and many of the newer bars are too flat in front for my preference. Oh yeah, a decent computer mount hole (threaded like on my old C2’s) would be an improvement too.
I’m definitely a fan of the “old school” or “J-bend” bars as you are calling them. I have used:
-Syntace C2’s
-Profile Carbon Stryke’s
-Oval Concepts A700’s with single-bend extensions
-Vision Tech aluminum clip-ons (regular bend)
-Profile T2+
After using all of these, I can say that s-bends are truly not for me. I think that they can be good for folks who like to keep their wrists flatter, but I honestly can’t understand how that is comfortable. Current bar-end shifters were designed to work in drop bars or in the confines of a “j-bend” aerobar. When you have the end of your aerobar parallel to the ground (s-bend) the shifters will point almost straight down while in the small ring and smaller cogs (assuming you mount your shifters ‘normally’). I found that this created very uncomfortable wrist angles. I had to either wrench my wrist in an uncomfortable position, or completely lift my arm of the arm pad to accomplish shifting; it is especially tiresome at the end of a long ride. With my Vision Tech bars (cut off 1 cm to bring the shifters closer to my hands), all I have to do is a small finger movement… effortless and unconscious.
I think the Oval single-bend bars are a better solution than s-bends, but still not ideal. For these bars to work, we need a different shifter. Even then, I would still go for the j-bend bars. A big part of being fast is being relaxed. When I lay my arms on my aerobar pads, their natural position is held by the upturned section of the bars. Say there were no aero extensions- just pads. My hands at rest would not automatically flatten out, thumbs straight out, wrists tense (a la s-bend or straight bars). I want my entire upper body to be relaxed- face, shoulders, arms- as much as possible.
Don’t get me wrong- s-bend and straight bars definitely look cool and fast. For all practical purposes, however, they suck (for me at least).
For me, s-bends have been the most comfortable and have helped my position.
Ric
Though I haven’t tried them, I like the looks of the Blackwell extensions – they look like a good compromise between S and J bends.
if you have read the latest insidetri issue…the different types of bends were discussed and the j and l bends were mostly for long course types and the s & r bends are for the ones that ride really aggressive – even explained why you see their biceps bulging because of the leverage. tried the s-bends and the straight ones and i prefer the j/l bends.