I did a search and didn’t find much specific input regarding the bars. I’ve seen pictures and they look comfortable.
I’m looking at building another bike after my wreck and wanted to get some feedback from any users of the ascalon aerobars.
They are obviously pretty pricey and not something I want to buy and try, and realize they aren’t for me and try to resell for a loss.
My questions:
-Are they easily adjustable?
-Easy to install and route 11 speed 2 button Di2 through?
-Comfortable:?
-The pads and also the extensions themselves
-The elbow area seems pretty high and looks to “lock” you in. Any concern with the elbow area being too tall?
-These are going on a Gen 2 Trek SC…would these increase the stack in comparison to the bontrager provided aeropads that come with the SC? I could probably use a little bit of a stack increase-no more than 2 cm.
Anything else you tried that you preferred over the Ascalons or the Ascalons over something else?
They are well made and quite nice. For the Gen 2 SC you need the specific adaptor which adds another few hundered dollars, but their engineering is solid and the resulting setup is clearner than most anything else for that bike.
If money were no object and you are picky about hand position or want to go back and forth between being UCI legal, and being more comfortable and aero, then the WattShop bars would be my choice. They allow you swap out the hand grippers to more easily fit within the UCI height and reach requirements.
As far as stack goes, I guess they would probably be adding a bit, but the SC with the low stem and shortest mono-riser provide a huge amount of drop. I run the low-far stem to keep the basebar as far as possible from my arms and upper body. This requires me to run a custom 80mm mono-riser (the largest stock riser is 40mm). Unless your frame sizing a way off I can’t imagine you needing less stack than what is available.
They are well made and quite nice. For the Gen 2 SC you need the specific adaptor which adds another few hundered dollars, but their engineering is solid and the resulting setup is clearner than most anything else for that bike.
If money were no object and you are picky about hand position or want to go back and forth between being UCI legal, and being more comfortable and aero, then the WattShop bars would be my choice. They allow you swap out the hand grippers to more easily fit within the UCI height and reach requirements.
As far as stack goes, I guess they would probably be adding a bit, but the SC with the low stem and shortest mono-riser provide a huge amount of drop. I run the low-far stem to keep the basebar as far as possible from my arms and upper body. This requires me to run a custom 80mm mono-riser (the largest stock riser is 40mm). Unless your frame sizing a way off I can’t imagine you needing less stack than what is available.
You still running the AA on your SC Gen 2? If you are, do you mind posting pics of your set up. I’d like to see something up close for a SC.
Measure carefully. My elbow to wrist measurement is pretty long but AeroCoach was able to make me some custom Ascalons that have 40mm extended grips. Otherwise I’m not sure they would have worked for me. I also ended up cutting the foam so it doesn’t fold up the side of the arm rest. The padding was rubbing my elbow and was a bit uncomfortable. But overall I really like the setup and it’s extremely comfortable with the 20 degree adapters. 4+ hours in aero is no problem. Installation was very easy as well, even with Di2. Just make sure to order some extra foam padding because it seems to wear out quickly.
This is a big purchase, so you’re right to ask questions - I thought long and hard about it and ended up splashing the cash (quite a lot more than expected due to me ordering to wrong one and having to ship to back and forth, totally my fault, you live and learn…)
For me, they didn’t work, for some very specific reasons. I used the 2019 Speedmax CF SLX adaptor mount it into the integrated stack. This limited the width adjustment available, so by the time I got the elbow pads wide enough to be comfortable (due to poor upper back mobility), my arms weren’t central on the extensions and removed any aero benefit. I tried a few different combos of arm pads and ultimately couldn’t get comfortable, so went back to the factory bars.
They are a premium price, but there are some small issues with mine that a product of that price shouldn’t have - nothing too serious, but not what you’d expect for the cost. I would commend Aerocoach on their service though, when I realised I had ordered the wrong part they were great to deal with.
To answer your specific queries:
-Are they easily adjustable? See my comment above, yes for length and the arm pads have plenty of adjustment holes, but it depends on the base bar mounting type. Mine required a different mounting adaptor to change the tilt angle of the extensions, which was an expensive part (shipping to Au being a fair chunk of this.)
-Easy to install and route 11 speed 2 button Di2 through? Kind of – I threaded some mech. shifter cable through, then taped the D2 wire to this. There is a small hole at the gripper/extension joint, which is a bit tricky to get through, but once that is done its fine.
-Comfortable:? From and hand/forearm perspective, yes, but it depends on your required pad location. I wasn’t a fan of the high sided arm cups and found them too restrictive.
I am not sure I would love the cups either. Good idea to cut the padding there. I currently have tririg cups and really like them. I am currently running 11 spd Di2 and like the 2 button option, but might jump to 12 spd. I can’t seem to make my mind up. I rode the new Gen 3 SC and felt like the ride was way more comfortable due to the iso speed and wider tires. But, not sure that is worth a 7k+ splash.
My bike isn’t what’s holding me back. So, I might hold off a bit until the summer settles and I am able to see what I want to do. I am currently balancing a house project and trying to squeeze in training. It isn’t going as planned. Training is taking the hit.
