Watching the Lance chronicles last night with a buddy and saw what I now know are called S-Bend Extensions.
Is it feasible to make your own s bend extensions? What would be a good material to use?
This is a great opportunity for the do-it-yourslefers to prove themselves.
Aluminum tubing. Maybe sacrifice an old set of aero clip-ons for the bar clamps.
Only problem is that bending aluminum tubing does require the appropriate tools, or it’ll crush instead of bending. Try a plumbing supply store, Home Depot, or better yet, borrow a bender.
it would actually be easier to do it out of fiber glass/plastic.
Some use Broom sticks…
Depends what the mold looks like. An s-bend tube is a bit of a challenge.
If you did it on a male mold, you’d need to extract it, which would be a pain in the arse. Maybe if you made a foam mold, then dissolved it, or simply left it in place.
If you used a female mold, the layup would be, uh, challenging.
Maybe if you molded them in two halves, then joined them.
Any way, a bit of sculpting skill would be necessary to make the mold.
BTW, does anyone know how carbon fiber handlebars are made? I could only imagine that they’re made in two halves, then joined.
“If you used a female mold, the layup would be, uh, challenging.”
damn females. nothing but trouble.
Well it doesn’t necessarily have to be exactly like the Hed s bars. I guess I just need something a little flat than my Syntace bars. Also, something a little shorter.
How’s this idea?
Could I just cut the ends of the Syntace bars? Leaving them flat? If so, what would I cut them with?
My brother has a Giant TT bike that is road geometry but came with large Syntace Streamliners (stupid, I know). I sent him some pictures of the setups ridden up le Alpe last year by Ullrich et alt. He’s coming over next weekend to have me set him up in a slam position. I’m just going to use a tubing cutter (from any hardware store) to cut the bars right before the bend, then tape them. Pretty much the same thing being ridden on hilly time trials in the grand tours.
Cut the Syntace bars with a fine tooth hack saw. Then file the inside and outside edges smooth (to remove burrs). I’ve done this with lots of Syntace bars. My large Streamliners have only about 2" of up turn at the ends. Just enough that when I hold the bar ends the shifters are in the palm of my hand.