I do like the control tech alu bars that Zak C. posted in a response to a thread of mine. The price is okay (~$120) and the weight is nice (300+). While I have not had straight bars before, I am sure I can manage for what I need those for (some bar on my bike for long draft rides like STP etc. i.e. 200+ miles, where I’ll use the bars from time to time while pulling others along). But before I buy anything, and since I’m not doing any ITU racing… is a non-ITU (longer) bar more comfortable or more aero than an ITU one, based purely on available length?
It depends if you are putting them on a road bike or tri bike. The advantage of the shorty ITU bars on a road bike is that it allows you to keep your position back over the rear wheel and choke up on the bars to avoid getting too stretched out. If you out full length bars on a road bike you will get too stretched out. The point of the non ITU (standard) aero bars is that with a forward tri position you need to move your hands foward to avoid getting too constricted, necessitating a longer bar. The other advantage of a full length bar is that you are supporting your weight closer to your elbow which takes the weight off you arms, shoulder and back, conserving energy.
As the title of my post indicates, it is for a road bike. I am only wondering between strict ITU bars and other shorties like the PD Airstrike for example, which does extend a bit farther forward than the brake levers’ line. I am not talking about full length bars and changing the ride position with a forward seat post or anything like that.
If you’re not getting a forward seatpost, or sliding your seat as far forward as you can, then shorty bars will probably be more comfortable. I don’t have them on my road bike at the moment, but often ride with my forearms resting on the tops of the bars with my hands dangling in front when I’m on a long flat stretch or bridging up to a group. My hands fall about even with the brake hoods - or where the ends of shorty bars would be, even when I’m sitting as far forward on the nose of my seat as possible.
Putting normal length aerobars on a road bike without moving the seat forward to mimic tt bike geometry is going to create a really funky, uncomfortable, stretched out position. A road bike is set up to be comfortable when you’re in the drops or on the hoods. Think about how far back your elbows are in both those positions. With a regular length aerobar your now ‘pulling’ your elbows forward to rest on the pads, creating a weird superman-esque position. The shorty bars allow to you to rest the middle of your forearms on the pads and maintain a more reasonable/comfortable position.
For me the sweet spot is the mid shortie aero bar set up. I am using the HED Clip-Lites with the extensions just a bit longer then ITU regs. Most small aerobars are about 230mm in length and the shortie aero are about 170mm I think so I have cut my extensions to be 200mm which I find is a great length for the road bike. Also I was using the s-bend and tilting them towards the middle a bit but I am not going to be using some J style extensions and tilting them at a 45 degree inwards so they touch in the middle.
I have an idea of what I would really love to build but no skills to build it. Just need someone to do them for me.
I am just now getting some aero bars for my road bike as well, but not for ITU (uphill TT with a pretty long flat section before the climb. Not planning to change road position at all) My thought was that I should ideally have an aero bar length that would allow me up to the same saddle tip to end of bar measurement length as on my TT bike. For me, that would mean a max bar length of 23cm and definitely beyond the brake hoods. Of the options out there, I just ordered the PD T2 DL (only 2 days ago so havent been able to try it yet) simply because that seemed slightly longer among the shorties as well as being adjustable for experimenting to get comfortable. Fingers are crossed that it works out! Interested to hear others input/experience as well.
I used to ride a Trek 2500 road bike with Syntace full-length aero bars. After getting a tri bike, remodeled the Trek with ITU-style short bars (Profile Jammer first generation). These aren’t measurably slower than the Syntace, so I’d guess there isn’t much difference in terms of aero - though it’s true the Jammers are set significantly narrower than the Syntace could be.
They aren’t as comfortable, but that’s mostly because these are the primitive ones which don’t have arm rests, have to rest on the handlebar. As noted by others, if you use the longer bars, will have to adjust saddle position to get comfortable, which will compromise handling on a road bike.
My vote for the ITU-style bars… if I had lots of money, these:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Are_we_ready_to_Get_Shorty__435.html
have to rest on the handlebar.
How’s that working for you? I tried (without any extension) and on my round handlebars, it’s not something I like much, for sure… Given that this seems to become established practice nowadays, can we expect flat-top handlebars to trickle down product lines soon? That’d be cool (and more aero).
it works OK… double-wrap the bar tape and use a thicker tape to get some cushioning. All the newer ITU-style clipons have arm rests, though… I’m just too Scots to spend money on new ones.