I’m looking for a way to get better aero on my road bike. I tried using clip ons to get more steep last year and it wound up doing some really funky stuff to the handling. I have my road position dialed in the way I like it right now and am very comfortable riding in the drops. What I would like to do is mimick my body position while in the drops but get my arms in tighter. By playing around, I’m pretty sure I can achieve the same position with a set of shorty aero-bars, but I need my arm to remain as low as possible.
I was looking at the Vision mini’s as they seem to be a really simple design with not much rise off the base bar, but I’ve heard they are really uncomfortable. I was also looking at the Profile T2+ DL’s, and maybe the Profile Jammers.
Anyone have any experience with this clip ones? Any other thoughts?
i use the profile jammers on the road bike, that being said, i dont like raving in them, it works for what they are made for, but i like my position on my tri bike a lot more, and generally like riding it more.
There used to be a page on the net describing John Cobb’s “big slam” position on a road bike, complete with photographs. I’m not sure if it’s up anymore but try a google.
I’ve used Profile Jammer GT’s on my road bike. They’re fine for sprints but I found small size Syntace C2’s more comfy on longer rides.
I have tried ever single clip on in the last 6 years and to be honest, the ones that I currently have are by far the best (for me). I am running the HED Clip-lite for my triathlon bike but with the single bend extensions from the Oval A910’s. On my road bike I am using the aluminum S-bends from the HED’s with the mounting hardware and carbon armrests from the Oval’s. I do have HED carbon s-bends but I think my next project will be used with these.
On the road bike, I have the s-bends tilted in a bit and put on a Profile bridge to connect them. I can not believe how comfortable they are. I can actually ride for an hour solid in this position. I just use it for early season training. The reason that I went with this set up is that it keeps the arm rests very low to the bar and you can angle the s-bends towards the center to change up the feel of the bars. I did start with them straight out but after angling them in a bit, the feeling was amazing.
I am going to do a total custom job soon I hope with the help of a great frame builder and if he is willing to help me out on this project (still finalizing the details), it will be a very cool one-off ITU set up.
**T2+ DL™ Features: **
Our T2+ DL™ offers the ultimate low positioning with compact features needed for road riding. Included is our Aerobridge™ to make this bar ITU draft legal (with proper installation).
• 460 grams
I like the vision minis - although would like them perhaps about 1cm longer (they would still be legal on my bike).
What I did a few years ago was to take a few old pair of bars and flip over some profile bars so that the pad holders were on the bottom, then I put in spacers to bring the pads up level with the top of the bars. For the bars chop another pair of old profile bars with the same diameter tube and made some early S bends.
i use the jammers, ive modified them and use them without the armrests. ive cut them so the angle is shorter, and ive also mounted them from under. cinelli makes some nice ones.
I like the vision minis - although would like them perhaps about 1cm longer (they would still be legal on my bike).
What I did a few years ago was to take a few old pair of bars and flip over some profile bars so that the pad holders were on the bottom, then I put in spacers to bring the pads up level with the top of the bars. For the bars chop another pair of old profile bars with the same diameter tube and made some early S bends.
So you had the pads mounted seperately from the bars? Did that leave any room for a computer mount? I’d be interested in seeing some pictures of that.
There wasn’t room for a computer mount - but there never is on my bikes, I always just use one of the doodads that goes on the aerobar itself, or mount the computer with zip ties.
i actually have a pair of the airstryks. I have them on my fixed gear right now. They were the ones that messed up the handling on my bike. They seemed really bulky, the flip up pads rattled like crazy and they always seemed to get in the way.
For some reason mine didn’t have the flip up pads, so I was able to mount them upside down to lower the stack height. Then the curve in the bars allowed me (with some careful cutting) to get the hands back in the right place.
Edit: I think that photo may have been another pair of frankenbars where I combined two dissimilar bars - it was really heavy and hit my knees a lot.
i liked my experiences at ironman nice (over 6,000ft of climbing) with my syntace XXL’s. i will use them again at xtreme norseman this summer and anytime i need to race a tri with a road bike.
**T2+ DL™ Features: **
