I just snapped my carbon OS handlebars and am going back to 26 aluminum. Now, I am looking for a good clip-on aerobar for the 26 handlebars. Lightweight, would be nice… I am only 120 lbs. I have an older pair of the Syntace C2, which do not seem to be a good fit for my size – I was overextended on the bars. My bike is a new Madone 5.2 WSD that was fitted by LBS… and works well for road rides, but not yet for tris. I am having difficulty finding clip-ons and have a 1/2 IM coming up next month.
Any suggestions? Perhaps for an adjustable clip on? Or, an aerobar that better fits a 5’7 rider?
If I was not bending my own extensions and was going to buy a new pair of aerobars, I would go for either the Easton or the FSA bars. Both are very light weight and seem to be very well made. Also not a lot of parts to adjust and fart around with. I would never go back to Profile as they sacrifice weight for adjustability. I think taking the time to pick out what fits your arms and what feels comfortable is well worth it as you will spend a lot of time in them.
I was looking at the Profile Aerolites this weekend - they look pretty nice. Only concern I have is, the one I was looking at was on a 26 bar, but appeared to have an adaptor to meet that size. Does anyone (Tom, are you out there?) know if the Aerolite is a direct 26 clamp-on?
Might I ask how you snapped your drop bars, especially as you are 120lbs? That’s pretty good going!
One thing to try is to reverse the syntace pads and flip them round, it brings the pads back a bit further. Tried it at a TT this weekend and it worked fine (for me and it was only a 10miler) Did not have to move seat or change stem. Tilted a bit upwards and it worked just fine. Or try the new shorty version of the Syntace that might work and not cause too many other position changes
I own some aerolites, and you do need to use an adaptor for the 26 bars. The adaptor is a simple shim and it adds couple of grams, you’ll never notice.
I don’t know what your concern is regarding the shim. They are rock solid once installed with the adaptor/shim if that is your concern. If you’re worried about the extra weight of the adaptor/shim I’d recommend that you look at some different bars as the aerolites are a tad porky (a fair price to pay for the flexibility).
You sound like you’re in the same situation a friend of mine is in and has been bugging me about for the past few weeks. She is on a brand new Giant carbon road bike which came with oversize carbon bars. She had a Lemond road bike before with Syntace C-2s and was okay but never checked her measurements before selling it. Went to the bike shop to set up the bars and they picked her out a pair of Carbon X bars… She’s waaaaay stretched out on regular aerobars and when I had her do a little simulation of the position she’d be in with the integrated bars it wasn’t too comfy. I think the top tube is longer on the Giant than her old bike. So I gave her the options of changing her stem (can’t go much shorter to begin with) or moving her seat foward. Climbing may suffer a bit moving the seat foward (IM Canada coming up) and she’s very used to that position. BTW, I have personally like steep and ride steep. So her other choice is to go with a “Jammer” or ITU style shorty aerobar which slides her elbow position back an inch or two and keeps her comfy. So we’re looking at the Profile Carbon Jammers (CGT), the Oval jammers and the HED cliplites. I have the cliplites and love them but am reccomending Profiles due to the price point and more padding. You might want to try out some shorter bars as well. The three mentioned are three of the best although Syntace has a new bar and there are others.
With Jammers be careful as you typically need the pads to mount behind the top of your handlebar so that your arm is supported far enough back. BUT this can lead to you hitting the pads with your knees when you climb. Test before you buy if possible. If you are racing short and don’t need a really comfy long haul bar, don’t worry about this as much.
Did you have clip-ons when you broke the carbon bar??
Thanks for the recommendations. Yes, the carbon handlebars broke while installing the aerobars. Despite being careful with < 1/4 turn each time – then checking the aerobars…which were continuing to slip…the carbon snapped on the next turn. The clip-ons required an adapter for the 31.8, which made it more difficult installing and getting a snug enough fit. Net result is back on aluminum 26.
I have the 1/2 IM next month, then will also be at IM Canada, so I do need something that will be comfortable over the long haul.
I am switching from a 100 stem to a 90, but don’t really want to go much shorter there & impact the handling – since the handling & descending in the mountains was feeling great. Not sure where else I make up the delta… unless I buy another new toy just for tris…
IM Canada seems pretty hilly (haven’t done it but it seems like everyone I know has). If you are going to be riding aero the whole time on flat course bar end shifting is great, on a hilly course like Canada if you think you are going to be climbing on the hoods versus the aero bars then you probably want STI so definetely try some Jammer bars. The Profile GTC bars that Ze Gopha just reccomended are probably the nicest and comfyest arm pad wise. You can also adjust how far back the pads sit from the base bar on those so you can try to bump the arm rest position as far back towards your elbow as possible until you hit the pads with your knees as you climb standing.
Don’t worry, a friend of mine who works at my lbs/sponsor just borrowed my clipon HED bars last month and despite my warning put them on his $200 Easton carbon bar. Cracked on both sides;) Idiot is still riding the bar though… Good thing he’s built like a jockey and weighs nothing.
Good luck. When you go to Canada, look for a 5’2" very athletic looking but not stick skinny blond girl riding a metallic orange and black carbon Giant. She’s going through the exact same thing you are. She was about to put the clipons on her carbon bar but luckily we stopped her in time:)
My Oval Slam bars just arrived today and I am planning on mounting them on my Easton carbon drop bars. Of course now you have scared the crap out of me. How can I mount them without cracking the bars? I had a pair of C2’s on their last summer which scratched the clearcoat, so I am doubly worried. What to do?
You may want to have your LBS mount them for you (or possibly not mount them at all) – double check the warranty.
I thought I was careful by asking the LBS, as well as the handlebar manufacturer and the aerobar manufacturer if there were any issues mounting clip-ons on carbon OS handlebars. All 3 assured me there was no problem. However, after the handlebar cracked, then the LBS told me I should have had them mount it and the handlebar mfr said this was not covered under warranty. Funny that none of them mentioned this in advance… BTW, the LBS’s idea of how to mount them is to scratch the clearcoat and use a torque wrench. Still not clear why this is a good idea…??
Oh, and my final recommendation is NOT to use this particular bike shop…
