on www.syntace.de they offer the new c3 aerobar. you need to understand german to read the specs. i think i’ll replace my profile design carbon stryke with this one:
other than the bend on the extension, is anything else different ?
Google translated above -
says available May 2007
Odd it does not list this bar on the English version of the site. Makes me wonder when it’s gonna be available to the USA?
also says 179 German which is about $120 US
(I’m not sure if it is 120 German or Euros?)
I would like to get a set of these! I wonder how hard it would be for someone to send us a pair?
Very disappointed with Syntace of this. I thought for sure that when I saw the title that they had improved the C2 by making it carbon and not having the extensions on such a high angle. While I like the angles they have come up with, I think it should have at least been carbon with carbon pad holders. Oh well, they will just continue to loose market shares until they come out with something a lot better.
I am not a big Profile advocate as I think their designs are heavy and way to many moving parts but I will give it too them that they at least try to develop new products and try to at least get better. I think their new design clip-ons are going to be lighter with not as much clamps and bolts.
With this, it just goes to show that Syntace is even further behind in what they do in aerobars.
“I think it should have at least been carbon with carbon pad holders.”
For what purpose? How is carbon fiber superior to aluminum for this application? I mean other than the fact it is what the market is irrationally *demanding *at the moment.
MOST aluminum aero bars are lighter then carbon anyways…all marketing,
tfun~
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i’m not surprised that syntace has stuck with aluminium to be honest. They have already proven that their aluminium stems are one of the lightest in the world. There is no real benefit to carbon here except maybe vibration dampening, but as is i suspect the syntace aerobars are already very comfy.
True, it’s no ground-shattering enw design but that’s why they call it the C3 and not the X1 or some fancy term like that.
A lower stack height would have been nice.
Now THAT I agree with. They could have a similar design, but basically invert the clamp (extensions below the base bar) and have the arm rests right on tom of the base bar vice well above it. Like the Easton aeroforce, for example…
And while I like the rearward placement of the Syntace armrests, I think they need to do something to improve knee clearance. It isn’t an issue for everybody, but it’s a common enough issue that I think they ought to address with their design.
the comfy Syntace ride would be gone if they mounted the pads directly on the bars IMO.
Since it has taken Syntace so long to come out with a new bar and since they have a very light carbon handlebar at this point, the next evolution of their aerobars should have been carbon. They could have done something A) to boost their sagging sales in the market B) further reduced the bars weight C) come up with the design they did but maybe a more shapely design since Carbon can be shaped better than Aluminum D) make it so that the aerobar height is closer to the basebar. I think that it is too high right now and they could have lowered it by half an inch or so to have the pads be just the height of the pad tubing above the base bar. Hard to explain but the over all design is great but the pad are too high.
I road with the C2’s for years and they were great but I always wished that the pads were lower and closer to the base bar. They should have done this with carbon. They could have ovalized the part of the bar that holds the pads a lot more and still have the pads mounted behind the basebar.
Since they took so long to come out with a new bar, I am just not happy that this is what they came up with. They could have a lot more innovation in this new design than they did. They are very good at using carbon with their other carbon products. They could have come out with a carbon version of their blackbird bar like the ones used by RUE (which I believe he built himself) that would at least have been something new.
All I am saying is that after all this time, after loosing so much of their market market share, what they have come out with will mean nothing to their bottom line. People will not be saying “I have to have this” or “I can not wait to this come out”. They used to be the aerobar and now they are just another company that makes aerobars.
Carbon is superior to aluminum in the application because they can lower the weight and manipulate it better than aluminum.
“People will not be saying ‘I have to have this’ or ‘I can not wait to this come out’.”
This is true. And I admit that I’d like to see more innovation in their new bars. But now way do I think carbon is categorically a better material for a handle bar. As for weight, the C2s are already friggin light. And I’ll take the durability of an aluminum bar any day over carbon.
And I think Syntace ought to be applauded to some degree for sticking with proven designs and not being driven solely by the latest marketing whims of a very very fickle demographic. C2s are still by far the most comfortable bars I have ever tried, they are really light, incredibly durable, and cheap compared to all of the ridiculous crap that is on the market. The bandwagen rolled into town when the Hed bars showed up, but the buzz is gone and I guarantee they don’t have the market share of Syntace. The Hed was replaced by the Oval/Easton/Zipp/Blackwell/fill-in-the-blank madness. Do you really think these are superior products? (Think cost/benefit and durability here) I know there are many people who will shell out $1200 for a set of bars that have a 50/50 shot at breaking if their bike gets knocked over in transition. I think I’m just too stupid to understand the appeal.
Carbon??? Why carbon, just so it’s carbon?
At 366g and its price it’s perfectly placed with its competition (Hed Flip Lite 330g $250, Profile T2 Carbon 492g $150), and the bend looks very much like Blackwell’s “wrist relief” which Slowman thinks highly of.
The C2 is still an awesome bar and I think the C3 will be awesomer 
I think it’s a winner.
(Sorry… meant to reply to bman)
Carbon??? Why carbon, just so it’s carbon?
At 366g and its price it’s perfectly placed with its competition (Hed Flip Lite 330g $250, Profile T2 Carbon 492g $150), and the bend looks very much like Blackwell’s “wrist relief” which Slowman thinks highly of.
The C2 is still an awesome bar and I think the C3 will be awesomer
Awsomest!
And it will be on my bike as soon as it is available.
Frank
How can we get 'em?
The C2, IMO, is one of the most comfy bars on the market. I enjoyed the three seasons I had mine but found my hand position was getting lower & lower for regular riding, thus necessitating an exchange to something more…“aggressive.” I’ve been on Vision R-bend & base bar for just under a year, now, and I’ve been very happy with them.//d
Are the C3’s available in the US yet?
Syntace told me they “hoped” they would be available in the US in July. Key word being “hoped”.
The C2’s are still the high water comfort mark that all other aero bars aspire to. Wasn’t that much to improve IMO, that’s why the C3 is not radically different. And I can live without it being carbon.
Very disappointed with Syntace of this. I thought for sure that when I saw the title that they had improved the C2
by making it carbon … I think it should have at least been carbon with carbon pad holders…
Carbon is the new Scottish. *If it’s not carbon, it’s ***CRAP!!! **</voice of Mike Meyers>