I have been following year after year after year of new and improved aerobars. It seems like I have read about close to 100 of them over the years.
Can anyone tell me how or why any of them are any better than my old, trusty, Syntace C2s? Five years later, my previously used C2s are light (366 g per spec) and rock solid. They solidly grab a profile aerobottle. I have never had a problem with them.
I see new carbon bars showing up. They are mostly heavier and offer no obvious advantage other than looking very cool. It could be that they help with vibration, but I really don’t see why that would be an issue unless you run your front tire at 150 psi or so.
I see these integrated bars show up. They look super cool, but they are heavier and I worry about adjustability.
The C2’s are still the standard for comfort IMO. I haven’t rode every bar, that’s for sure, but of those I’ve tried, C2’s have always been the most comfy.
Silly rational human. Don’t you pay attention to advertising? Don’t you make purchasing decisions based on marketing hype? What about the pictures? Carbon is here, and all things should be comprised solely of its fibers. Aluminum is dead as disco. Adjustability is only for poseurs who need to be comfortable. Where is your sacrifice?
The C2s are simple and light. But whoever designed them failed their human biomechanics class big time. I find them very uncomfortable, especially for wrist angle.
Soon, don’t know exactly when, there will be an aerobar released that will be unlike anything you have seen before. And it will be a real improvement.
The C2s are comfortable because of their pad placement behind the base bar. This is also the bar’s weakness for people like me with long legs and a short torso as it means we will have a problem hitting our knees on the pads if we stand. Since I’ve moved to Chicago and there are no hills, this is no longer a problem for me…
Otherwise, they’re light, solid, and dependable. Some have argued that that they place the pads too high, but that argument only holds water if you already have no spacers and a negative rise stem. Only if you want a different hand position does it really make sense to switch from the C2’s-- e.g. if you love S-bends or a flat hand position.
I have used C2s since 1999 and love them. They are the most comfortable and solid clip ons you can get and very few come close to them in weight. I got some new Vision Tech base bars for Christmas this year but I don’t think I’ll be “upgrading” from the C2s any time soon.
“They look super cool, but they are heavier and I worry about adjustability.”
Are you seriously saying that you think your C2s are MORE adjustable than my Heds? Or are you saying you think the adjustability makes them LESS durable than your C2s? Its a solid NO, either way you meant that. I’ve owned three bikes with Syntace C2s…and now have had the Profile Carbon X and currently the Heds…The Heds are every bit as good and more, for me since I can finally have S-bends like my old Scott RCOs and DS bars.
For me…you’re missing about 3cm of reduced height between the lowest I can get my Heds and the lowest I could get the C2s on my Talon SL. I need that 3cm…Can’t get it with the Syntace setup…unless you go with an adjustable height stem…which I have issues with…
But if you want to argue that the Syntace setup is perfect for a huge percentage of multisporters, particularly the ones who have to use 4 or 5 cm of steerer tube spacers with one of these high zoot models…I can’t argue with that statement…
Myself and all of my old school training partners all have C2s and laugh about all the latest upgrades, I guess if someone thinks another is better or faster they have their reasons.
Why do you laugh? Really…why? They don’t have to answer to you and your personal bias any more than you have to answer to theirs…You have NO IDEA why they have the equipment they have…maybe they’re just as big a jerk and laugh at you and your “antiquated” equipment…
If you had REAL old school tri training partners…your bikes would look like this…
The Syntace C2 and base bar setup is great, solid, simple and reliable…no one will argue that…but if you really think there are not improvements over their functionality in some of these new bars…you are sadly mistaken.
So tell me what the new advantages of the new equipment are. I am willing to be convinced.
I don’t know if S bars would be an improvement or not. I guess I would just have to try them.
I didn’t like my old Carbon X. It was very heavy and I couldn’t get it to fit right. Not being able to change stem length is a real negative to me. The handles position on that, the Hed and the Easton bars don’t inspire confidence, but maybe they would be OK.
My C2s are adjustable enough. Buy the right size, set the elbow width and you are done. What more would you need? I would like to be able to get a bit lower, but I have a short headtube and the stem next to it. It gets me reasonably low. Trying to get lower with the C2s would be problematic.
In order to bother changing, I would want something to be lighter and more solid. I haven’t seen that. At least I don’t think so.
I may swap out to the new Visiontech bar, (it looks cool) but I just don’t see a reason to do anything other than move my C2s over.
“So tell me what the new advantages of the new equipment are. I am willing to be convinced.”
Lets be honest here…No you’re not. You’re just waiting for me to outline all the reasons I have my current bars so you can poke holes in my reasons…thats fine.
You don’t have to ride my bike. I don’t ride yours.
Besides…I already outlined two advantages of my setup, FOR ME, over the C2/basebar setup…I did that above…and the reasons are bullet proof. I prefer an S-bend…and I cannot get low enough with a C2 setup…so…no C2 setup on my bike.
I had a c2 since they came out… replaced it with a new Syntace SLS and cut it just before the bend… the extensions are just straight out now. That is in my opinion a very light and very aerodynamic setup. I like my wrist to be angled downward though, if you don´t then this is not for you.
In my personal opinion i have to agree that most of the new all-integrated-super-duper-carbon-aero-things are for looks… don´t like them.
We laugh because 400-800 dollars on aerobars that do the same thing as 150 dollar C2s is hilarious. An aerodynamic advantage? Maybe in some wind tunnel…maybe if there was some big weight difference you would have a case, but, there isnt. Dont worry Chode, we arent laughing at you, just your overpriced aerobars.
I’m with you. I haven’t swapped out my C-2s as I cannot find any concrete evidence that I need to. Heds may be nice and comfy for some folks, but the C-2s continue to work and I have not issues with them. As I’m putting yet another winter behind me, I don’t like to have as low of profile as I used to. So, I guess I’m with tribriguy in that I’m sticking with what works for me and don’t feel I have to justify it to anyone else. But, I will make a shameless plug for Syntace in that they really do make a bullet proof aero bar.
I’ve switched from C2s that I’ve had for 1-1/2 years to the Hed integrated bar like others.
My 2 reasons:
Could not get low enough with the C2s. (Had no spacers left). I’m 2.5CM lower now and have added spacers to manage the amount of additional drop. Can probably get close to a 5CM drop over the C2s. (Definitely agree with TriBriGuy)
I like the hand position with the S-Bend bars. I found that I liked the hand position when I choked down on the C2s below the bend. This is pretty much what you get with the S-Bend extensions.
Other comparative data:
No complaints about the quality of the C2 bars, but they do lack pad height and reach adjustability The Hed bar gives you some pad height adjustability with a riser kit, after which you use stem height like the C2s. You also have a couple of pad front/rear positions to choose from. Reach of the C2 is limited by you correctly choosing one of 3 sizes. At least you can cut your Hed extensions to the desired length. Yes you can’t put back what you cut off, but can either adjust incrementally, or you can at least get a replacement if you damage one or cut off too much.
Cost - if you compare purchasing C2s, a basebar, and the Syntace or Vision brake levers, the cost difference between a clip-on and integrated Hed is not as painful. 225-297 vs 435-474
(Depends on which basebar/brake levers or which Hed extensions (carbon/aluminum))