What’s the difference between the HED aerobar and the Oval a900?
any experiences with the oval?
I just put the Oval bar on a bike that I built up yesterday, it is highly adjustable, but I think (not positive) that the Hed is the same way. I’ll let you know what I think about it comfort wise after I ride it later today. I’m sure others will chime in as well…
Basically the shape of the base bar. The Hed is very cut and angular, perfect for a Kuota or a Felt, The Oval is a little more tapered and rounded, better for a Softride, or an Aegis.
I have the HED’s. I think Oval (which was the original designer/builder or something…I think slowman’s article on Bicycle Sports talked about the corporate cross-pollination) is a bit more evolved, imroving on the HED’s. They seem to have better arm pads and easier to access tightening bolts on the stem and the extensions and pads…maybe a fatter shape at the base ends to prevent slipping while braking?
Back from my easy ride, first one using the Oval bars, and I must say, they are very nice. I have them set up with the single bend extensions and the hand position is fairly comfortable, and I imagine it will be totally comfortable after I am able to ride with them a bit more. The adjustablity is practically unlimited. The only complaint I have would be the base bar where you grip to brake, etc. It is very slim compared to what I am used to (which, admittedly is a standard road bar), but might be better than the Hed in this respect according to another poster. I also made the mistake of doing this ride with no tape of any kind on the base bar, thinking it might not be necessary. I don’t recommend that, as the small size combined with the lack of tape made for uncomfortable braking. Anyway, I like 'em!
Yeah, you will get used to the dimensions pretty quickly. I just have “jock” tape on the ends where I put my hands for braking or sitting up. I don’t ride anything else so they seem very natural. I will definitely get them on my next bike.
(always curious how people get so twisted up on aero this and aero that, like internal cable routing or seat tubes, but I never hear people talk about how much more aero these bars seem than anything else out there. Check it out next time you see them head-on compared to others.)
The biggest differences are in the details,
The HED product wins on all counts.
Integrated routing of brake and shift cables are big plusses,
S-bend options are also.
tom
The oval armrest are not as comfy as my Syntace C2 arm rests. Other than that, I love my Ovals. My sponsor could not get me the HEDs, so I ended up with the ovals. Didn’t matter to me.
The HED product wins on all counts.
Integrated routing of brake and shift cables are big plusses,
S-bend options are also.
tom
I’ll give you the S-bend options. But I don’t understand the rest. My A900 bars have integrated routing of the brake cables. There’s not much routing to do of the shift cables since you run them through the extensions. How exactly does HED win on all counts?
What color is your bike?
If anything, the Ovals win simply becasue they are availible in dripping gloss red. Beautiful.
I have a set of the HED aerobars with carbon s-bends. The only real difference that I have heard of is the armrests on the HED are bigger and shaped differently from the rectangular OVAL’s and therefore the HED armrests are more comfy. (The guy that fitted me to these bars told me this). As I have not ridden on the OVALs I cannot say either way, but the HED bars are quite comfortable.
What color is your bike?
If anything, the Ovals win simply becasue they are availible in dripping gloss red. Beautiful.
are they.where?..I haven’t seen any.
The finish (Hed is matt Oval is gloss), the base bar shape, and on the oval the extensions run all the way under the base bar. On the Hed the extensions are held in shorter ‘holsters’. The weight is the same, the adjustability is pretty darn similar and I’d say so similar the only difference is the price. Buy the one that matches your bike !!!
Email me at info@ciclotech.com and I’ll email you the '05 Oval catalogue in PDF. It’s 2MB.
Inside you’ll see all the new carbon upgrades.
Josh @ CicloTech
Oval now sell straight extensions and s-bends.
I read a review of bars by Joe Beer (uk Tri Coach) and Heds came up tops - + better cup (50gr lighter) + Hed are abit cheaper
Email me at info@ciclotech.com and I’ll email you the '05 Oval catalogue in PDF. It’s 2MB.
Inside you’ll see all the new carbon upgrades.
Josh @ CicloTech
thanks for the offer…I found the PDF via google.
some very nice upgrades.
Buyer Be-Aware…
Since the Ovals connect UNDER the base bar, it appears their S Bends come to the same height as using straight extensions with Hed’s.
That’s odd…wonder why they designed it that way?
Basically…they aren’t really S Bends.
Hi. This is the US sales agent for Oval Concepts. I don’t make it a practice of using forums to peddle products (pun intended) but I couldn’t resist jumping in and adding some critical info to the debate.
SUMMARY: Differences between Hed and OVAL CONCEPTS A900 aerobars:
- THE CLAMPS
The redesigned Oval A900clamps are machined out so they’re lighter (~85 grams per pair) and the below-the-bar clamp design allows fore-aft adjustment without having to cut the extensions every time you make a small change in extension reach. Fit coaches love this feature.
- ADJUSTABILITY
The A900 gives you 2,880 adjustments. Get 11,520 combinations by upgrading to the new oval-shaped pad holder; its expanded bolt holes allow you to rotate the holders an extra couple of degrees. The new oval shape gives more surface area and comfort.
By the way, the A900’s brake and shift cable routing IS integrated with housing ports on both the base bar and the extensions.
- BASE BAR SHAPE
The A900 is more sculpted, less angular, dresses up ANY frame, and sexier (subjective opinion, of course).
- RED HOT UPGRADES!
Shave 75 grams by upgrading to carbon brake levers and carbon armrest pad holders; choose from straight, single or s-bend extensions. You can also trick out the matching R700 RBT (reverse bolt) stem with carbon faceplate and Ti bolts to save another 25grams. Armrest pads are available in 3 thicknesses: 5, 8, and 10mm. Carbon Upgrades are available in classic clear coat, or “dripping gloss red”.
Get Ovalized!
Happy trails,
Josh @ CicloTech