I am going to be doing a fair share of racing this next year and need to invest in TT handle bars. Because I cant afford another new TT bike on top of the high dollar race bike I need some input on specific clip on bars. What to look for? Price? Shape? Comfort vs performance? Aluminum vs Carbon? What do you all use?
Thanks.
I had the profile design race-bend aluminum ones before I got my TT bike. I think carbon is a waste of money for that application. Not everyone likes the race-bend shape, but I found it comfortable.
something like the profile T2+ alloy base and aerobar are a good start (or the vision ones) and allow a lot of adjustment. I used them for a season until I worked out my position. Just switched to the profile sonic carbon aerobars since I wanted a lower position, which they allow with the elbow rest being about level with the bar. You can find good deals on ebay for a lot of this - got the sonic bar for $115 plus 30% off with cashback (check out live.com for discounts on ebay)
I was in your situation a few years back and I found that a better solution is a front end replacement. You'll need some cable housing splitters and a few tools, but you can change out the whole front end in about 20 minutes or so and swap back and forth as necessary.
So you get a separate stem, base bar, aero bars, brakes and bar end shifters. Get reasonable priced non-bling alloy parts and you're looking at maybe $300-400 for the whole deal.
I ran a Syntace bullhorn bar and C2 clip ons at the time. I now have dedicated TT bike, but migrated the C2 aero bars and the bar end shifters. I did buy new vision base bars and some Cane Creek brake levers.
Best thing you can do is borrow some clip-on bars from various people so you can try them out. Some like ski bends (usually those that want to sacrifice aerodyamics), some like S-bend and straight bars (usually roadies that are forced to do boring time trials).
And yeah, carbon is easily scratched when you slide the extensions around. Heck, you may be the oddball who would be better off with shorty bars instead of full lengths.
Nothing better than racing against the clock. I loved using my clip-on bars. I would look for the flattest/lowest one you can find. I used Profile Century bars that felt too high. Syntace C2 were cheaper, lower, lighter... I liked them. Not a fan of the curvy shapes on that bar, though. Clean lines like the 3T Ventus are to die for.
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