Tri / Aero bars for a Boardman Team Carbon

[Kev Deeley]

Hi all,
I'm very interested in adding some aero bars to my 2014 Boardman Team Carbon road bike which have a 31.8mm handlebar. As all the areo bars available on line seem to fit a 31.8mm handle bar the choice is bewildering. so I suppose my decision will be based on cost / comfort / design, but before buying I was wondering if anyone had fitted tri / aero bars to a B'man Team Carbon and if so can you recommend them please. Cheers.

 

[Rob3rt]

Buy whatever you want, unless you are racing time trials, you will use them very sparingly, if at all and they will just be ugly additional clutter on the bike so it won't matter!

 

[Kev Deeley]

Buy whatever you want, unless you are racing time trials, you will use them very sparingly, if at all and they will just be ugly additional clutter on the bike so it won't matter!

That's great & thanks for your candid remarks. As you clearly know a lot about me, my riding style, how often I ride, and how much I'm likely to use a set of bars I will definitely take your advice.

 

[Hacienda71]

I think @lejogger may have fitted clip on bars to a Boardman although I may be imagining that. Mind can play tricks at my age.

 

[fossyant]

That's great & thanks for your candid remarks. As you clearly know a lot about me, my riding style, how often I ride, and how much I'm likely to use a set of bars I will definitely take your advice.

Rob's right actually.

I used to race TT's so my best road bike was kitted with tri bars (this is 20 years ago). To be honnest they are only OK in certain conditions, long sections where there isn't traffic/junctions etc. I took them off when I stopped racing, just a pain in the ass. They limit your hand positions on the tops for climbing. If you are riding in flat terrain most of the time, little traffic, then yep they could be useful. You'll also need to spend some time getting them set up right to get any real benefit in aerodynamics.

 

[Cuchilo]

I think the OP wants to add tri bars to his handlebars rather than change the bars at the stem . Having done this on and off myself it gives me the feel for the position needed and kind of what to expect . If the OP isn't talking about this then I would say try clip on bars first to see if you like them .

 

[fossyant]

I had the Mavic tri bars - they were very adjustable, unlike modern ones.....

 

[wajc]

I've no experience with fitting clip on aero bars on a Boardman but have these fitted to my Specialized road bike

http://shop.kinetic-two.co.uk/ambrosio-airtrium-3--tt-ultra-aero-tri-bars-84-p.asp

I first considered these after doing a 600km Audax event that left me with slight tingling in a couple of fingers for a few days after the ride. With LEL planned later in the year I was keen to remove pressure and road buzz from hands as much as possible and these are great for doing that.

I prefer using them to being on the hoods, bars or drops and would say I spend the majority of a solo ride using them. This is for comfort and the extra speed you get by reducing drag.

If this is the sort of thing you are after I'm sure once you are used to them they will get plenty of use.

 

[PpPete]

Not really visible in my avatar (taken on LEL) <<<<<<
but I'm down on my clip-on Airstryke bars (bought second-hand from @montage)
Great for relieving pressure on hand, sore shoulders, stiff back etc on the really long stuff.
Ugly yes - but useless clutter? definitely not.

Taken them off now as interdit on PBP and I have to get used to going without.

Only advice I can offer is make sure the 31.8 portion of the bars extends wide enough for the clamps of whatever bar you choose.
Some bars taper down really close to the stem so it would make fitting more of a challenge

 

[cyberknight]

I have fitted clip on bars to my boardman , i got these ...
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tranz-x-jd-tb01-tri-bars-black-aluminium-prod13580/
heres a piccie before i cut the bit off that sticks past the clamp

 

[Kev Deeley]

Hi All,
Loads of useful hint / tips there. Thanks. Yes, I'm looking to add to them to my existing bars as per Cyberknight's photo above. I do quite a lot of long distance riding on relatively straight / flat roads and at the moment find myself resting my arms on top of the existing bars in a tuck position which isn't very comfortable at all so a set of aero / tri bars would solve this issue. A clip on set would also mean I can remove a refit whenever I need to.

 

[bpsmith]

Let us know how you get on then @Kev Deeley. I am kind of interested for the same reason and wondering how other newbies find them.

 

[Pikey]

I fitted some on my summer bike for long distance solo, audax etc... Now they are set up right I love them, and bought a set for the winter bike.
Prob do about 40% of my riding on them now.

I bought the airstryke ones too so as to maintain use of the tops.

 

[lejogger]

I think @lejogger may have fitted clip on bars to a Boardman although I may be imagining that. Mind can play tricks at my age.

A demonstration of extrordinary memory Hacienda.. I did indeed fit aero bars to my Boardman, although they were some rather grusome looking basic profile jobbies that did a job but looked fugly.

If someone were intent on doing this (and I can certainly understand the reasons why they would), then I would recommend something like the Profile T2 / T2 plus that you can fit underneath the bars with the pads pretty much resting on the top to keep a lower aero postition. That was what was recommended to me at my bike fitting with a very top time trialist anyway.

If you don't have the funds or inclination for a second TT specific bike then aero bars on a road bike will certainly reap some benefits, especially if it's your 'do everything' bike and you can hone your position during all manner of rides and commutes, rather than suddenly expecting to find efficiency in an alien position once a race comes around.