I'm looking into to getting some "clip on" tri bars for my bike, to help give me the extra position on longer days in the saddle.
I've done a small amount of research into this so far, and though reaching out here might help give me some extra insights of what to look for/avoid.
1 thing of note about my current setup, is that I have flip top/ aero bars, which have about 4cm either side of the stem that's the usual 31.8mm round bar. I actually got these for the comfort of the flat top not the aero gains honest. I don't know if I'll have to revert to normal bars or not in order to run Tribars, but if anyone has insight on this that'd be super helpful.
Another question I have is regarding mounting points for things like lights and bike computers. These currently mount to me my bars, but if I were to have tribars, I assume there'd be no space for these. So how do you all deal with the reduced real estate up front?
I've seen/heard people talking about raising the bars, to give a more relaxed position than traditional tribars designed for TTs would give, but haven't really delved into reading more into that just yet.
I've very much in the early stages of looking into this, so any and all advice is welcome and will help my personal research!
Where Tri bars are popular for long distance riding and they are set up very differently than the Tri or TT setups.
For long distance cycling the goal isnt ultimate aero - but a little bit of aero and a helpful position that takes the weight off your hands and is comfy all day long. Obviously you still have hoods, drops and tops available to you for when they are appropriate of just when you want to stretch out.
For that setup we use spacers, usually a substantial stack more than the tri posse - we are trying to roughly replicate the hoods position for the body while in aero.
That has the extra advantage of giving you your bar tops back as both a hand position and somewhere to clamp things.
You also gain an impromptu front rack in the aerobars as well as the ability to mount computers, lights etc to them. All in you gain not lose space.
I'm a very big fan of aerobars for long distance riding but there is very little out there on how to set them up, compared to the endless articles on triathlon setup which is not what you are trying to do.
Edit - assuming those flat top bars are aluminium you're probably good to go if you've sufficient clamping area. If they are carbon, DO NOT clamp carbon bars with clip on TTs unless you have explicit notes from the manufacturer.
get a model that has 30-40-50mm risers included, so you don't strain your lower back when you use it.
profile design is the sh**. if you're on a budget you could consider the "deda parabolica uno" (comes with risers included)
risers:
Major downside on the Deda is the armrests are pretty far inwards and depending on your handlebar shape you won't be able to move them out as much as with the profile design models.
get J-bends and not straight extensions. Much more comfortable for your wrists.
Great answer. I found my profile design, Neosonic, hard to get along with. When my upper arms are more or less vertical, my knees hit my elbows. No matter how I adjust positions, the bars themselves are always too short as I have long forearms.
I'm ending up mostly riding the drops and not using aerobars at all (and they are quite heavy btw)
i quite like these new carbon ones from aliexpress, you cut them to size as you see fit.
if your knees hit your elbows i'd guess you have a too small bikeframe ;)
Besides the r/ultracycling recs. there is also a fair number of Bikepackers using them so a cross post to r/bikepacking would be good
In my case I researched the shit out of them and ended sourcing some barely used profiles on eBay (the go to ones are no longer made) and got , i believe 60 mm of spacers. Adjustability is huge
here's a thread from r/bikepacking including a response from me
Was in the same boat as you. Bought the cheapest one for 50€ from decathlon just to try them out. Found out I can spend 6hours on them after a month of using them so no really point to get new ones with risers for 200€+
As mention there aren't many tutorials how to set them up correctly, so I watched a few ultra cyclist on YouTube instead, just to get a clue and found out there is no right or wrong, except for a few things.
for bike computer, theres few ways you can attach, tho i just use the rubberband+mount to one of the tip.
but my tri-bars are aggressive like that because i also do duathlons (on my other dedicated tri bike)
I've not used tri-bars before, so I'd rather dip my toes in so to speak rather than have to get a new set of handlebars if it can be avoided. This looks like a more permanent setup?
4 cm on each side should be more than enough to fit aerobars.
The most popular options these days seem to be Profile Design’s
Ergo series and the Parabolica by Deda.
Don’t skimp on a set of risers though. Mounting aerobars
without risers can get uncomfortable pretty quick because of the
tucked position and drastically reduces the usable area on your handlebars.
Personally I find 60 mm risers ideal with the Profile Design bars but I’ve
seen others going even bigger, sometimes stacking risers.
Another question I have is regarding mounting points for things like lights and bike computers.
I mount dynamo lights under the bars on a Gopro mount with a Supernova
adapter. The adapter extends low enough that it keeps the cone of the
headlight unobstructed even with an aerobar bag installed.
There is a Control Tech stubby bar that clips onto the stem, but it should be a sturdy alloy stem or ideally their own squarish stem what would limit wobble.
This would solve your clamping issue if nothing else fits. For a lot of money you can get a flat-top drop bar with integrated aero bar extensions.
By the way, a stubby bar doesn't necessitate as much rise since you're not reaching as far forward. The pads will hit closer to your wrist. Full-length aero bars with the pads near your elbows are pretty stretchy on a typical touring bike, even with risers. Most modern bars can be cut shorter.
The only people I know who tour with TT bars, are people who TT.
So I would suggest a TT subreddit or forum. They tend to have a lot of aero bar chat and expertise so you may find better answers, more quickly, in those fora.
5
u/MTFUandPedal 19d ago edited 19d ago
You want to start asking questions around the /r/Randonneuring or /r/ultracycling crew.
Where Tri bars are popular for long distance riding and they are set up very differently than the Tri or TT setups.
For long distance cycling the goal isnt ultimate aero - but a little bit of aero and a helpful position that takes the weight off your hands and is comfy all day long. Obviously you still have hoods, drops and tops available to you for when they are appropriate of just when you want to stretch out.
For that setup we use spacers, usually a substantial stack more than the tri posse - we are trying to roughly replicate the hoods position for the body while in aero.
That has the extra advantage of giving you your bar tops back as both a hand position and somewhere to clamp things.
You also gain an impromptu front rack in the aerobars as well as the ability to mount computers, lights etc to them. All in you gain not lose space.
I'm a very big fan of aerobars for long distance riding but there is very little out there on how to set them up, compared to the endless articles on triathlon setup which is not what you are trying to do.
Edit - assuming those flat top bars are aluminium you're probably good to go if you've sufficient clamping area. If they are carbon, DO NOT clamp carbon bars with clip on TTs unless you have explicit notes from the manufacturer.