Divebrian

Not trying to be a jerk, but this is a very specific question and looking for relevant answers that meet the criteria.

What aerobars are currently available that are suitable for a powerful rider that will be competing at national or world level events? The bars will be used for 500m or kilo's, not pursuits, so they need to be strong and designed for standing starts. They also need to be available for the general public to purchase and have possession of within a reasonable amount of time (3-5 weeks). Not looking for used bars or ones that are out of production (nothing wrong with them, but for research and purchase reasons, they need to be readily available). I have scoured the net, watched all the world cup and olympic races that I could find, but most of the bars don't have any identification on them, making it hard to identify or research them.

I need a set of bars that have a drop from the elbow cups to the grips.....most I can find for purchase look more like flat bullhorns with elbow cups bolted on. Anyone have any information on bars that are available for purchase that have a drop to them that are strong enough and suitable for 500's? I can find lots of info on tri bars and ones that may be suitable for pursuit, but I'm very leary about them since most tri people or pursuits aren't doing hard, all out standing starts.

Any info on what is available, such as brand or model and where to purchase would be greatly appreciated.

zizou

3T Revo?

carleton

"Kilo" aerobars are hard to find.

When last I was in the market, 3T had the best modular system. But, I have no experience with their current offerings.

When in doubt, look at photos/videos from World Cups, Pan AMs, etc... from the last couple of years and see with those guys are riding. Many use off-the-rack aero bars.

The 3T Revo that Zizou mentions looks promising. The look sorta like Scattos with struts for arm pads. Not sure how stiff they are. Maybe go to a local shop that specializes in serving the triathlon crowd. A well-equipped high end shop should have some in stock. But, jeez, £490/$630USD (Team) or £650/$835USD (LTD) is nuts.

I'd put them on the list if there is room in your budget.

carleton

Also, if you want to have some bars ID'd, post pics and ask if anyone knows what they are. Maybe also post in the Bike Mechanics sub-forum as many of those folks work in shops and are familiar with a lot of gear by sight.

Divebrian

If I had pics, I would post them....I was watching videos, therefore no pics. The 3t Revos did/do look promising, but they are pricey and the web site says they have internal cabe routing, which makes me think they are geared towards the tri crowd and I question their standing start suitability. Only thing they refer to as a track product on their website are the sprint bars (which I have and love).

taras0000

You may want to cobble your own out of some suitable cow horns and extensions. Hell, even Scattos may be faster for you than aero bars.

Edit: Some suitable Nitto models are the RB 009 (75mm drop, 42cm wide), RB 019AA (60mm drop, 38cm wide), OR the B127 CrMo drop bar flipped upside down (I personally did this with my set up).

warx

Four out of eight of the mens kilo were on Pro Missile Evos. The rest looked like custom. While they all had about 8-12cm drop from pads to base bar grips some did it with flat base-bar and risers. I guess it all depends on their headtube and fit I suppose. Although Pervis had a flat base bar but a really slammed stem (45deg downwards).

I guess the pros (ehem) of this setup is the availability of different size bits for it. Although it would get very expensive. You can't buy it with the ski-bends - you have to buy the J setup and then the extra $220 extensions.

They are in stock in the U.S. & EU though so.

topflightpro

What about something like the Vision Tri Max Slope? It comes in carbon or alloy. It's TT specific, but it's a lot cheaper than the 3T or Pro options.

carleton

I like the backwards grip (like drop bars) of 3T Revo. Doing an aggressive standing start on forward-pointing grips is more difficult than rear-facing.

Some masters use standard drop bars or sprint drop bars with clip-on aero bars as their 500M setup. This is actually very comfy. I once put some clip-on aerobars on a pair of Easton EC90 drop bars and they felt great. Great for standing start and I had my arm rest for aero.

The idea is that:
- The Standing Start is like a Dead Lift.
- The Dead Lift is easiest/best when the hands are closer to the body. This is why many 500M/Kilo specialists lean forward, to get their body near the hands.

So, the Revo seems to address that.

3T seems to be one of the forward-thinking companies when it comes to handlebars/aerobars. Their system is (was) similar to Team GB's system. The Scatto was a game-changer. The Revo looks like it's a Scatto + Risers + Arm Pads.

Again, I'm not 100% endorsing the Revo as I've not tried it.

brawlo

3T, Vision, Deda and Pro (if you can still find them about) will all fit your requirements. I've seen the setups of some of the world's best masters and some are as simple as a flat bar and even one on an aluminium basebar with extensions. Sure, if you've got the money to spend, go with whatever floats your boat, but don't overthink it too much.

warx

I wonder how good these are. The ad lists some olympic / worlds track teams that have purchased them (and a silver medal won with them):

Carbon Aero Cycling Racing TT Stacked Bars - Inc. Additional Spacers and Bolts | eBay

carleton

This pencil was used by Jason Kenny as he won the Gold Medal in the Keirin at the 2016 Olympics.

$200 + shipping.


See how easy that is?


Further, the ad lists the rider as Malgorzata Wojtyra. She's a pursuit specialist, not a Kilo rider. The standing start for a pursuit uses a fraction of the force used for a Kilo. So, even if she did use these bars, that still doesn't mean that they are appropriate for Divebrian's application

warx

I understand that these are of unknown strength in Kilo usage but, except for the Pro Missile EVO, every other carbon bar mentioned here (Revo, Deda, Vision) in this thread is unknown also. Just throwing out another option of stack adjustable bars.

Divebrian

I went ahead and bit the bullet and ordered a set of the 3t Revo LTD bars. Yes, they were a little more expensive than the team bars, but they are made from HM carbon and in theory, should be stronger than the team bars and able to withstand more abuse, which I will give them. They won't be used just for race days, I will be using them a couple of times a week on my training bike....I did 5 standing starts yesterday to start my session off and 6 the day before and will be doing more in my weekend session. I also like the fact that they have the bracing between the stacks. They may be a little more expensive, but the peace of mind that I got a quality product from a well known and respected company was worth it to me. Thanks for all the responses, I'll let you know what I think of them when they arrive.

warx

There's a few "early" reviews on the Revos and people seem to like the design. I think they will have that advantage of getting more dead-lift-like at the start. Also a lot of reconfiguration options so very usable for 2/3km as well I bet. Looking forward to your report.

Coincidentally, I just won an auction for a set of Pro Missile EVOs so I'll also report back on these when I get them.

[I was just thinking; I used to be 6'0" 195lbs at the end of power-lifting high school/college (go Lufbra!). 30 years of cycling I'm now 5'11" 170lbs. In other words - I guess I'm not a "big" rider nor in danger of breaking any bike part these days ]

Baby Puke

The cheap way to go (always my method...) is a Nitto RB021 and cheapo alloy clip on bars with an upside-down hi-rise stem. This is basically the set up used until recently by all the top riders; Hoy, Tournament, Rousseau, etc. Many of the carbon aero bars out there are designed for tri-guys & gals and are pretty flexible. Or as Carleton said, just slap some clip-ons on top of your sprint bars. You do not have to spend $400-$900 (and up?) for a set of kilo bars, though of course if you want to, then enjoy.

warx

I've been practicing with my PRO Missile EVOs and got the 45deg ski-bends to replace the J bend extensions. I know these are tried and trusted bars but they certainly do flex more than I was expecting. I'd also add that during the start I tend to hold them a bit too far back where the actual bar is and barely get my index finger and thumb around the handle part.

The bars are great when it comes to the extensions though. So many positions and options (but costly...). Overall happy with them.

queerpunk

btw, hasn't been mentioned in this thread: HED Corsair.

Clythio

Tried a lot of "nice brand" bars. Bad geometry, flex, non-adjustable, etc.

At the end, the best I found is this -

Rigid, adjustable, good hand grip, etc. - training a lot of SS for months, not a single problem.

gycho77

I saw a lot of people using 3T Revo last Saturday in Velo Sports center for kilo training.