Psimet2001 

Yes they are coming back into style. *looks for vomit emoji and is disappointed*

WhyFi

You're underestimating vanity. I think that I'm a pretty practical guy, but I'll make concessions for a bit of bling, now and then, particularly on my flagship bike. If I'm reasonably confident that my fit needs would be met for the near term, let's say 3+ years, I'd be willing to pay for something that ostensibly improves aero efficiency but effectively just looks badass.

Again, I'm not arguing that this is going to become ubiquitous, but I do think that modular integrated cockpits will become more common on enthusiast level bikes.

Psimet2001 

Yeah whole industry is leaving brake boosters behind. My co worker's husband owns a metal stamping company that mainly supplies brake parts to the auto industry and has been working overtime to re tool and perfect new contract processes on the electronic system components. Everytime he talks about it I can't help but think of this....

seypat

They do, but not all of the emergency brake levers have mechanical linkage systems now. Electronic emergency brakes have been around for a decade or two. Same for gas pedals, transmissions, etc. The linkages are not mechanical wires/cables anymore.(in a big part of the industry)

WhyFi

The really narrow set-ups do look gross, particularly with the flared drops and levers angled. Horrendous.

Psimet2001 

Bike I built last year I ended up having to narrow down to 42 form 44. I haven't gotten smaller so I am not sure why other than maybe something has changed as I have gotten older. That said we have always run narrower bars at the track. The pro ranks are pushing ridiculously narrow bars and the elimination of the IAB position by the UCI will simply lead to more of these flexible and death wish prone 20 something racers wanting to push the narrow bar look.

Think of them as the handlebar bags of the pro peloton.

WhyFi

Cool, but I stand by the part that the form factor and logistics that allow it in vehicles isn't going to fly on performance-oriented and fully self-propelled bikes.

mstateglfr 

Yeah, part of my response was based on what I hope to see vs what most likely will happen.
To be clear, I think the look of integrated cockpits is great. They are slick as hell for sure. If someone knows what they need for fit, then cool get em- more money is spent on worse things all the time. I dont like the idea that someone buys a bike and needs to then buy a new bar/stem combo for a good bit of $ in order to have the bike fit. Compare that to typically just a stem swap is needed with separate components.

If I were building up a road bike frame that was worthy of an integrated cockpit, I could see considering one since I would know what I want for fit(most likely, there is always a wild card) since they look neat. Its just annoying that some are forced to accept what is on the current bike and then buy another. Really, I continue to think of Canyon with this annoyance, but thats consumer direct and maybe 'the price you pay' for going direct.

seypat

The people at Simplex must have watched the movie and took his advice. Big mistake.

Edit: The first Simplex Delrin derailleur came out in 1962 before the movie. They made their decision on their own.

sloppy12

I dont think in the history of engineers have they ever been to concerned with the dude fixing the junk or building the junk.

Branko D

I love the idea, but only if I can specify the length / width of it when ordering the bike, rather than having to order and pay for those 36cm bars, having to install them and painstakingly angle the shifters inward.

It’s probably going to happen at the higher end of road bike spectrum because it just looks awesome.

Rocket-Sauce 

https://www.speeco.tech/

colnago62

I have noticed a lot of track guys going to narrow (36-38) bars. I ride 44 on the road and 38 on the track. I am 6’1”. I am not sure I would ride less than maybe 42 on the road because I am not willing to give up the leverage a wider bar provides in certain situations, out of the saddle climbing for example.

Psimet2001 

track has always been narrow. Like the old 3T scatto was only available in like a 36 and a 38 width IIRC.

colnago62

The track has always been more narrow than the road, but over the past 10 or so years, riders have even gone more so. I saw a Dutch sprinter riding Hellyer bars that looked like 33’s.

ericcox

My 2021 Prince takes an interesting approach in that the Di2 wires and brake hoses are completely hidden; they run through the stem / headtube. The handlebar, however, is swappable (as is the stem). The handlebar clamp is standard, and I can even use my regular out front Garmin mount. So hidden wires / hoses but easier adjustability than a purely integrated set up.

Psimet2001 

Yeah that's a good point - I don't really like the bar angle that most others do. Can't change that with integrated.

Really I have always seen these as the same as a seat mast. A nice feature on a high end bike but not really feasible for fitting the masses.

WhyFi

I 100% feel that any bike that comes with a one-piece bar/stem needs to have a free swap to a unit with the width/reach of the customer's choice (within reason) - I think that it just makes too much sense from a customer service standpoint. Not only would that head off any resentment at the feeling of being nickel-and-dimed (not a phrase that seems appropriate at these prices, but you get the gist), but that would also be a little more proactive in ensuring that your highest-paying customers are fit to the bike at least well enough that (hopefully) they wouldn't have glaring issues causing immediate ill will because of the experience. Besides, having worked in sales, I know that it can be very lucrative to follow up with customers post-purchase; show some genuine concern that they're getting along well with their stuff and then see if they need anything else - they frequently do.

burnthesheep

Can't remember where I saw it, but they already thought up the variable width handlebar and length stem issue with integrated cockpits for road bikes. Ahh, the Canyon Aeroad. Not stem length, but IMHO that's a thing you should get a bike fit first. Then order the bike per your fit coordinates. Not the other way around, buying bikes then buying more junk to adjust the fit.

With TT bikes integrated cockpits already adjust up, down, pad width, pad tilt.

It will just take a while for the tech to trickle down cost wise.

Again though, the process is:
-get bike fit
-take coordinates to order a bike to those fit coordinates
-ride bike

The process is NOT:
-buy bike
-ride bike
-hate bike
-buy new random stem or bars for bike
-ride bike
-hate bike
-finally get a fit
-buy right stuff
-ride

WhyFi

The (what I would call) modular integrated cockpit on the current Madone SLRs has that freedom - you can change out the bars, rotate the bars (within reason), and go to different stem lengths. I would assume that it's still just as much of a pain in the ass to install (if not more so) as the one piece jobbers, but at least you've got some flexibility.

Psimet2001 

Ah...yes. Haven't run into them yet. Nice idea....a modular bar and stem setup. I wish someone would have thought of that before.

WhyFi

Hey! Stop being deliberately obtuse! When it comes to completely internal routing, it's pretty sweet and should have been done sooner (though I'd be just as happy with external routing that's nicely tucked).

HTupolev

And fore aft. Even though people sometimes get fitted before buying TT bikes, they generally still buy bikes where you can make X adjustments to the main contact points without replacing the entire cockpit.

These adjustments are made possible because the pads and extensions generally are generally mounted through a second mechanism, which isn't a feature of drop-bar road bikes.

seypat

Whew, that setup is bulky looking! But, the paint is sweet enough so it's not really noticeable.

Psimet2001 

It begs the question... why not just stick with what we have