Diablito

Anyone have any experience with the Bontrager aero bars with flat top mounts. I felt them on a bike and was so impressed with the grip I searched around and found a shop in Middletown that has them, so I bought a Pair. Now to pray all my cables will be a perfect length so I can run them through the bars.

hueyhoolihan

no pic?

how do you expect those of use that don't have them to make unqualified, definitive and insightful comments on their reliability, looks, ergonomics, price and performance?

TrojanHorse

Well Bontrager only make one aerobar - it should be easy enough to find a pic of the precise aerobar he's talking about on account of the fact that there's only one.

hueyhoolihan

that's what i thought too.

Carbonfiberboy 

I suppose this is what comes of not bothering to try to help the OP and just talk instead. They make three: the Race Aero, the Race Lite Aero and the Race X Lite Aero, which are all different in shape and plan form. And don't look like anything special or different to me.

Or maybe he's talking about their Speed Concept mono bar that only mounts on their Speed Concept bull horns.

clydeosaur

I've got the carbon aero bars. The flat tops are great. Internal cable guides, round , shallow drops and fairly long reach. I've been on them for 2 seasons(?) an am very happy with them.

R1lee

Why not just get one from zipp, pro, enve or a dozen other companies that make aero bars?

Diablito

Thanks Clydeosaur, I put them on last night. I will post pics when I get home after I go for a ride. Should feel great on the palm of the hand since they are flat.

Diablito

Went for a ride and the bars feel great. Very comfortable on the wrists. The flat tops really feel nice. Here are a few pics to see the difference between the aero and standard bar.

TrojanHorse

Oh snap, you didn't know what he was talking about either!

Turns out he's not talking about aero bars at all!

I have a pair of zipp bars that have a flat profile like that and I generally like them. I doubt they make a lick of difference in how aero you are though. If they're comfy enough for you to ride on for 6-8 hours then you're in the clover - enjoy.

edfungus

Do you know how much they weigh? I was looking around and all I saw was 320g which seemed high... even if alloy?

jsk

Most of the carbon aero drop bars I've been looking into recently are around 250g for a size 44 (Zipp, 3T, etc). Didn't really look too closely at the Bontragers since nobody seems to sell them (or at least I didn't see them at the usual places).

Diablito

I have 44cm and they are 350 grams. I could justify spending $369 on the carbon version when everyone is telling me if my bike falls over it could ruin the carbon bars.

clydeosaur

I did not get them based on weight. I was looking for a long(er) reach, nice bend and flat tops for comfort in both the tops and drops. These fit the bill nicely. Not a fan boy, but I'm running Bontrager's affinity RXL saddle as well. Very comfortable cockpit compared to my Control Tech / Fizik that I was on.

txags92

I wanted to get them on my new Emonda SL, but the mechanic at the shop said that because of how the cables ran from the new Ultegra shifters, it would be difficult to set them up and route the cables in a way that wouldn't affect the shifting quality negatively. I decided that I would go with the regular bar spec'd with the bike instead and see how I liked it before trying anything different.

Jiggle

Protip: If you wrap the tops, they're no longer aero.

txags92

As somebody else said above, I wasn't interested in them for their aero properties, but instead because the broad flat top was very comfortable under my hands.

BoJaffa

Good for you with the new bars. Buy what you like and what works for you. That's why bars come in so many shapes and sizes.

e30jean

Is this true about not being able to run the cables properly with newer Ultegra shifters ??

PepeM

Same thing I was thinking. He seems more interested in comfort though.

mleach82

This bar came stock on my Madone 5.2 with Ultegra 6800 shifters and ive had zero issues.

e30jean

Awesome great to hear! I have 6800 set as well, and was concerned with what txags92 stated above in post #15

Bah Humbug

This is an aerobar:

clydeosaur

Running mine with 6700 shifters & durace cables. They work fine. I bought the bars due to comfort, not aero advantage.

Trakhak

Given how often you see riders in the pro peloton in the phantom aerobar position, it's surprising that it took so long for a manufacturer to come up with a bar that accommodates that postion.