werner

Hi guys,

Recently bought a Domane SL6. And have bike lust :-) . Doing over 150 miles a week, waking up at 5am to cycle, shaving leg hair... it's nuts. Fantastic bike!

Anyway, am starting to think about upgrades and an integrated cockpit would look very cool. More aero too, but cool.

Would you know of brands that make aero cockpits that would fit the Domane? (other than Bontrager)

Cheers!

Werner

Dean V

Integrated cockpit? You mean a one piece bar and stem or just aero bars?

werner

One piece bar and stem, hopefully aero too, since I'm changing the default parts :-) .

Dean V

The previous model Giant Propel SL had quite a nice integrated aero bar. 1.25" steerer but they make a sleeve down to 1.125".

WhyFi

Why not Bontrager? I wouldn't put Bontrager bits on any other brand of bike, but that's simply because of association - they have some really nice stuff and putting it on a Trek makes perfect sense. Their best stuff can be really expensive, but you can often find it on sale.

bbattle

All of the integrated stem/handlebar cockpits would fit the Domane but why not get separate stem and handlebars?

Bontrager has good stuff; don't dismiss it as being Trek's house brand. Besides, you'll have it all covered with bartape and a cyclocomputer/Garmin/etc. anyways.

Which begs the question, why upgrade the handlebars at all? Wheel upgrades are so much sexier.

GlennR

The problem with an integrated bar/stem is you can't change the angle of the bars.

Yes they look kewl, but I don't think you'll really notice the "aero" improvement The Domane is not a aero bike so bars would be minimal. Also if you ride at all with your hands on the "tops" it's not as comfortable as round bars.

The SL6 comes with aluminum stem and bars, switching to carbon will be more comfortable and save some weight.

$600 ain't cheap.

cruiserhead

Syncros RR 1.0
Bontrager XXX
PRO Stealth Evo
FSA Vision Meteron
Black Inc Carbon

all good one piece and it's really preference and drop/reach to match your position

colnago62

Psimet2001 

There's a reason that the vast majority of stems and bars are not integrated. Kind of like why we still make all sorts of saddle shapes and sizes. Humans are not robots.

werner

burnthesheep

My biggest gripe with stuff that's not 2019 model year brand new on the $7000+ bikes is the fact that you still get some somewhat ugly cable management even with integrated bars.

I really want the 2019 headsets and stems that route the cables around the stem with a little cover over the stem and steerer area to get the cables cleanly back.

I'm not seeing much beyond Kickstarter stuff right now, or brand new items only compatible with a 2019 frame.

Psimet2001 

That's the stuff that Trek did on the Madone a few years back. I really don't have anything nice to say about that integration.

I will tell the story again - racers on my team was told that neutral race support wouldn't fix his shifting issue before the race. The problem the racer described was pretty standard Shimano issue that implied the cable head way fraying and about to break. Neutral response was, "I'm not performing open heart surgery on this thing. You might be able to make it through the race without it breaking". Racer asked me to fix it for him. I did. Took myself and a helper almost an hour and forty five minutes to simply change a simple derailleur inner cable.

Because of the routing through the bars and through the stem and headset the entire bike was touched and worked on.

Externally routed cables of the original Shimano STI era - could swap an inner in 3 minutes or less if needed.

So once again we (race mechanics) are faced with a product that was over engineered without any care given to actual working and maintenance ("well we really designed it to be used with electronic systems"). It was marketed as a "race" bike - "The removal of the external cable routing is more aerodynamic. We will do this on our top bikes because it's the best". Top racers internationally are riding them because they were given them. It works for them because the team of mechanics work on them and maintain them constantly and when the crap hits the fan they have a backup bike on the rack for the rider. They can perform the open heart surgery later.

So it took well performing bikes and made them a liability for the vast majority of people who actually use them and sometimes race on them. If you do all of your own work and you honestly just like the way it all looks then - by all means subject yourself to that torture. If you never do your own work then be prepared for a shop that isn't very versed in that stuff to look at you and say, "Yeah I don't work on those - take it to the dealer". Be prepared for the dealer to say, "ahh...yeah we'll put it into the queue. We'll call you when it's done. Maybe this week - maybe next." Be prepared for Neutral Race Support to say, "Yeah it's going to break on you but maybe you'll make it through the race. Who knows but i am not working on that before your race at all. Good luck."

For the tiny perceived "benefit" it just doesn't seem to make sense in the real word where things have to be worked on.

Kind of like seat masts.

bbattle

Very nice post, psimet.

How do you feel about low spoke count wheels?

colnago62

Psimet2001 

No one really rides those anymore so it's like asking about 26" mtb wheels.

Zaskar

I actually think the flat top bars are more comfortable - not less. I put a Syncros (Scott) RR1.0 on my Foil. It was a bit of a gamble - mount it up, see how if feels... keep or sell. Fortunately, it felt like a custom fit.

Hywel

I Love this, and thanks for sharing your photo, also looking to put flat integrated handlebars on my Trek Domane. have you got any more photos please? thank you

bmcer

My experience with "integrated" cockpits from Canyon is that it's a great way to paint yourself into a configuration corner that'll cost you $$$$$ to get out of. For example, let's say after some time using your spiffy new bar/stem combo, you decide you need a longer or shorter stem. You'll have no choice but to replace the whole package, bars and all. Same applies if you damage the bars. As far as the aero benefits, methinks they are vanishingly small for the vast majority of riders.

That said, if you've got the resources to indulge a taste for aesthetics, go for it.

PoorInRichfield

My slightly used 2020 Domane SL7 came with Bontrager XXX aero bars and while not full integration, I like it that the cables are internally routed and pop-out enough to get around the stem where they go back into the frame. Not super clean but much cleaner than any other bike I've had and still pretty easy to work on. I also like the flat tops of the bars as I sometimes ride in a fake time-trial position with my elbows on the tops.

Aside from the crazy-high price, one thing that's kept me from the Bontrager Aeolus RSL integrated bars is that they only come with a VR-C bend and I like the VR-CF bend (F = flare). And $650. Ouch.

WhyFi

^^^ Why don't you use the dual Blendr mount so that you can get the Garmin out front with the light tucked under? It would look much cleaner, IMO.

PoorInRichfield

I originally had the dual-blender setup but did think it looked cleaner with the light and computer jutting-out in front of the stem The computer seems so cozy sitting on the stem, not to mention the stem mount is a super-solid connection so I don't have to worry about launching my Garmin when riding rough terrain. So basically, personal preference.

I think even the single blender mount for the light looks clunky and over-kill just for that tiny light but I haven't figured-out anything "cleaner".