Hi, I am interested in getting an alt handlebar that could be useful in bikepacking and double down as an aero attachment when just training with my bike on tarmac or easy gravel with the bike stripped down and near home.
I am aware of this wonderful article that lists lots of alt handlebar and I was wondering what are you experiences with them and which one you would suggest for my use case.
I am very fascinated by the Wren Perseverance bar:
but it's a heavy one at 750 grams. And I've read it is best used with arm rests which would add another 200g minimum.
I also find interesting the Sonder Confucios concept but I prefer the Farr Alloy Aero since the loop has a little interesting sweep:
I also find Farr bolt ons interesting and I am wondering what's the reason behind their existence since their looped bars (flat and drop) are cheaper.
As previously stated I am skeptical about arms rests since they add a lot of weight. What do you think about that? Is it possible to use an aero attachment without rests?
Thank you in advance!
by NorthmanTheDoorman
1 Comment
Why not slap some aerobars on your current flat bars, like a lot of setups I’ve read about the Great Divide ?
I have the Profile Design aerobars on my gravel bike, and their advantage is the bars height, fore-and width are adjustable, and also the arm rests can be set up in different ways. It let me set them up very high so I can rest on them.
The main advantage of the aerobars (or the loops) and the arms rests are they let you get more aerodynamic; and because air resistance becomes the main opposing factor when riding faster than 15mm/h, adding weight isn’t an issue by itself. Plus, I’d be more worried about adding more kilos on the front in a handlebar bag than several grams through a decide that might help you go faster or further…
It won’t be the lightest setup, but if you already enjoy some swept bars, you could keep them. I set them on my Soma Dreamriser for fun and fake internet points some times ago.