Advantages of an intergrated TT cockpit.

dru

Hi people,

So having dusted off the TT bike since the end of last season I started last Friday with my first ever TT (loved every minute of it) however I 've got a question regarding the advantages or differences with peoples Tri cockpits.

I currently have a set of Profile T2+ clip on bars on an old style Profile bull horn airwing base bar, with a bog standard 2 bolt stem on my tri-bike.

I see that there are intergrated extensions and base bars available, as well as ones which also have the stems intergrated.

Can I ask what the advantages of these are over my existing setup?

It is a weight thing, or a 'stiffness' thing, or a 'more aero thing' or a 'bling thing' or an all of the above thing?

Also I see intergrated setup that come with their own brake levers installed - are these again a stiffness/weight/aero thing - what are the pros and cons of these?

Any opinions or facts of the subject would be good to hear?

As you can probably guess, I'm looking at things that can be purchased that will make a performance difference, whilst also helping me keep my current dialled in position (which by the way needs to cvhange slightly as over the winter I've gained more flexability and lost some of the gut )

Cheers,

Dru

danowat

Dru wrote:

It is a weight thing, or a 'stiffness' thing, or a 'more aero thing' or a 'bling thing' or an all of the above thing?

Also I see intergrated setup that come with their own brake levers installed - are these again a stiffness/weight/aero thing - what are the pros and cons of these?

A combination of all the above, but to be fair, the advantages are very minimal at best, I know many people who do EXTREMELY good times on very average kit.

I'd say handlebars (assuming your current setup can get you in a decent aero position) are way down the list on "required" upgrades.

What time did you do in your TT?

dru

it definately is a 'its a cobbled together' Tri bike thing at the moment - so looking at some retail theropy purely from a cosmetic point of view, however, if I am going to spend some money, it would be good to understand the logic behind it - or whether the individual or intergrated decision should factor in there somewhere.

Regarding the TT, I did a 27.30, which is not too bad. Apparently it's one of the slower routes in south wales.

For comparision purposes, I did do this route a year ago on my road bike and managed a 34 min something.

It's the clubs local route and the plans are to run it all summer (if there is enough interest) so hopefully will see improvements as the summer progresses.

danowat

Decent time for a first TT, nice one.

As for the bars, sounds like a similar setup to mine, and many other peoples setups, personally, I'd spend money elsewhere to start with, but thats just me!

Monty Dog

Get your position dialled-in first before investing in any fancy kit - if you lack the flexibility, there's no point in buying some USE Tulas if you need 5cm of spacers.

dru

Monty Dog wrote:

Get your position dialled-in first before investing in any fancy kit - if you lack the flexibility, there's no point in buying some USE Tulas if you need 5cm of spacers.

I had a retul fit done in September. I did a few Triathlons at the end of the season, including olympic ones (25miles) and could stay on the bars fine.

My issue is that over the winter my flexability has improved and also with the smaller lump of my belly the ride on Friday night felt that I was 'going over' the front of the bars, ie I had to hunch myself back to get the position right.

The only change made to the bike has been putting on an adamo saddle, but from what I can make out my arse and contact point is the same as where it was position wise on the fizik it replaced.

I'm now wondering whether my increased flexibility (and where it seems my body is naturally wanting t ogo) whether I should be looking to slide the bars forwards by a centimetre or whether to go for a longer stem?

nmcgann

I just couldn't get on with standard clip-ons (I had t2+ on a profile base bar), I kept yanking them out of alignment all the time.

I switched to an oval integrated bar (A701) and they don't shift provided the stem has a good clamp.

a_n_t

Mine make the front end look like a tie-fighter and thats good enough for me!

dru

nmcgann wrote:

I just couldn't get on with standard clip-ons (I had t2+ on a profile base bar), I kept yanking them out of alignment all the time.

I switched to an oval integrated bar (A701) and they don't shift provided the stem has a good clamp.

Thanks for the input, this is the kind of thing I'm thinking/talking about.

All the way around my left shifter was raising slightly, also the left pad was slowly creaking its way down. At the start the pad was horizontal, by the end it was sloping badly.

I'm wondering if an intergrated setup would offset this problem...

dru

a_n_t wrote:

Mine make the front end look like a tie-fighter and thats good enough for me!

If asked, I'd easily turn to the 'dark side of the force' if it meant riding that sort of setup - looks the business!

Monty Dog

The comments on Profile bars are a reflection of their cr@ppy quality, not clip ons per se. Any adjustment should be in terms of improving your position - elbows in front of knees and bent about 100 degrees, forearms flat etc is what you're aiming for. I would try an adjustable stem first such that you can experiment with bar position and adjust for your reducing 'girth'

nmcgann

Dru wrote:

nmcgann wrote:

I just couldn't get on with standard clip-ons (I had t2+ on a profile base bar), I kept yanking them out of alignment all the time.

I switched to an oval integrated bar (A701) and they don't shift provided the stem has a good clamp.

Thanks for the input, this is the kind of thing I'm thinking/talking about.

All the way around my left shifter was raising slightly, also the left pad was slowly creaking its way down. At the start the pad was horizontal, by the end it was sloping badly.

I'm wondering if an intergrated setup would offset this problem...

That's the kind of thing that happened to me too and I could never fix it. I need long extensions to get a comfortable position so there is a lot of leverage on the clamps. It's not a problem with an integrated setup, they stay put.

Price is an issue though - there aren't many cost-effective integrated setups. There's a lot of unneccessary carbon at comically high costs :roll:

Anonymous

When your cheap(er) alloy bars are set perfectly, take them to a welders and get them fixed in place...

danowat

I am suprisd that people are moving their clip-ons, how hard are you pulling on them?!!!

Anonymous

Tbh, I had a problem with profile clip ons too, no matter how hard they were tightened!

I now have a proper profile TT set up that cane with my TT bike and it's fine :?

dru

danowat wrote:

I am suprisd that people are moving their clip-ons, how hard are you pulling on them?!!!

I have the shims in as I have an older standard diameter base bar - is this possibly a factor? I.e. the shims doen't allow for a proper bite of the base to the extension and as such allows a bit of movement?

(I wish the answer was that I was just that strong 8) )