Clip-on tri bars

topcattim
topcattim Posts: 766
edited March 2013 in Road buying advice
I did my first TT yesterday and enjoyed and survived it. I was one of 2 in a field of 45 who were using road bikes - the rest had tri bikes. There was a photographer there, and when I looked at my body position on the drops compared with everybody else on their aero bars, it is striking how much more upright I was.
I'm not about to go out and buy a TT bike, but wonder about getting a set of clip-ons. Before I do this, I wonder if you guys could offer me some advice.

I've taught myself to ride in the drops, but it was quite a lesson to learn. Will I find it really hard to ride on tri-bar clip-ons?

Will it really make that much difference to me? I went round yesterday in 28 07 but got the pacing all wrong due to my speedo not working so I didn't know how far I'd ridden - I ended up with lots left in the tank at the end. Will tri-bars make a big improvement to my time?

And if so, any recommendations? I really don't want to spend too much though - most of my riding to date has been sportive and similar.

Comments

  • blackhands
    blackhands Posts: 950
    edited March 2013
    When I used tribars when they first came out I went just over a minute faster. Position is all important which is why must top timetriallists go to the wind tunnel. You can get reasonable tribars for under £40 - you don't need to spend a fortune especially as you will be using them on a road bike- just make sure they will fit on your handlebars.

    By mid summer you should be down to 25+ mins.
  • markos1963
    markos1963 Posts: 3,724
    Tri bars will only be of benefit if you can lower your stem enough to make up for your elbows being above the bar. You will get a little gain because of the narrower profile. Also you might need to raise the saddle and slide it forward on the rails. This will get your back a bit flatter and open out your hip angle.
  • topcattim
    topcattim Posts: 766
    blackhands wrote:
    When I used tribars when they first came out I went just over a minute faster.

    By mid summer you should be down to 25+ mins.
    Excellent, thanks Blackhands, that sounds very positive.
    markos1963 wrote:
    Tri bars will only be of benefit if you can lower your stem enough to make up for your elbows being above the bar. You will get a little gain because of the narrower profile. Also you might need to raise the saddle and slide it forward on the rails. This will get your back a bit flatter and open out your hip angle.
    Really helpful advice markos. I've got a couple of spacers beneath the bars so I could have a look at taking one or both out to get that lower position along with following your saddle advice. Thanks.
  • pkripper
    pkripper Posts: 652
    Get some profile t2s in carbon. They're nice and comfy
  • nferrar
    nferrar Posts: 2,511
    Back when I used to TT I had a lo-pro bike for 10's but just used my road bike with clip-ons for 25's and 50's. I'm not sure if it was much more efficient aero-wise but it certainly felt a lot better. Make sure you get the type where the extensions clamp below your handlebars so they're as low as possible. Might even be worth looking at an adjustable stem but the Look one I used to use was pretty flexy so a compromise when in normal road bike mode.
  • markos1963
    markos1963 Posts: 3,724
    I forgot to mention that if you want to bother with swapping over BBB do a nice cheap adjustable stem that can help get your bars a lot lower. I still use one on my TT bike so I can fine tune the position for longer events when I want a more comfortable position.
  • mitchgixer6
    mitchgixer6 Posts: 729
    I'd recommend the Deda Parabolica clip ons. They are as light as most of the expensive carbon bars, and you have 3 options for extension shape. I put some bar tape on the end just for some added comfort.

    It is well documented that tri bars and an aero helmet are the cheapest aero upgrades you can buy that will give you the biggest returns. You'll be amazed how much faster you will go just with the tri bars.

    Good luck!
  • topcattim
    topcattim Posts: 766
    pkripper wrote:
    Get some profile t2s in carbon. They're nice and comfy
    I'd recommend the Deda Parabolica clip ons. Good luck!
    Thanks for these recommendations, but they are a bit beyond my budget as an only-just-getting-into-time-trials newbie. I've found these Vision bars massively reduced, which might be good value.

    My question now is that I notice that the Visions don't have any padding on the rests, unlike another cheap entry such as these Token bars. Bearing in mind that I've not used tribars before, would I need padding, or will I be just fine without?
  • markos1963
    markos1963 Posts: 3,724
    I have no experience of the Vision bars but I started out in TTing with the Token ones. They were great for the money and I found the arm rest/pads so comfortable I have transferred them to my current TT rig as the pads on the Profile T2 were too flat for me.
  • topcattim
    topcattim Posts: 766
    markos1963 wrote:
    I have no experience of the Vision bars but I started out in TTing with the Token ones. They were great for the money and I found the arm rest/pads so comfortable I have transferred them to my current TT rig as the pads on the Profile T2 were too flat for me.
    thanks markos, that sounds like a vote in favour of the Token for me.
  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    +1 for deda bars or something similar

    Have a look in the classifieds, you quite often get some bargains there.

    I'd recommend going for a few solo rides to get used the them, handling is awful.
  • The only thing I would say is to also think about what style of bend on the extensions best suits you. I have used J bend before and liked them but now have some Deda s bend extensions on my clip-ons which are not anywhere near as comfortable IMO. The ones I have are the duo bars (as in two bends per bar).
  • mitchgixer6
    mitchgixer6 Posts: 729
    Just watch out, those vision ones are for 26mm bars so won't fit the modern oversize (31.8mm) bars.
  • topcattim
    topcattim Posts: 766
    Just watch out, those vision ones are for 26mm bars so won't fit the modern oversize (31.8mm) bars.
    Nice one Mitch, might have missed that one.
  • topcattim
    topcattim Posts: 766
    Just one more request for help/advice (I think :wink: )
    Is there likely to be an issue clamping the clip ons onto my existing carbon bars - can it get tight enough without damaging the carbon bars?
  • topcattim
    topcattim Posts: 766
    topcattim wrote:
    Just one more request for help/advice (I think :wink: )
    Is there likely to be an issue clamping the clip ons onto my existing carbon bars - can it get tight enough without damaging the carbon bars?
    Just wondering if anyone could advise about whether its ok to clip on to existing carbon handlebars. Can you get the clip one tight enough without damaging the carbon bars? Thanks.
  • mitchgixer6
    mitchgixer6 Posts: 729
    I have a friend who clipped his onto a set of 3t team carbon bars and were okay. I know some manufacturers warn against clip ons on specific bars, so probably check with the manufacturer first.