Very trying tri-bars - can't seem to mount them...
barrybridges
Posts: 420
I am trying (no pun intended) to fit a set of tri-bars to my road bike. Everything is perfectly standard.
The tri-bars are some fairly basic ritchey bars with separate left/right extensions (e.g. 2 separate pieces, not a 1-piece unit).
The bars on which I'm trying to mount them are a basic Ritchey alloy bar, standard, a bit like this:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/rit ... s-ec050387
The handlebar came as standard on the bike which is a few year's old now, so I couldn't tell you the exact spec.
The problem I'm got is that the handlebars are wider where the stem clamps onto them, but they gradually taper in thickness towards the bar tape.
I've tried every possible tactic I can to mount the bars, but as soon as you put any weight on them they slip and come loose, even when tightened as tight as they can be.
The bars came with a shim which I've tried using, which doesn't work.
I've tried inserting cork tape between each of the clamps, which doesn't work.
I tried double-layer cork tape + the shim, and that doesn't work.
If I mount them closer to the stem it just slips away from the stem as the outside of the clamp is looser than the inside.
I can't mount them too close to where the bar tape is, as the gear/brake cables found the mount (but this isn't the issue anyway).
I just can't seem to clamp these bars tight enough to get them to grip.
Does anyone have any ideas? My bars aren't unusual bars - and both the handlebars and tri-bars are manufactured by Ritchey, so you would have thought they should be perfectly fine together, but I'm really struggling here and I don't think I'm being an idiot. Is there anything I can put between the mounts to tighten it up? Bit of fabric? Anything?
The tri-bars are some fairly basic ritchey bars with separate left/right extensions (e.g. 2 separate pieces, not a 1-piece unit).
The bars on which I'm trying to mount them are a basic Ritchey alloy bar, standard, a bit like this:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/rit ... s-ec050387
The handlebar came as standard on the bike which is a few year's old now, so I couldn't tell you the exact spec.
The problem I'm got is that the handlebars are wider where the stem clamps onto them, but they gradually taper in thickness towards the bar tape.
I've tried every possible tactic I can to mount the bars, but as soon as you put any weight on them they slip and come loose, even when tightened as tight as they can be.
The bars came with a shim which I've tried using, which doesn't work.
I've tried inserting cork tape between each of the clamps, which doesn't work.
I tried double-layer cork tape + the shim, and that doesn't work.
If I mount them closer to the stem it just slips away from the stem as the outside of the clamp is looser than the inside.
I can't mount them too close to where the bar tape is, as the gear/brake cables found the mount (but this isn't the issue anyway).
I just can't seem to clamp these bars tight enough to get them to grip.
Does anyone have any ideas? My bars aren't unusual bars - and both the handlebars and tri-bars are manufactured by Ritchey, so you would have thought they should be perfectly fine together, but I'm really struggling here and I don't think I'm being an idiot. Is there anything I can put between the mounts to tighten it up? Bit of fabric? Anything?
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Comments
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You have to mount them on a straight section of the bars - sounds like yours have a wider section for the stem only. I don't think there's a (safe) hack for that problem - you'll need to measure the diameter of the bars where they're flat, and buy new tri bars, or alternatively, get a new base bar with a constant diameter to match the tri bars. Probably not much difference cost-wise in all honesty, but I suspect new tri bar extensions a little easier to fit.Cannondale Synapse 105, Giant Defy 3, Giant Omnium, Giant Trance X2, EMC R1.0, Ridgeback Platinum, On One Il Pompino...0
