Cleave

Hi,

I'm in the market for some new aerobars for my TT bike. I currently have a Vision aluminum base bar with Hed clip-ons (also aluminum). I've got them to where they fit OK, but not really good. I will be doing some TTs on the track (2K) and I want to move the current setup to my track bike.

It looks like the Hed Aerobar is quite adjustable and reasonably light and not incredibly expensive (just expensive ).

Anyone have any personal experience with these bars? Pros? Cons?

TIA.

king-tony

They are pretty light, aero and very stiff. Accept tons of clip-on options so you can mount your extensions above or below the bar. The cable routing is clean and unlike many bars the brake extensions are not angled which makes much more sense to me from an aerodynamic perspective. I would like for the brake mounts to be an inch or two shorter, but that is me being really picky. Excellent bars and they look sweet to boot.

cslone

Which ones? There is the Vantage 8 which is very adjustable. The classic HED bar isn't that adjustable but is still very nice. I haven't seen the Blackdog in person but it's getting good reviews.

Cleave

Hi,

On their web site it's called the Hed Aerobar. It's the model under both Black Dog models with the integrated brake levers. It is supposed to weigh 700 grams.

king-tony

The Vantage 8 and Black Dog are both much more adjustable than that one.

cslone

Okay, just making sure. As I said above, the adjustability is limited compared to other bars of similar price. The extensions cannot be rotated up ala Levi, which some have found to work better for them. The pads are right on the basebar, so some have found they need a higher stem to get the same position as their older setup. You can cut the extenstions down to size, but once they're cut, that's it. If you want to go longer, there's not a lot of extension to play with which means ordering new extensions at $80-100. The width adjustment is okay, maybe an inch either way.

Overall, I really liked them. I got bored and bought the Ritchey Hammerheads, which I like, but wish I had my HED's back.

Cleave

Hi,

Thanks for the replies and advice. Maybe I'll go with the Vantage Eight instead. I was hoping to go cheaper but with my club discount the price difference is only about $40. I guess I can get the adapters so that I can use my Vision brake levers with those bars.

Decisions, decisions.

king-tony

I had a set of vision levers but never installed them. Are you sure you would need an adapter? I was going to use them on my V8, but ended up going with SRAM levers.

Cleave

I'm pretty sure. The Vision (FSA) web site notes that the levers are designed for 22 mm diameter bars and apparently most bars are 24 mm.