tonski 

This was my experience last year with them. While I never had an issue with them, they weren't confidence inspiring when descending or sprinting - felt like I was jockeying Gumby. I'm back to aluminum and don't recommend the K-Wing either.

Campag4life

sbxx1985...question about cable routing please with late model Campy shifters?
Do you use internal bar routing for both the shifter and brake cables? It looks by the picture that you may have routed the shifter cables exiting the shifters out around the outside back of the bar??
Can you explain how your Campy shifter and brake cables are routed with your Kwing compact?
Thanks.

lechat

i have the K-force compacts, and yeah, when the drops are parallel to the ground the flat section is angled up. not a problem for me, as i rarely ride with my hands on top. the K-wings are very cool looking. but they come with a weight penalty, probably 40gms + over the K-force.

patentcad

I have three road bikes with the older style K wing carbons. Love 'em. But all those handlebars are now five years old. Time to eBay them off and replace them with K-wing compacts over the next year or so. You know, before I friggin snap them (I break everything from sheer wear and tear). I like the compact drop idea, the more I ride in my current drops the better I think I'd like the compact drop layout. Like the tops of those bars, that's the best part.

patentcad

Just so you know, my used bike schwag is not low mileage. That's why I never sell it to anyone here. I throw it to the eBay Scum. That's chumming for suckers.

Campag4life

You are gonna love the Kwing compact Pcad. I have the aluminum version of the Wing Compact and have never ridden a more ergonomically perfect bar 'for me'. What the compact allows...if you wish...is to lower the overall bar height slightly..which will drop your hood position down a bit and yet still above the deep drop position which is a full 20mm lower than a compact bar. This will make the tops more usable as well.

I am really looking to change for two reasons...I ride roads that go thru hard winters in the mid west and need the best vibration damping I can get for my aging hands and wrists...my frame only fits 23c's so not a whole lot of shock damping...and...my current Al FSA wing compact is just a bit too narrow. I am going to go with the 44cm K-wing compact which measures 42cm center to center across the hoods and 44mm center to center at the hooks. I believe I will enjoy a bit more room on the tops of the slightly wider bar. My current 42cm Al Wing compact measures 40 cm center to center along the hoods. I will appreciate the leverage for out of the saddle climbing as well.

Lastly, I am struck by how many feel these bars are VERY flexy while others find them stiff or stiff enough...quite a disparity in opinion. Of course many of us vary in strength and perhaps its the big muscled guys who feel the bar is flexy. Also, quite possibly FSA changed the lay up of the carbon on this bar over time as a running design change. Perhaps the combination of both. Personally I don't like brick stiff and so believe this bar will be perfect.
Cheers.
PS: searching around the web, the best price I have found for a new Kwing Compact is $199.xx + shipping at Pricepoint.com. Ebay doesn't seem to beat this price new...best is about $230-240 including shipping. Don't think there is a best price out there than Pricepoint. If any knows of one, please post.

2ndGen

I never rode in the drops before switching over to compacts unless I was hauling arse down a hill.
I had OEM CDales w/ergo bars which I liked, but really couldn't ride long.
My Trek had Bonty Race bars with a more classic curve.
They were generally comfortable, but again, not in the drops much.

When I put the compacts on (my K-Wings) and settled into the drops, it was instantly comfortable for me.
Not only that, they put me in a much better position and I could ride much longer in them and the offset angles is really good.

I can't say that they'll be comfortable for everyone, but they made it very easy
for me to ride in drops and once in them, my back feels great and well supported.

I find them stiff enough where they need to be and they give "just enough" to keep my ride from rattling my teeth.
It was like putting a Cadillac suspension on a Corvette without losing the ability to pull some mean G's without losing control.

Campag4life

Couldn't wait...so ordered the Kwing Compact from Pricepoint today...free shipping and the best price I could find.
Will likely be a month before I get to ride it with all the snow we have...got about 5 more inches last night.
But...spring will come eventually and will be sure to update this thread with my review.
Thanks for everybodies' input...really helped with my decision.

Painful Chafe

Has anyone noticed weightweenies has the weight of these bars at 290g +. That's a far cry from their calmed 240g.

Someone thinking of these bars to lighten their ride might want to look elsewhere.

Bob Dopolina 

I used the K-Wings in 2007 with Campagnolo cables.

The cables are a PITA to install. Read the destructions and follow them. It helps. I did notice that there was a decrease in shifting performance with the Campagnolo cables routed through the bars. I believe this was due to the much stiffer design of the Campagnolo cables and the sharp bends involved with the internal routine on the bars. I was using 10 spd Record. I can't speak to the effects on the newer 11spd housings.

Previous to this I used Deda Electra bars. I liked them much better. I am currently using the Kore carbon bars and also prefer those over the K-Wings.

In short I found the K-Wings heavy and the internal routing problematic.

As to the shape that is entirely a personal matter.

2ndGen

PP is good. Don't be surprised if you have it in a few days.
And, in 3 days, we reach the mid-way point of winter!
Let the countdown begin February 4th!

wfrogge

K-wing compact... Only for those with an AARP card

Campag4life

Thanks for your comments Bob. There seems to be a wide opinion on these bars. Part of the controversy is 'possibly' due to the fact the bars may be quite different today versus in 2007. 4 years is a lifetime when it comes to product development and changes to CF in particular.
Will see how the cables route. Dave has taught us that Campy shifts best with cables routed behind the bar. Will see how the bar routing works. The good news about all this stuff is nothing is set in stone. For products that don't work out, they are merely recycled on ebay. I have done this countless times and these bars maybe no exception. I do believe they will work well however based upon some positive reviews.
PS: the routing of the newer Campy shifters is very different as you know compared to pre-2009 Campy shifters. This may help internal cable routing as shown by sbxx's pics.

2ndGen

Inertianinja

I tried the bars without really thinking about the weight, but now i'm going to try and compensate for it with a lighter stem. I found a ControlTech Scandium stem at 90g (half my current one) for $40 on ebay, so that ought to lighten things up a bit.

2ndGen

Which size was that weight for? 40cm, 42cm or 44cm?

50 grams? That's about 7 sheets of notebook paper. I wouldn't stress it PC.

Inertianinja

a new revolution. The compact handlebaaaaaaaaaaa
why compact handlebaaaaaaaa?
Because reduced drohhh

2ndGen

My aluminum bar was lighter.
It was also more uncomfortable and buzzed my hands too much.
There are some areas where a little more weight is actually a good thing
(especially when that weight can deaden the road a bit).

Mansram01

I'm very happy with my FSA K-Wing Compacts. I'm very comfortable with my 42mm handlebars and it dampens vibration pretty well. Then again I also ride a CF saddle (not pictured here) and I'm not a much of a whiner...

max power

are those both compact drops? is it just me or is one a lot less compact than the other?

patentcad

That's fair. It does impinge the shifting performance of D.A. as well, but you can get it to work with the Dura Ace cable housing. The 7900 stuff wouldn't shift a damn with third party housing, the DA cables made it much better. But I love the shape and feel of the bars.

I do think the compact drops would be better for a couple of reasons. I don't quite get the AARP reference above, the compacts are FSA's main racing bar configuration now, and I think other manufacturers are adopting that type of bend that offers a slightly shorter reach to the drops.

WHOOOSSHHH...

I have all 3T on my bike, except the bars. I tried various 3T bars, but had to come back home to my FSA K-wing compacts ....Simply the best!! Originally had mine run internally with no problems. Since I tried a few different bars, I decided to leave my K wings run externally..Looks and works perfectly!

Campag4life

Thanks for presenting that as an option....running cables externally to the K-wing. I guess there is no reason to opt for internal routing...or have to route internally...unless you want exposed carbon on the tops which is pretty much 50/50 in terms of benefit...personal preference.
The other thing...and what I may do because Campy shifters are known to be fussy about cable routing for shifting performance is...route the brake cable internally and the Campy shift cables externally around the back of the bar. This maybe what sbxx does but can't tell by his picture. Good to have options and thanks for posting your experience.

Campag4life

This is where I come down as well. Praying to the weight god is silly when its the highest priority. Sure weight matters but even a heavy carbon handlebar when it is your attachment to the bike...as with the saddle...shouldn't be a primary concern unless an elite racer which none of us are. Ergonomics + vibration damping is why this bar exists...and 2 oz of weight is nebulous.
Cheers

patentcad

Take this argument to the 33 and let us know how that works out for you.