Originally Posted by
rapwithtom
I'm in the market for new handlebars, and I'm considering aero road bars. It seems that it's a no brainer since such a significant portion of wind resistance from the bike comes from the bars; the big downside is cost.
Zipp
Enve
I'm curious what y'all think about aero bars, and why they're not more widely used, since most of the advantages of an aero frame can be had by simply using aero bars...
Thoughts?
PS - I get that the most important thing about aero is body position on the bike, and I'm working on that...
We have the Ritchey one piece bar stem and the ENVE SES (the one you show). Very different, my son loves both. No Zipp bar experience.
First my opinion is Ritchey is a very good bar / stem company and looking at their aero options now (today). I like removing the bar/stem connection from the equation. I am looking at this
WCS Carbon Solostreem Integrated Bar/Stem | Ritchey
Round bars offer a better hand hold if you are going to be on the tops much / do long hill climbs. Our fitter prefers round bars.
THE SES has a 3-4mm hole for plugs. So if you want to stick things like a mirror in there - you can't.
The SES and the Ritchey will not take a bar mount Garmin like clamp that goes on the bar. The SES flairs too close to where the stem joins.
The SES has a radical bend - like the 70s bars on some Schwinn bikes. They are 44cm on the drops and 39 on the hoods - roughly. My son loves them for sprinting. The front profile has the brakes angled a bit. He does lots of forearm on the tops riding in the USA, so these are his favorite bars. I hope to test the Ritchey soon.
My son likes this bend particularly for back riding as he can be on the hoods and a bit more narrow and make some slots that would be tougher with wider bars. The drops are of course wide, but he sprints elbows out, so not a factor.
