I've looked at both of those. Tempted by the EC70 because it is the cheapest of the lot locally. I like the Zipps because I can get them in 38, but they are a fair bit more expensive, plus really short reach.

Now the Aeronova is tempting me too. Who knew this bike business was so complicated?

A couple months ago, it was possible to get the 38 Zipps relatively cheap. I want to say my LBS quoted me about $200.

I have the EC70. I like it. It's not the stiffest bar though.

They really are very comfortable. There are a few different nooks for hand holds near the hoods, and I like the feel of the bend in the drops. And I do agree with what [MENTION=426467]rubiksoval[/MENTION] said, the placing of the hoods is more to my liking than a compact bar. There is an alloy version of it if you are looking to save some cash but be warned, it is very very heavy. Like 400g.

I've ordered these bars for my Allez Sprint frameset (whenever it gets here, delivery has been pushed back a month). I wanted round bars because I'll be using this bike when I ride in the mountains - that's this geezer's retirement vacations plan ;) - and I often ride on the tops when climbing. I need the 15mm rise because I'm on the upper edge of fit for a 58cm frame, and the Allez Sprints have a short headtube. Has anyone noticed any issues with the riser bars?

Also, these will be my first set of carbon bars. I hope there's a noticeable difference.

The bars I'm considering are also for an Allez Sprint frame. Looking for aero ones because they fit the other aero bits better imo. I should probably just pick some cheap aluminum bar and be done with it, but vanity.

I have one of those rare Zipp Vuka Sprint bars in traditional bend. Shape close to that of Aerotundo, but the reach isn't as ridiculous (the reach of the aerotundo is 2cm longer than that of the rotundo). Ebay is the way to go here
https://cdn.hibike.com/image/product..._Zi4VUK-il.jpg
Ritchey also has a round-shaped aero road bar, though it doesn't have as deep a drop. If you could hold out (or source via ebay), Canyon's H11 (shown below) or H36 may also work when they become available stateside

https://static.canyon.com/img/cache/...fa3a03f998.jpg

Specialized Aerofly has similar drop to the Aeronova, and less reach. The bend is more traditionally round as well.

The Aerofly would be my first choice I think, but money. Almost get one on ebay but someone swooped ahead of me on the last second. Well, if money was no obect I'd probably go for the Enve SES.

:thumb: Me, too!

That Canyon, though. Ooooh, my. I would very much like to ride that bike really fast.

That Canyon bar looks just right.

In a similar vein: Aside from the Ritchey Slipstream does anyone else sell a fully integrated aero bar+stem system that does not need to come with a bike?

FSA does (they were on the Lotto Jumbo team bikes, iirc), though not in a traditional bend.

My hunch is that one could buy the Canyon bars as a separate item when Canyon fully set up shop Stateside

I run the canyon H11 on my parlee... it's very nice bar indeed.

Argon does too. Also, it comes with a system to adjust the stem length. I'm not sure how it works though.

https://www.argon18bike.com/en/bikes...sories/ahb5000

are deep carbon wheels worth their price in performance, or are they just bling?

"worth their price" is a wildly subjective phrase

58mm carbon wheels were the last thing I got after chasing all the other things. I feel they make an actual, noticeable difference, especially on windy days with crosswinds. It seems there's quite a sail-effect happening at certain yaws.

If you haven't already, I'd go with tires/tubes, clothing, position, and helmet before all other things. I also went with an aero handlebar which aided a lot in position.

All of that I feel can give you a bigger bang performance vs price-wise if that's the criteria.

Agreed. I paid $300 for a used set of 50/60 Psimet tubulars. Lighter, more aero, and they allow me to use better tires. Probably worth it. I wouldn't have bothered at $1k+ though.

There was a study about 10 or 15 years ago that looked at aero improvement as rim depth increased.

Going from 19mm to 30mm was a drastic improvement. After that, things started to level out. There are still gains to be made, but as you get bigger, the gains are lessened, i.e. the improvement from 40 to 50 is greater than 50 to 60...

So, if you have 50s, there's not a whole lot of reason to go buy 60s.

And I want to add, this study was done a long time ago, and since then, there has been a lot done in terms of rim shape and width, which many claim has offered even greater improvements in aerodynamics.

Just ordered an Aerofly. :)

a friend spent $1+ on a pair of reynolds. we rode together one day, with cross wind. he was coasting down the hill, and I was spinning out and getting dropped. He had full aero gear, I had cross bike, mtb shorts, club fit jersey and regular helmet though. but those wheels.. every time we went down hill, in the cross wind, both coasting, he'd put 1 mph/s on me.. it was ridiculous. the thing about those wheels is the braking surface sucks, and I would only really use them for racing, which makes me wonder whether they're worth buying at all, considering they almost never get used. disc brake bikes on the other hand...

That is more to do with the baggy gear than the wheels.

I've owned and sold two sets of deep carbon wheels. One set of 60mm chinese clinchers, another set of old 48mm reynolds tubulars rebuilt up to 11 speed. I felt more of the "sail" effect on the tubulars, but ultimately the pain of owning tubulars turned me away from them. I probably wont be buying another set of race wheels for a while, but will probably get chinese rims and build them up with some bling hubs for a solid wheel. Hopefully will have a disc brake race bike by then so I don;t have to deal with the garbage braking.

On a change of topic, I sold my Campy EPS gruppo today. Took a long time, and didn't get as much out of it as I could, but I sold it to one of my collegiate teammates. Really kinda glad to be done with it. My ultegra is treating me well now-a-days.

I've been hemming and hawing about buying new shoes for a stupid amount of time and have just about convinced myself to order them. Do any of you use the Shimano R321? What about the S-works? I have been leaning Shimano for a while now because I know the shape works for my foot so if any of you vouch for them I'll likely go that direction.

Basically I want something that is stiff and comfy, which I know both of the above accomplish. I can feel my current ones flex when out of the saddle. They have more miles in them than your mom, and are NOS from like circa 2007. The 2007 thing is not a joke. They only (lol) have 3 seasons in them though.

I've got the S-Works Sub 6s and like them a lot. I used them for my hardest ride to date a few weeks ago, 124 miles and 12.1k of climbing, and didn't detect any flexing. They were comfy, too; I had no foot soreness after the ride. An unheralded bonus is that they don't soak up water when you ride in the rain, so they're ready to use the day after a wet ride.