Thoughts on fsa k wing
 

Can i have some opinionated facts about the fsa k- wing aero- ish bars

A set came on a Merckx I bought. I absolutely love them. The tops are broad, flat and slightly angled to match one's natural grip. Kind of like those funky looking keyboards. Makes long climbs a dream

I don't care for them.

What kind of opinionated facts were you looking for?

I re-wrapped mine today.

They are fine bars, especially when purchased on clearance. The extra 1 cm rise is welcome as my steerer is cut a bit too low. Short reach and shallow drops suit me as well. They are on the light end of the scale as far as bars go.

I slipped once in the rain on the unwrapped tops. Now I ride with my thumbs hooked.

I've seem two guys with them completely wrapped including the tops. Please don't do this. If you don't want unwrapped tops then buy something else.

Don't care much for the logo.


-Tim-

I had the aluminum version of the K-wing on a couple of bikes and, while the tops were comfortable, the reach and drop were a bit more than I wanted. I don't know if the geometry of the carbon model was any different. I replaced mine with FSA's Omega Compact bars which are more comfortable for me and allow better brifter positioning.

I do notice that neither K-Wing is listed on FSA's current web site so they may not have sold well.

I built my road bike with a set of them....If I could do it again I would not purchase them. A lot of money for minimal to no gains. There are cheaper alternatives to wing shape bars and in my opinion the wing shape does not offer much in comfort compared to a round bar.

One poster above mentioned the angle of the wing...my experience is that the angle causes strain on the wrist. To set the angle flat the bottom of the drops will be pointed at an upwards angle which is functionally not good but looks bad too.

It was a also huge pain the arse to fish the housing through the bars. If it was just the brakes or the shifters it would have been fine, but 2 sets of housing on each side was a real pain to get set up.

The extra rise mentioned is nice I guess, but that can be controlled with proper stem height....if you cut your steerer too short these might help save the cost of buying a new fork...but the rise and the wing shape limit what and where you can mount things to the bar.

Again, I think they are expensive for what they are. They look cool, so if that is what you are after then go for them, but other than that I would recommend putting your money into something else.

-J

That's one "feature" the aluminum wing bars did not have. The cables ran in grooves under the bars like standard round bars and I had to bar tape them all the way to the center bulge to cover the cables.

Nifty 'divot' for the heel of your hand when on the hoods.

Narrow bars (40cm) have less of a flat top, which is over rated anyway.

Mostly you grip the bar tops when climbing, & so don't put much weight so comfort is not an issue.

Aero? I guess. Mainly they look cool & fast.

No tape on the tops makes IAB position sketchy but the internal cable routing is good, once set up.

There's enough round bar at the stem to mount stuff, unlike many of the newer, cooler looking styles.

I like the ergonomics of the flat tops for gripping. I didn't even run the tape up to the flat portion on mine. Used one roll of tape to do both sides and stopped just over the levers. Very comfy.

Just wondering if they where crap or good . i like mine so far !!!!

Both the aluminum and carbon versions were well made so quality was not a problem. The only questions relate to personal preference about the shape.