ZIPP SL 70 Aero Bars - Fitting advice please :)

[DigitalArt]

Hey cycling gurus.

OK I so have acquired a pair of Zipp SL 70 aero bars and I have tried to install them on the bike but the hoods just look too low to me

I have adjusted them as high as I can with the silver clasp just overlapping the marker on the bars but as you will see from the images the hoods still look too low and I fear this will be uncomfortable if I am so low on the bike at all times.

I have seen other bars and the hoods are not as low as mine so I wondered if I was doing something wrong?

I cannot raise the bars any higher, they are central and the wide tops are flat and the drops are bent slightly down as it is and ideally I would have wanted them level too.

Some pics might help

Can you guys spot anything or suggest anything on how I can get these bars set up right because once I wrap um I am stuck with it and I am afraid to wrap um at this point in case I have done something wrong, which is usually the case for me

Cheers in advance peeps

[IrrelevantD]

I have those exact same bars, and that first picture is exactly how I have mine set up. If you want the hoods higher, I'd tilt the bars up at the stem.

I actually have mine angled slightly up. I have a -4º rise stem (73.5º head tube), and the angle of my bars is probably somewhere 1/2 way between the stem angle and horizontal. It looks from the first picture that you have your bars angled slightly down.

[northwestern]

I have a -4º rise stem (73.5º head tube), and the angle of my bars is probably somewhere 1/2 way between the stem angle and horizontal. It looks from the first picture that you have your bars angled slightly down.

-4 is for rookies. I have -17

[dvq]

This is just how this bar is made. In order to fit this bar correctly with a flat transition from the shifters to the elbows, you have to angle the foil section upwards. If you ever relax and ride the tops or ride the tops while climbing, this makes the bar really uncomfortable -- it's why I got rid of these bars.

[DigitalArt]

Guys thank you so much for your comments, they are all really helpful. I feel ok now about installing the app tape and getting out there to see how aero I can become lol.

Thanks again

[IrrelevantD]

@DigitalArt - hope everythign goes well for ya, glad you found some help.

-4 is for rookies. I have -17

I'm getting old and I don't like spacers. I was running -8, got a fitting, he flipped the wedge in my stem to make it a 0, I couldn't stand it so I put in a different wedge to split the difference. Need to start streaching again as I think I could probably get myself comfortable as low as -12 if I had a bit more flexibility. (Which is the limit of the adjustability of that stem, one reason why I love Specialized stems).

This is just how this bar is made. In order to fit this bar correctly with a flat transition from the shifters to the elbows, you have to angle the foil section upwards. If you ever relax and ride the tops or ride the tops while climbing, this makes the bar really uncomfortable -- it's why I got rid of these bars.

I found this interesting as I absolutely love the tops on this bar when spinning high cadence up climbs. Big wide platform that I found to be quite comfortable even without tape and with unpadded gloves.

[DigitalArt]

Hey guys just wanted to give a quick update.

Finally finished installing the bars, had to cut 2 outers as I cut one a bit too short finally managed to wrap the bars in Peter Sagan's Fizik bar tape and I took her for a ride yesterday.

Thanks for the heads up on rotating the bars, ideally I wanted the drops level but then this made the tops angled, as it turns out this isn't a bad thing and now my hoods are in the right place I am a happy puppy

On my test ride yesterday I almost crashed at a set of lights as when I got on the brakes the bars spun round on me as the stem cap just wasn't tight enough so I nipped that up and carried on.

Love riding it slammed with these bars on and in the drops, I can pretend like I am a GC rider now although I still cannot put my forearms on the flat tops as it just feels odd, I'll try again next time out.

I did a lil vid of it in case anyone is interested to see what it looks like finished, am happy to discuss my install with anyone if this helps:

[IrrelevantD]

I still cannot put my forearms on the flat tops as it just feels odd, I'll try again next time out.

That's my one and only complaint on these bars as well.

My previous bars (Control Tech) has a bit of an ergo section right before the elbows that made them really comfortable with the forearms on the tops with my hands just inside the hoods. I just can't get comfortable in that position with these bars, but I have a feeling that for me, it's because the reach on this bar is about a CM shorter. As I don't usually put my forearms on the middle part of the tops, I can't really speak to that.

I would think it would be more comfortable being so flat, but if you're used to having bar tape on the tops, I imagine not having that little bit of grip might throw you off.