Suggestions for an aero road round bend handlebar

[echappist]

Also, I realized that Wilier does seem to make them as well, albeit in one-offs. Technically Aladabra bars, but the bend is different from that off-the-shelf bars.

Fuglsang's bike



Terpstra's bike

[LewisK]

Seems a lot of pros still prefer a 'classic drop'

[Unniti]

Seems a lot of pros still prefer a 'classic drop'

A lot of normal riders would also prefer classic drop but all we get is modern curves because that's what the manufacturers think everyone wants.

[blaugrana]

There are still many pros on classic drop, but the number has dropped very significantly since the introduction of aero and/or integrated handlebars and stems. Maybe some manage to get custom made options like these from Deda posted above (though that's clearly UCI illegal), but it's not that common. And for us end users, if sometimes even finding a suitable combination of stem length and bar width can be difficult (even for relatively "normal" combos like 120/40mm, or 130/40mm), there's even less room to get picky about bar shapes.

[LewisK]

There are still many pros on classic drop, but the number has dropped very significantly since the introduction of aero and/or integrated handlebars and stems. Maybe some manage to get custom made options like these from Deda posted above (though that's clearly UCI illegal), but it's not that common. And for us end users, if sometimes even finding a suitable combination of stem length and bar width can be difficult (even for relatively "normal" combos like 120/40mm, or 130/40mm), there's even less room to get picky about bar shapes.

They are also pretty limited as to what they can choose due to sponsors

[echappist]

One has to wonder why the manufacturers don't want to offer a semi-custom/house special option to regular joes. For one, I think they are compelled to sell whatever the furnish their sponsored riders. But even beside that, the tooling costs are pretty much set, regardless if it's one copy or 100 copies. Why not make 100 copies, call it something like "Pro Special", and recoup the tooling costs.

[Chlorophyll15]

I don't think such a unicorn bar exists, at least not commercially, and most likely won't with the current trend towards integrated front ends. It's a shame because I like how locked-in I feel when cornering/descending in the hooks of round bend bars and how accessible the brake and shift levers are in the drops with my short-ish fingers. Compact handlebars are nice and may work for the majority of people, but they just aren't quite right for me.

I currently have a 38cm Fizik R3 Snake on my main bike. It has a traditional round bend and un-aero round tops. It's quite short and shallow with a reach and drop of 75mm and 125mm respectively, which suits my Asian proportions. The bend radius might be a bit small on these if you have large hands. My palm width is around 85mm for reference. I just hope they don't get discontinued, it's probably the only commercially available 38cm drop bar with a true round bend. They only come in alloy with round tops AFAIK. I'd like to be happily corrected if there are alternatives. Until then, Fizik can take my money when I need new bars.



I also have a Ritchey Neoclassic in 40cm width on my other bike. I found that they don't play nice with the newer Shimano shifters (not sure about Sram or Campag), as the area where the shifters clamp the bars cant them outward awkwardly. There's a thread on this:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=147244

No problems with achieving a more conventional shifter position with the older style brifters (where the shifter cables exit from the sides and aren't concealed under the bar tape) on the Neoclassics. The weird shifter position on the Neoclassics is probably the main reason why I never took the plunge on the Carbon Streems. That, and the fact that it doesn't come in 38cm width.

[spartacus]

The carbon streems are fantastic IMO. I think they come in 40cm though at the smallest, but if that works for you, they are amazing. The only bummer about them is only one side is drilled for di2 but this isn't a deal breaker necessarily.

[Chlorophyll15]

Oh, they do look nice! And it seems that they don't have the same shifter placement issue as the Neoclassics. Only one hole for Di2? Does that mean you can't route the mechanical shifting and brake cables internally through the handlebar? That would kind of defeat the purpose of aero tops IMO. I actually prefer the drop shape on the Ritcheys more than the Fizik. If only they made a 38. Though it's too bad, as I don't think I want to go back to 40s, at least not for road riding.

[themidge]

The lack of options for classic bend bars is actually infuriating. The Fiziks in a 38 are super shallow, even more so than the 135mm Ritchey WCS neoclassics, which have their own problems of 40 being smallest size and the shifters going wonky (particularly bad with my sram 10 speed ones). I don't know of any others in alloy, and there are certainly no aero ones*, pretty sure the two mentioned are the only classiontic bend alloy bars at a decent weight.

* Bontrager elite aero vr-cf could just about pass as classic bend and are are aero although with a rather wide clamping section, unfortunatey they weigh over 300g and has 93mm reach

[spartacus]

Oh, they do look nice! And it seems that they don't have the same shifter placement issue as the Neoclassics. Only one hole for Di2? Does that mean you can't route the mechanical shifting and brake cables internally through the handlebar? That would kind of defeat the purpose of aero tops IMO. I actually prefer the drop shape on the Ritcheys more than the Fizik. If only they made a 38. Though it's too bad, as I don't think I want to go back to 40s, at least not for road riding.

I mean on the bottoms of the drops, not through the top sections.The shifter placement is def not wonky but yeah, didn't see 38 for sale.

[micky]

The lack of options for classic bend bars is actually infuriating. The Fiziks in a 38 are super shallow, even more so than the 135mm Ritchey WCS neoclassics, which have their own problems of 40 being smallest size and the shifters going wonky (particularly bad with my sram 10 speed ones). I don't know of any others in alloy, and there are certainly no aero ones*, pretty sure the two mentioned are the only classiontic bend alloy bars at a decent weight.

* Bontrager elite aero vr-cf could just about pass as classic bend and are are aero although with a rather wide clamping section, unfortunatey they weigh over 300g and has 93mm reach

Im not much on the market for aero handlebar but you would think the market is wide enough for any brand to cover classic bends.

[blaugrana]

Any idea what bars Matteo Trentin rides? They have flat aero tops and classic bend, and they are Deda. From their catalogue, it seems like they should be the Vinci Shallow, but they are labeled as having 125mm drop, and these look deeper in the pictures.

[themidge]

If those are custom for the pros I'm going to be 200% mad, aero tops with a classic bend drop is exactly what I want and it doesn't exist!

[huzenhagen]

Any idea what bars Matteo Trentin rides? They have flat aero tops and classic bend, and they are Deda. From their catalogue, it seems like they should be the Vinci Shallow, but they are labeled as having 125mm drop, and these look deeper in the pictures.

The standard Vinci has a deeper drop of 130mm or it could be the super zero dcr?