Extensions overhaul
Written by: Dan Empfield
Date: Mon Jun 14 2010
I'll admit it. I was an early fan of S bends. The idea was appealing to me: Give the rider a choke-up position (the pistol grip) along with a fully extended position.
But Steve Hed, the inventor of this bend style, himself withdrew from the S bend as a solution, opting instead for the Lazy S, where the final bend wasn't to horizontal, rather to a shallow upturn.
Few want to ride with a bar with its terminus horizontal. That's just so last year. This means that both S bends and straight bars are out.
What's in? Well, there are two mistakes I see common to bikes ridden by triathletes these days, and, if these mistakes are avoided, then alles ist gut.
Armrest to extension must be planar
In order to get maximum comfort along your armrest, you must lay your forearm down across the entire front-to-back spectrum. For this to happen, the ends of the extension—where your hands hold–must be level, or planar, with the armrest. If not, your forearm will either pivot on the front, or the back, of the armrest, depending on whether the extension terminus is above or below the plane of the armrest.
This is uncomfortable. So, you need to fix this. Happily, most bars these days come with replaceable, or interchangeable, extensions. And most extensions by almost all companies are made in a diameter of 22.2mm. This means you can exchange with a set of extensions made by a company other than the one making your armrests.
And, I frequently do this. But, don't fall in love with an armrest shape without first considering whether that shape is correct for the height of the armrest and clamp system into which the extension will mate.
How do you know if the extension terminus is planar to the armrest? Just lay your arms on the aerobar and grab the extensions. If you feel your forearm comfortably laying along the armrest, equally weighting the armrest front to back, you're there.
But Steve Hed, the inventor of this bend style, himself withdrew from the S bend as a solution, opting instead for the Lazy S, where the final bend wasn't to horizontal, rather to a shallow upturn.
Few want to ride with a bar with its terminus horizontal. That's just so last year. This means that both S bends and straight bars are out.
What's in? Well, there are two mistakes I see common to bikes ridden by triathletes these days, and, if these mistakes are avoided, then alles ist gut.
Armrest to extension must be planar
In order to get maximum comfort along your armrest, you must lay your forearm down across the entire front-to-back spectrum. For this to happen, the ends of the extension—where your hands hold–must be level, or planar, with the armrest. If not, your forearm will either pivot on the front, or the back, of the armrest, depending on whether the extension terminus is above or below the plane of the armrest.
This is uncomfortable. So, you need to fix this. Happily, most bars these days come with replaceable, or interchangeable, extensions. And most extensions by almost all companies are made in a diameter of 22.2mm. This means you can exchange with a set of extensions made by a company other than the one making your armrests.
And, I frequently do this. But, don't fall in love with an armrest shape without first considering whether that shape is correct for the height of the armrest and clamp system into which the extension will mate.
How do you know if the extension terminus is planar to the armrest? Just lay your arms on the aerobar and grab the extensions. If you feel your forearm comfortably laying along the armrest, equally weighting the armrest front to back, you're there.
Extension terminus should not be horizontal
The bloom is off the rose with straight bars, or S bends that finish horizontal. There are several companies now making extensions that do not terminate in a horizontal plane. My favorite of these feature a low profile armrest, which requires the extension to dip below its original elevation, returning to terminate in an elevation slightly above that of its proximal end.
The first to do this were the extensions designed by John Cobb for Blackwell Products. Blackwell is no longer in business, but the extensions are available through Cobb.
I've now seen a second company make these extensions, during the Tour of California launch of Trek's Speed Concept. These extensions must be made by Bontrager, though I can't find them on Bontrager's website. They're clearly pictured at the bottom of the adjacent image, so, they must exist.
Let's hope that Bontrager produces these extensions for sale along with its aerobars. A better view of these extensions is available on Nick Salazar's fine photo gallery of the Tour of California time trial.
The bloom is off the rose with straight bars, or S bends that finish horizontal. There are several companies now making extensions that do not terminate in a horizontal plane. My favorite of these feature a low profile armrest, which requires the extension to dip below its original elevation, returning to terminate in an elevation slightly above that of its proximal end.
The first to do this were the extensions designed by John Cobb for Blackwell Products. Blackwell is no longer in business, but the extensions are available through Cobb.
I've now seen a second company make these extensions, during the Tour of California launch of Trek's Speed Concept. These extensions must be made by Bontrager, though I can't find them on Bontrager's website. They're clearly pictured at the bottom of the adjacent image, so, they must exist.
Let's hope that Bontrager produces these extensions for sale along with its aerobars. A better view of these extensions is available on Nick Salazar's fine photo gallery of the Tour of California time trial.
The "descending to upturned" motif, as mentioned above, is an elegant solution to those building aerobars with low-profile armrests. It seems from the photos in Salazar's gallery that Bontrager will be making a lower profile aerobar in the future (based on what it showed during the Speed Concept launch), so the extension they exhibited makes sense. Likewise for any other aerobar company making a low profile aerobar solution.
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Comments
Aerobar and (no) S-bends
Reviewed by: Gary Watts, Feb 9 2011 9:09AM
Profile Design is just introducing the T3 which is the shape of the bottom item in your illustration. I played with a set at the Endurance Expo and they are very nice. I currently have PD T2+ S bends and since they're now SO LAST YEAR, I need to get the T3's.
Horses for Courses
Reviewed by: G, Jun 20 2010 11:15PM
I suppose its a matter of finding what works for you. I think the Sbends are the best extensions ever made. Man they are comfortable. I never like ski bends as I don't hold on that tight for 180km anyway and when I do I really want some leverage. I guess that they are so comfortable is why they are on so many bikes when the buyers have plenty of other choices available. A bit like the thinking in your article on bike OEM setups for saddles etc. People don't like many stock saddles so they buy aftermarket ones. People like s bends so they shun the ski bends.
Extensions
Reviewed by: Jorgan, Jun 17 2010 1:33AM
Like ITM, the Syntace C3 has also been using the 'descending upturn' or 'wrist relief' design for some time now; don't forget European products :-)
Extensions overhaul
Reviewed by: Jon Wood, Jun 15 2010 3:47PM
Descending to upturn extensions are hardly new - ITM VIP3 have been around since the mid 90s.
Not following fashion
Reviewed by: Joe O'Leary, Jun 15 2010 10:07AM
It's quite a bit of hubris to take personal preference and put it out as some sort of universal rule. Speak for yourself, Dan. What is "uncomfortable" for you isn't necessarily uncomfortable for another. I find S-bends the most comfortable extension I've tried. I didn't pick the shape to follow some fashion.
What were you thinking?
What were you thinking?
