This company has charted a circuitious business course. In 1987 aero bars burst onto the scene, and the company building and selling them was Scott (the ski company). Within a year, though, a shrewd Chicago-based triathlete, Bill Powers—who himself came from a business-oriented family—built a slightly better version of the Scott bar. A furious legal (patent) battle ensued which cost both companies hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that was before it ever got to trial. There was eventually a settlement, and Profile Design scratched out a competitive advantage over Scott by virtue of more aggressive marketing. Scott is now completely out of the handlebar business.
Now Bill Powers is also completely out of the handlebar business. Others own and manage the company and have for several years, and the result has been an emphasis on sounder, more stable product. Profile Design's aero bars in the mid-to-late 90s were a bit gadgety—perhaps hyper-adjustable to a fault. What they excelled at in adjustability they "made up for" in rickitiness.
This is not the case any longer, and their current product is sturdy, ergonomic, smart-looking and very functional. And one more thing. Prices have dropped substantially this season. In some cases 10%, and in others 50%. If you haven't checked the prices on these products lately, give them the once over.
AEROLITE
This company acquired a new skill over the past several years—they learned to listen. As a result, a lot of ground that they lost during the decade of the 90s (mainly to Syntace) they've gained back, and one area in which this is the case is in the lesser expensive of their designs, such as the Aerolite. Sometimes the most impactful ideas are the simplest. This is the case with the Aerolite's telescoping aerobar extensions. This is one aspect of 
adjustability in which no structural integrity is given away. Why other companies don't employ this very simple technique (much like how a seat post moves up and down inside a seat tube) I can't figure out. This is especially the case for companies looking for a bar to spec "original equipment." Why burden the retailer with the need to change aero bars to make a sale? That would mean undoing and rerouting the shifters and brake cables—not necessary to do with the Aerolite.
Here is a case where the company listened. The Aerolite has been around for awhile, but has been a marginal product because its armrest was uncomfortable. Meanwhile, its F-19 armrest is quite adequate (and can't be that much more expensive to manufacture). Like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Profile Design decided to smoosh two tasty products together, and the result is an eminently usable product. This bar sells for $109.
CARBON X
As has been the case with frames, wheels, cranks, and now stems, hubs, derailleurs and just about everything else on a bike, it is inevitable that aero bars must become available in carbon. The Carbon X emerged as one of the first versions. While other companies have caught up in this arena, this is a proven bar.
As is the case with the Aerolite above, the Carbon X has adjustable extensions (but the mechanism for adjustment is different). What the bar also has is a one-piece design—that is, like Visiontech, it's got an integrated stem. Is this a good idea? It depends on the execution. One must ask whether the ability to change stem length and bar tilt is overridden by the increased strength and aerodynamic virtues of having an entirely integrated unit. Some companies execute that better than others. Profile Design has done an adequate job.
The Carbon X is made for threadless steer columns (which is what most new bikes come in nowadays) and is available for both 1" and 1 1/8" steerer diameters. It weighs 1000g, not bad, but remember that doesn't include the weight of the brake levers. It sells for $349.
CARBON STRYKE
This clip-on is elegant in its simplicity. If Profile Design's sin during the 90s was in designing a Space Shuttle that would clip onto your base bars, this bar does only that which is necessary: it adjusts, it's light, it's comfortable. You can buy these for $159 and that's a darn nice price for what you get. I suppose this might be my favorite of all Profile Design's bars, when you consider bang-v-buck.
AIRSTRYKE
Let's see, we were talking about the Space Shuttle. This is a very good seller for Profile Design—actually its best selling model among its upper-end bars—but I 
never had much use for it. Where do I begin? I don't like the armrests, and I don't like the fact that they flip up. I wouldn't mind it, except they flip on the wrong axis. I'd rather they were hinged at the front, and flipped forward. In so doing they'd be away from my knees and my hands if I want to grab the tops. With these I've got to narrow my elbows and fit them into the pads while they're "up" in order to lay down on them. And when you do lay down, my weight's so cantilevered, and the armrest hardware so light-duty, I feel unsupported by anything sturdy.
But that's just me. Plenty of people feel differently, and while I'd certainly pay the extra $60 and invest in the Carbon Strikes, these are a hot ticket at $99.
One thing I'll add, however, that makes these bars better than they were. Profile has dumped the old round armrests and replaced them with the F19, a much better way to go in my view.
SPLIT SECOND
This is roughly equivalent to the Airstrike above, but for one feature that certain people may find useful. You can separate the bar and move the extensions away from each other.
JAMMER
Pictured is the Jammer SL. Also available is the Jammer GT, which features the F-19 armrest. When ought this bar to be used? This requires a lot fuller explanation than I'm willing to go into here. Suffice it to say that if you've got a standard road bike set up in a standard road configuration—no forward seat 
post or anything that would "shorten" the effective top tube distance, this sort of "shorty" bar (shorter extensions) is the preferred way to go (according to me). In my view, this company's shorty version is the best of the bunch. Whither SL or GT I think depends on how much time you intend to spend in the aero position. If very little, the one pictured is the way to go. While it's not as comfortable in the aero position, you still have the tops on which to grab (by just wrapping your hands around the pads). If you want a better aero position, the Jammer GT is the way to go, because of those roomy, plush armrests. The Jammer GT is predictably the best seller of the two models, and goes for $59.
One more thing, though, in favor of these over the GTs. If you're using these on a road geometry bike, with a road-style seat angle, you might not find that cockpit distance is the only issue. You might find that you can't quite get the armrests low enough. One nice element of the pads on the Jammer (without the GT) is that the armrests sit several centimeters lower to the ground.
JAMMER GT
Profile Design is getting good at making modular components. It makes a clamp, or an armrest, and if it's a good design it gets transmitted into other forms and usages. An example is the Jammer GT, which is just an amalgum of the Jammer shorty bar and the F19 armrest—a good armrest that is portable to any bar. This means that if Profile makes, say, a nice, ergonomic lightweight clip-on like the Carbon Strike, it can export the F19 amrest to it. $79.
OTHER STUFF
It's not an aero bar, but perhaps worth mentioning is the brake lever this company introduced at Interbike this past year. We wrote about these in our coverage of the Taipei show a year ago April. But there has been an additional feature added to the lever. They've designed in a return spring. This is welcome news, because this set of brake levers, which is reasonably priced at around or below $50 a pair, will now have the one very necessary feature that all other tri-specific levers lack. There's an awful lot of cable and housing between the levers and the calipers on tri bikes, and thank goodness someone is making a lever that doesn't put all the onus of lever return on Shimano's calipers.
Click for the website for Profile Design.
