Last month I wrote about tri-bike front-ends. But it seemed to me, after thinking about it, that there was more I could have written than I did. So I'm writing a follow-up.

My omissions were two-fold. First, I certainly could have spoken and illustrated more completely about the mechanics of working on the front end of your bike, because it can be a little hairy if you don't have the right tools. Some helpful tips from one who's done this before a couple of times might also be in order.

Second, there is more that should be said about cockpit measurements. I go over this in some detail in our tri-bike fit section. It has been years, though, since I came up with these theories. Fitting people to their bikes during the intervening period persuades me to add some more detail, which I will do below.

SHORTENING THE BAR...

This, as opposed to "lowering the bar." (Bike mechanic humor). In this case, "shortening" the bar means hacking some length off a clip-on, and more specifically in this case a Syntace Streamliner (my bar of choice these days). I like Syntace aero bars. But, as I've previously written, I think the upturned part is too long.

But, how to cut it? Most people will get out their hacksaws. This is best accomplished, though, using a mitering block, if you insist on using your hacksaw. I prefer a tube-cutter, though, and the graphic at left shows my tube cutter in action on a Syntace Streamliner. I like to cut about half the upturned part off.

A tube cutter like the one shown above is going to cost between $10 and $30. Don't buy anything that costs any more than that.

BAR-END SHIFTERS

The graphic at left shows the installation of Shimano bar-end shifters into the end of cut-down Streamliners. There is a wedge-bolt that tightens down the shifter mount. I personally like the shifters facing up, and the way this bracket is being mounted in the graphic is consistent with this.

INTERNALLY ROUTING SYNTACE SPACE LEVER CABLES

Yes, I do like Syntace's Space Controls. I have a lot of Dura Ace stuff on my bike, and when I don't have it, it's because there's something on my bike that I like better. I'm a bike snob. This is why it has bothered me in recent years that I've been riding with a cheap set of levers on an otherwise snobbily-outfitted bike. So, out came Space Controls from Syntace. These are about $89 a pair, which might sound like a lot, but it's really not compared to what you'd pay for a Shimano or Campagnolo lever. And, this lever is right in that territory in terms of quality of construction and its functionality.

But, Space Controls cannot be used with a standard base bar. It must be used with a bar that is rigged for internal cable routing, such as Syntace's Stratos bar (at left). The cable routes through the center of the lever, entering the bar thusly. The brake housing exits the bar just behind the area where your hand rests on the bar. In the photo I've let the housing veer off to the side, so that you can see where it exits the bar. But, in practice, you'd tape the housing down adjacent to the bar, following the bend, until almost to the stem.

The tricky thing about this lever is that if you go ahead and afix it to the bar, and THEN try to run the brake cable and housing, you're in for a troubling time. The trick is, you route the housing through the hole in the bar and out the end. You push the housing into a spot on the lever -- as shown -- which makes a sort of ferrule (the part of the lever made to accept the housing). Then, with one hand anchoring the housing as it exits the bar past the hand-hold, you afix the lever into the bar, keeping careful not to let the housing slip out of its ferrule. You might want to temporarily tape the housing down at the point where it exits the hole in the bar, to free both hands for us. This will keep the housing in place while you tighten down the wedge bolt, securing the lever into the bar.

Now, when you route the cable through the lever, the housing is already in place.

SPEAKING OF BETTER BRAKE LEVERS...

I got a couple of emails saying, essentially, "Those Profile brake levers which got such a cool reception from you are actually quite hot." Indeed, people who I respect told me they are great. These -- Profile Quick Stops -- cost just a tiny bit more than the Syntace's Space Controls, and it seems I should be telling you to go out and buy these with as much vigor as I'm telling you to go out and buy the Syntace model.

Indeed, they appear to be very well made, and, funny enough, it seems that these levers had a genesis similar to Syntace's lever: they were both originally the product of German designers who -- for whatever reason -- couldn't get their products off the ground.

The Quick Stop has an adjustable lever throw, which will be especially useful to those -- usually women -- with smaller hands.

Congratulations go to both Syntace and Profile, who finally did something helpful to triathletes and made them a genuine, high-quality, tri-specific brake lever. I now believe I've done my job. It is therefore up to tri-specific retailers to stock these models, and you consumers to do you job, which is -- of course -- to consume.


PROPER COCKPIT DISTANCE

There are three unchangeable, immutable measurements in tri-bike fit that occur from the waist forward. Meaning, forget for a moment hip angles, seat angles, and all that stuff. Also, forget for now armrest drop (how low you are, or to put it another way, how aggressive your aero position is). We're just going to talk about stem length and aero-bar length.

This might seem like just a small piece of the puzzle, but it's the biggest problem most triathletes have, and it specifically relates to things you might do to tune the front end of your bike.

The three measurements for which there is only one "right answer," are as follows:

1. The distance from the nose of the saddle to where your hands hold
2. The distance between two vertical lines, one drawn through the bottom bracket, one drawn from the rearward protrusion of the armrest.
3. The angle formed by your torso and your upper body.

Notice that two of these measurements are distances, and correspond to fixed spots on the bike. The third is an angle, and corresponds to your body. This third measure is where we'll start. As explained in more detail on our tri bike fit section, your torso and upper arm must form a right angle.

Taking this right angle as axiomatic, this can be a problem for some people. Say, for example, you have a relatively aggressive aero position. Also, let's say you have long legs (which means you have a short torso). Forming this right angle, with your short torso, brings your armrests back toward your saddle. Your long legs tend, therefore, to hit the backs of the armrests when you're out-of-the-saddle. We can't have this. So, there is a minimum distance between these two vertical lines -- that immutable measurement #2 above. Anything shorter than this distance will give you problems (we don't want you banging your kneecaps while climbing). More on this later.

The other distance we can't mess with is the distance from your saddle to where your hands hold. Why? Because if your body forms the right angle we say is necessary, then the distance from your saddle-nose to where your hands hold is already determined by this distance. It can't be any different than it is. Make this distance longer, the torso-upper-arm angle becomes more obtuse. Shorten the distance, the angle is too acute.

But, what do we do when we have the perfect saddle-nose-to-hand-hold distance, and this particular distance yields a BB-to-armrest distance that is too short? More on this later, too.

There is another kind of person who runs into the knee-to-armrest-clearance problem described above, and that is the person who, for whatever reason -- long femur; climbs all the time; is a roadie and hates the tri-geek position; or just plain ol' personal preference -- likes his or her seat rearward (versus the "tri" position). Moving the saddle back, while keeping the correct saddle-nose-to-hand-hold distance, will also shorten the BB-to-armrest distance.

There is only one way to fix this, and that is to simply move the armests forward. How do you do this? It is illustrated by a graphic to the left, which shows the noses of two saddles, two Syntace Streamliners, and stems inbetween them both. In this case the Streamliners are sizes short and medium, and the stems are those made by Tahoma -- very popular in triathlon circles -- and are 80mm and 105mm respectively. It just so happens that the distance from the armrest to the final upturned bend of a Syntace Streamliner size small is 2.5 cms. shorter than that same distance on a size medium (a large is 3 cms. longer than a medium).

So let's say you have a medium Streamliner on your bike, with an 80mm stem, and everything is perfect. Except, that is, your knees do not have enough clearance when you're out-of-the-saddle. The fix to this is, replace it with the small Streamliner and a 105mm stem. Your saddle-nose-to-hand-hold distance is exactly the same, which means your torso-upper-arm angle is still the perfect right angle. But two things are different. Your BB-to-armrest distance is now long enough, which is to say, your knees now have enough clearance. Also, of course, the distance from the armrest to the hand-hold position is shorter; the armrests hit you a little further up the arm. Too bad. It's a necessary evil.

When you think about it, this is exactly what Spinacis and Cornas and the other "shorty" bars do. They are for road race bikes, and allow you to keep a relatively workable torso-upper-arm angle, yet do not interfere with your knee clearance. The explaination above is just the logical extrapolation of that.

A friend of mine wanted to ride a more standard seat-angle in a recent Ironman -- about 75-degrees. But, he wanted to preserve a good torso-to-arm angle. He rode a slightly retrofitted Giant TCR2, which gave him the geometry he wanted, and a size small Syntace Streamliner. This, even though his is 6'5" tall. The combination of his long legs, slightly rearward seat-angle, and desire to have a right-angled torso-to-arm, meant that a short SL was the only one which granted him knee clearance.