Aero bar swap

I have to be honest.  I was not ‘on’ the trainer watching cycling on Sunday.  I was working on the bike while watching cycling on Sunday.  I was just using the trainer as a bike stand.

A few months ago my left bar end shifter stopped working.  I was not sure if it was my front derailleur or if it was something else.  I did some investigating and found out it was the cable.  The cable housing under the bottom bracket was dirty and starting to corrode.  I replaced the cable and all was good with the world.

Where are the handlebars?

However, I knew the other cables would need to be replaced.  So while I waited for the replacement cables to arrive in the mail I procured a new set of aero bars.  I have wanted to have a set of s-bend bars since I got the race bike but I was not willing to go shopping for them.  Super trick aero bars are one of the worst bangs for the buck on a race bike.  They just do not do much to save you any time.  But, I had a friend who had upgraded his bike and had a set of take offs that he let me have for a song.  There would not be a better time to replace the bars then when replacing the cables.

However, I had a race coming up.  I needed to wait.

I finished up the Dragonfly triathlon on Saturday so Sunday would be a good time to work on the bike.  I had a good race (full report coming soon – I finished 5 / 34 in age group with 3rd in swim, 4th in bike and 6th in run – WTF – my run used to be my strong suit – I’ve got some work to do)!

So I switch out my cables, handlebars and aero bar extensions while watching the final stage of the Tour do Swiss.  It was a nail bitter!

I took measurements of all of the important angles on the bike and then got to work.

Set up before

New bars temporarily in place

The new bars will allow for a little more aggressive riding position.  I have ridden the original aero bars since 2009 including tons of sprints and Olympics, 2 70.3’s and an ironman.  I have 3 weeks to make adjustments before my next race.

Final with bar tape.

There is a fine line between comfort and speed.  I will be exploring this area quite a bit in the next few weeks.