36cm traditional bend aero bar - DIY?

[Fabianinduplo]

Hi everybody,

as a long-time Tour Forum member I've been on and off here for a while. I took a break from forums when Tour Forum died but now I think I have something worthwhile to share:

I love traditional bend, narrow bars. These have been very hard to find for a while now. I have literally spend hundreds of hours over the years checking bends, ordering and returning handlebars and becoming increasingly frustrated that this segment is pretty much dead.

My favourites are the old Zipp SL TB (no 38cm version anymore), the Fizik R3 snake (rather short) and the Bontrager Aero VR (not really round), all in 38 cm c-t-c. The latter two allow me to spec new builds and upgrades and are OK but not great.

If you want a 36cm option that also has an aero top there is nothing available. I know there are others out there who would love such a bar, so I thought I do it myself. Specs as follows:
- 36 or 38 cm width c-t-c
- reach: 80 - 88mm
- drop: 123 - 130mm
- aero top section, ideally forward sweeping
- tradtional bend bars
- internal cabling, Di2 ready

I'm very flexible so not super picky on the exact mm dimensions, but a combination of the Pro Vibe Aero Pursuit top and the Zipp SL 88 drop would be ideal.

I have talked to Berk, to Schmolke, to Darimo: no one really wants to do it in carbon. The moulds are too expensive. I talked to aluminium guys to weld the Pro Aero Pursuit and the Zipp SL 88 together and nobody wants to do it because you shouldn't weld handlebars.

So I thought about creating CAD data from a combination of the two bars and have it contract manufactured. I'm a finance guy not an engineer, so this would require help.

My questions are:
1. Is this too crazy?
2. will this result in a durable product if done right?
3. what do I need? Are people here who have expertise and are interested to collaborate?

This is what I want:

[physeter]

That would be very interesting. I'm currently on Pro Vibe pursuit ( 36 cm ) and I really like them except too much flare for my taste and I would also prefer a more traditional bend. However I'm quite happy with them. They are quite heavy but in the current market is for me one of the most appealing option

[loudtiger]

is the reach really 101 on the pro vibe aero pursuit? seems like a big difference from the ~80 reach of most bars.

[blaugrana]

I share the frustration of trying to find bars with traditional bend drops that are also narrow and ideally tick some of the other boxes like aero tops and reasonable weight. I'm currently using the Ritchey 40cm carbon Streem with the hoods turned in to reduce the effective width, but they are far from ideal.

Having this "ideal" bar manufactured in aluminium is still probably going to be very expensive, and you should probably have someone who knows what they are doing decide the thickness of the tubing and the exact alloy to use. And it's still probably going to be very heavy compared to commercial models from companies who have been doing this for decades (let alone if you compare to the carbon models). These are just guesses, though, I would be interested in hearing some expert opinions.

Also, unless you are trying to sell them, if you are just ordering a few for yourself, I'm guessing that even 3d printed titanium would be cheaper. This is what top teams have done to build limited runs of customized TT/track handlebars in recent years. You could ask around to the companies doing this, but it is still very much a very expensive luxury. For example Mythos have a track handlebar that costs £1250 (https://www.mythos.bike/shop/p/tx-1-bar, I suppose that for custom stuff they would ask for more), or Metron (the guys who did the Ganna hour record bike) have their TT bars "starting at £4300 (https://additive-engineering.co.uk/metr ... omponents/).

[physeter]

is the reach really 101 on the pro vibe aero pursuit? seems like a big difference from the ~80 reach of most bars.

Yeah, I was a bit concerned about the reach, but somehow works for me

[alanyu]

It's an interesting idea, but will burn a lot on RnD.

I prefer 3T aeroflux wing shape than else currently due to its 3-1 true aerofoil shape. Of course adding a bit forward sweeping would be more preferable to me. Pro vibe persuit wing shape is too thick/tall to be truely aero.

[C36]

If you have 2 carbon bars, I don’t see why it would be complicated to cut and bond them together. A good specialist repairing carbon frames would do this without problems, mean they are able to put together bikes that are cut in 3 with weird cuts. So a clean, controlled cut should be a problem.

[Fabianinduplo]

Thanks a lot. Totally agree: it will be expensive and the manufacturer has to know what he is doing.

I would not want to sell the bars to avoid product liability. A club of people who want the same product or work jointly to get it done would be something else. Maybe if one could generate CAD data I'd find people to do it.

I ditched 3D printing because everything I found was ridicolously expensive. I did not know Mythos. I'll check with them. To be honest: if I get what I need for 1250 a piece I'm in for one bar...

I share the frustration of trying to find bars with traditional bend drops that are also narrow and ideally tick some of the other boxes like aero tops and reasonable weight. I'm currently using the Ritchey 40cm carbon Streem with the hoods turned in to reduce the effective width, but they are far from ideal.

Having this "ideal" bar manufactured in aluminium is still probably going to be very expensive, and you should probably have someone who knows what they are doing decide the thickness of the tubing and the exact alloy to use. And it's still probably going to be very heavy compared to commercial models from companies who have been doing this for decades (let alone if you compare to the carbon models). These are just guesses, though, I would be interested in hearing some expert opinions.

Also, unless you are trying to sell them, if you are just ordering a few for yourself, I'm guessing that even 3d printed titanium would be cheaper. This is what top teams have done to build limited runs of customized TT/track handlebars in recent years. You could ask around to the companies doing this, but it is still very much a very expensive luxury. For example Mythos have a track handlebar that costs £1250 (https://www.mythos.bike/shop/p/tx-1-bar, I suppose that for custom stuff they would ask for more), or Metron (the guys who did the Ganna hour record bike) have their TT bars "starting at £4300 (https://additive-engineering.co.uk/metr ... omponents/).

[Fabianinduplo]

I could try that but it will likely make clean internal cabling and Di2 difficult I guess. Plus the bonding needs to take place more or less at the clamp aero of the shifters. Not sure that works...

Berk once made a 130mm stem / 380mm Canyon H11 for me. That required cutting and bonding the bar at the flat tops. It worked but the routing is below the handlebar not in it so much simpler.

I will check that option again.

If you have 2 carbon bars, I don’t see why it would be complicated to cut and bond them together. A good specialist repairing carbon frames would do this without problems, mean they are able to put together bikes that are cut in 3 with weird cuts. So a clean, controlled cut should be a problem.

[Fabianinduplo]

3T aeroflux top section is very nice!

The Vibe Pursuit looks like it does because its aluminium I guess... Certainly only second best.

It's an interesting idea, but will burn a lot on RnD.

I prefer 3T aeroflux wing shape than else currently due to its 3-1 true aerofoil shape. Of course adding a bit forward sweeping would be more preferable to me. Pro vibe persuit wing shape is too thick/tall to be truely aero.

[fidracer]

EXS Cycling makes a 38cm integrated aero barstem with a traditional drop.

[Lakal]

What about the Vision Trimax Aero?
The 40cm version is 37,9cm C-C, reach is 88,8mm and 125mm drop.
It is also ACR compatible.

[alanyu]

EXS Cycling makes a 38cm integrated aero barstem with a traditional drop.

I have one but it's deda shallow shaped, in sharp contrast to zipp sl 88 shape. Though I don't hate deda shallow, I also prefer sl 88 shape.

[spartacus]

This:

https://ritcheylogic.com/bike/handlebar ... -handlebar

But narrow, would be legit.

[Jaisen]

Nvm, deleted post due to mistake.