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Posted 20 hours ago

Profile Design DRV/AEROa 105 Drop Handlebar 36cm

£9.9£99Clearance
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On the flip side, a wide handlebar would be anything wider than 44cm by my definition because it falls outside of the standard range. The problem with carbon handlebars is that they're much more expensive, and a bit more fragile. Though carbon can be very strong, if it's damaged, it's not always as readily apparent as it would be on an aluminium bar and could go undetected.

I did appreciate the extra width on the flared drops when descending at speed. At 33cm, it’s still narrow enough to offer a tangible aerodynamic benefit, but the increased stability and force input accuracy afforded by the extra width compared to the hoods position is good to have for descending and high-speed cornering (because the consequences of a steering error become more dangerous at higher speeds). If you’re currently riding 44cm bars and would like a little free speed, consider moving to 42cm or 40cm bars, for example. Likewise, if you’re currently using a 42cm or a 40cm bar, you could try a 38cm or even a 36cm bar ( the 32cm bars Jan-Willem van Schip uses might be a little extreme for most amateurs though).Ribble is offering its innovative Ultra Bar in progressively narrow widths. Simon Bromley / Immediate Media As a consequence, you essentially lose the tops of the handlebar hand position, unless you don’t mind putting your hands right up against the stem, and you’re left with very little room for handlebar-mounted accessories (such as bike computers, bells or road bike lights). Ultimately, “how narrow is too narrow?” is a question that each rider will have to answer for themselves. Typically, handlebar width increases with frame size. Smaller bikes often come specced with a 40cm bar, anything around a medium will get a 42cm bar, and larger bikes typically get a 44cm (or wider) bar. Well, this bar is something a little different. Initially, it was believed this was a UCI legal solution, but the UCI has been very clear that it's not. However, if you're not likely to meet with the UCI rule book (which is most of us), then these are still an option.

Drop handlebars have been modernised recently, with more ergonomic and comfortable designs hitting the market. However, the design remains incredibly similar to the original design of the drop handlebar, and many manufacturers still manufacture drop handlebars in the traditional shape. These drop handlebars offer many different advantages to the rider, with some of the main advantages being three very different hand positions to use - riders can ride with their hands on the hoods, on the bars or in the drops of the handlebar - these different positions not only allow the rider to maximise performance and efficiency but also to be able to change hand position regularly enough to prevent fatigue. A lot of people think aero road bikes, with their boxy tubes and odd shapes, can be a bit ungainly too, compared to classically styled bikes like the Specialized Aethos. It’s not uncommon to see narrow handlebars in the professional peloton, but pro riders are also known for having little regard for comfort or, to a certain extent, fit in pursuit of performance gains. Force input accuracyThe bar allows you to adopt a time trial position, without full length extensions. We found the position ergonomic, however, we weren't convinced the overall effect was that different when compared with just holding the centre of the bars. The Best Road Handlebars Buyers Guide How wide should my road bars be? Achieve a faster climb with a set of drop handlebars for road bikes from Chain Reaction. Our road bike handlebars are mainly constructed from alloy or carbon with popular drop-down handlebars focused on comfort. Aero bars are precision-engineered for an efficient race profile and help riders conserve energy by encouraging an aerodynamic position. A 40cm handlebar, for example, might feel relatively wide to someone with narrow shoulders, but could also feel relatively narrow to a rider with broad shoulders. So far it sounds like narrower bars are a pretty substantial performance gain, so why aren't bikes coming standard with 36cm bars? When I initially started trying these bars, I noticed that a common misconception is that narrow bars limit your breathing ability. Some of the local coaches even said the 36cm bars were too narrow for road because of this. In my experience this is overstated, for instance one can argue that the TT position, which places the hands and elbows even closer than a 36cm or 38cm bar would is arguably one of the most efficient positions possible on a standard bike. Of course like a TT position some adaption to the position is necessary, but after this adaption I doubt that narrow bars would compromise your performance over shorter (say up to 3 hours) rides. Some of my better TT rides and Strava PRs were on 36cm bars, the 40cm+ bars couldn't really match these times. That said, a slower rider typically ends up saving more time than a faster rider from aerodynamic improvements, for a given course.

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