Tri Bars Compatibility & Fitting

Have you tried many of the different brands and designs of aero/tri bars available on the market? Perhaps you're still looking for the perfect fit? Well, whatever category you're in, Nice2Tri.com is here to make sure you get the perfect fit and compatibility for your bike.

Clip on Tri Bars:

Clip-on tri bars come in two formats - standard & oversize. This is purely the diameter of handlebar that they fit, with road bars coming to two distinct diameters of 25.8 and 26.0mm. The reasoning behind this is older bars were manufactured to suit the former, but, in the move to standardise (and to minimise the cost of) manufacturing, newer handlebar stems & bars are 31.8mm.

Oversize Tri Bars

Oversize tri bars can be fitted to narrower standard road bars by using a shim. However, standard diameter tri bars can not be fitted to oversize road bars, as the curvature of the clamp will be to small.

When buying clip-ons, it is better to order the ones that have fore & aft (length) adjustment, as this will allow you, through trial & error, to obtain the correct length of bar & therefore the best fit. Once this is obtained, you can trim the excess to save weight if so desired.

If you are happy with clip-ons & road (drop) bars but want to obtain a more efficient, aerodynamic position that stays in the aero tuck, you can change over to bar end gear levers. If your tribars come in one piece construction (joined at the front), an adaptor can be fitted to house the levers of entirely separate bars positioned inside the tips.

Clip-ons and road bars offer a more varied, comfortable and stable hand position, particularly whilst climbing. Some bars even have flip up arm rests which allow for access to the tops of your road bars, allowing you to obtain the best hand position for climbing.

One Piece Tri Bars

These consist of a cow horn shaped handle bar with two tri bars either in an entirely one piece construction or bolt-on tri bars. They are usually used to obtain a dedicated aerodynamic set up, as Sti gear levers are not normally used with these. The levers tend to be bar end; i.e. fixed to the ends/tips of the tri bars.

Again, if buying these bars with fore & aft, adjustment of the tri bars is recommended to ensure you can duplicate the reach of the bars that you had with your old set up.

Note:

With both types of bars, you can use especially shaped drinks bottles that are fixed between the tri bars to minimise disruption of your aero position whilst drinking, as they allow hands free drinking and therefore you stay in your aero tuck for longer. Also, as the bottle is close to hand - normally with a straw sticking out - they encourage you to drink more & can help to maintain a good level of hydration during your race or training.