Easton Carbon Pursuit Bar and AeroForce Carbon Clip-Ons
Friday, 10th February 2006
Easton's formidable arsenal of aero products for the triathlete, ranges from Aero forks to a full range of Aero bars, in both carbon and alloy.
Easton have produced a set of one piece carbon bars, a set of base bars and carbon clip-ons (tested here) and an alloy clip-on bar.
Easton is well known in other sports for its carbon components, and none more demanding than carbon ice hockey sticks! So that in itself bodes well for the relatively sedate participation of triathlon and time trialling.
We decided to test the two-piece design as this combination offered the most variation and adjustability, while presenting incredibly low weight. This is a feature of all Easton products, the use of cutting edge technology to drop the weight to almost unbelievable levels, while retaining or improving the strength and fatigue life of the component.
The Bars
The base bar, Easton's Carbon DeltaForce Pursuit bar.
The carbon pursuit bar comes in various sizes (40cm and 42cm c-c) to accommodate different shoulder widths and both have a very shallow drop. The wing design assists with aerodynamics and the short extensions provide a number of hand positions. The real benefits come from the careful design and thought that has gone into the bars.
Firstly, there is the structure of the bars. Easton's Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Technology is used in the composition of the bars. The resin used to bond the carbon fibre together is filled full of NanoTubes to enhance the strength of the resin, and therefore the strength of the bars. This allows less material to be used and in turn reduce the weight to a paltry 210grms.
To further reduce weight, Easton utilise TaperWall technology to reduce the amount of carbon fibre and resin at points of least stress. Easton can also create a bar that has particular properties when it comes to flexing, so that the bars are rigid if you pull up but slightly flexible in the downward motion to help reduce road noise into the riders hands.
Easton's Carbon DeltaForce Pursuit bars also have internal cable routing to help keep the airflow clean around the bars. The bars accept both the smaller 26.0mm clamp, and with the addition of the supplied spacer, also accept the larger clamp diameter.
Weight / Dia 210 grams / 26.0 mm
Sizes 40 and 42 mm (center to center )
AeroForce extensions available in small, medium and large
Material Proprietary Easton CNT composite
Color Black carbon unidirectional
Features
- Multiple hand positions and lengths
- New Easton Unidirectional Design Formed in the fashion of a wing
- Forward swept, shallow drop
- Five-year warranty
Aeroforce Carbon Clip-on Bars
The AeroForce carbon clip-on bars also follow the same principles with regards to their construction. They come in three sizes, small, medium and large. They also have internal cable routing and large comfortable arm pads, which offer a small amount of adjustment from side to side in an arc, but no forward or aft adjustment.
Each arm of the clip-on are separate and can therefore be adjusted independently, with the ends upswept to a comfortable position for your hands in front.
Weight Less than 410 grams/pair
Sizes Fits any 26.0 OD road bar or bullhorn bar (approved for EA70 and EC90 Equipe bars, but not for older EC90 bars)
Color New carbon unidirectional design
Features
- Full carbon TaperWall monocoque construction including pad support arms (no bonds!)
- Bottom mounted clamp for clean looks and easy rotational adjustment
- Lightest and stiffest clip-on available
- Three fixed-length extensions to optimize fit, minimize weight, and maximize stiffness
- Patent-pending Arc Technology for pad width adjustment
- Pad width adjustment externally accessible (no pad removal required)
- Cantilevered Pad Support Arms provide relief from road shock
- Patent-pending Clamshell pad system keeps pads secure and promotes easy pad changes
- Internal cable routing Bar ends can be cut to fit rider preference
We built up our combination with v10 Dura-Ace bar end shifters and Cane Creek carbon brake levers.
The ride
The ride of on the bars was very natural and very comfortable. One concern that we had was the lack of adjustment of the arm pads, however, the arc of adjustment meant that we could find a pad position very easily. The lack of fore and aft positioning of the bars was some concern as ours were slightly too long, however, there is a very large size guide on the box and shop buyers can always try before purchase - internet buyers may need to find a pair to try before ordering. Being able to adjust stem, base bars and clip-ons independently was a real bonus, while still maintaining the very low weight, and also being able to buy them in stages to make a very striking package, is also helpful.
Again, Easton have made a top class set of bars, although quite pricey and the lack of fore and aft adjustment may put some people off - it shouldnt. These are top class bars with some excellently applied technology. Just try before you buy to get the correct size.
Price -
Carbon Pursuit Bar - £149.99
Carbon Clip On - £199.99