Integrated bar -vs- base & clip-ons?

Depends on your goals and finances....I am putting clip on's on my road bike for the Great Floridan Iron Distance in October due to the climbing on the course. I have a tri bike also that has an inegrated head set which is much easier to adjust for a proper aero fit. If you are riding a road bike as a tri bike full time on relatively flat courses then the integrated might be a better way to go....otherwise save a little cash and get the clip-ons.

Brett

Thanks Brett,

I guess I should have been more specific about the bike...

I have clip-ons on my road bike but I'm trying to figure out what I want to put on the P2SL when I build it. Obviously, this will be a full-time Tri bike , that is why I'm considering going integrated. But, looking at Cervelo's site, I see even the P3 comes with a base bar and clip-ons. This is why I began to question the pros/cons.

Another question: You mentioned an integrated headset. To the best of my knowledge, the P2SL has an integrated h/s (at least their framesets come with the h/s which I why I am "assuming" they are integrated), does this mean I have to use an integrated bar? Sorry for the question but I've never had a bike with an integrated h/s.

Thanks again,
Rob

HMM good question....I have no idea.....Call all3sports and talk to Patrick... he will know.

www.all3ports.com

Brett

UPDATE--An email reply from VisionTech:

"Integrated bars are mainly sold to athletes that already know their ideal fit position. Since integrated bars are connected by welds, thus eliminating heavy hardware such as bolts, nuts, washers, they cannot be adjusted (pads height and position is adjustable. Everything else is fixed, unless you consider cutting the extensions to a shorter length adjustment), they really need to be fit to the rider personally. This means that they are difficult to use for original equipment, and are better suited to aftermarket applications.

Cervelo uses the Base bar and clip ons for one simple reason, you can alter the stem length, bar width or clip on length. When a bike company sells a complete bike to a shop, they can only approximately estimate the proper fit for the final customer. So, in order to allow for the most adjustability, Cervelo opted to use modular components. This allows the shop selling the bike to make the final fit.

As to the pro’s and con’s;
Modular (Clip On, Base bar, stem)
• Adjustable
• Lightweight (slightly lighter than the integrated)
• Internally routed for brakes and shifters
• Fast
• All angles are adjustable
• A bit more hardware to maintain

Integrated (Trimax Carbon or Alloy)
• 4 sizes to fit almost all
• Lightweight
• Faster/more aerodynamic than the modular components
• Internally routed for brakes and shifters
• Minimal hardware to maintain
• Extension angle not adjustable

I realize that most of the pro’s are the same between the two, since the features on both are similar. The key info is the adjustability of the modular set up versus the aero profile of the integrated bar.""

So, there you have it...