General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Aerobar LBS quandry Rss Feed  
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2005-08-10 11:47 AM

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Veteran
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Indianapolis, IN
Subject: Aerobar LBS quandry
I am going to put a set of the Profile Design Carbon Strykes on my road bike. I have seen them at All3sports or one of the online Tri shops for $109.00 with free shipping I think. My LBS tri shop wants $149 for them.

My question is: Do I buy them at the online shop (not supporting my local Tri shop) and try and fit them myself, buy them online and then go pay to have the local Tri shop do a quick fit for $25-$35 or buy them at the local Tri shop and hope they will fit them for free?

Cost online: $109
Cost at Tri shop: $149
Cost of fitting: $25-$35

I hate to not support the shop but man, $40 bucks is $40 bucks and I dont have a ton to spend.
If they would fit them for free then I would definetely go to the shop but if I have to buy them and pay to have them fit them there, were talking close to $200.




2005-08-10 11:51 AM
in reply to: #221649

Master
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Shreveport, LA
Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry
Just ask them they will include a fitting with the bars.

I try to support my LBS, because they provide great service. I had bought a defective tire from them two weeks ago. They replaced the tire, installed in the shop for me, and gave me new tubes to replace all the ones that the tire had busted.

Service is worth something.
2005-08-10 11:57 AM
in reply to: #221649

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Resident Curmudgeon
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The Road Back
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Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry
Yeah, if they fit 'em for free with purchase, then the incremental cost is only $15. Not a bad premium to pay, given that their local, can give you first-hand advice, even offer you different options. The Carbon Strykes may not be the best fit for you and your bike, they would be able to provide alternatives.
2005-08-10 11:59 AM
in reply to: #221649

Expert
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New Orleans, LA
Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry

satchmo72 - 2005-08-10 11:47 AM I am going to put a set of the Profile Design Carbon Strykes on my road bike. I have seen them at All3sports or one of the online Tri shops for $109.00 with free shipping I think. My LBS tri shop wants $149 for them. My question is: Do I buy them at the online shop (not supporting my local Tri shop) and try and fit them myself, buy them online and then go pay to have the local Tri shop do a quick fit for $25-$35 or buy them at the local Tri shop and hope they will fit them for free? Cost online: $109 Cost at Tri shop: $149 Cost of fitting: $25-$35 I hate to not support the shop but man, $40 bucks is $40 bucks and I dont have a ton to spend. If they would fit them for free then I would definetely go to the shop but if I have to buy them and pay to have them fit them there, were talking close to $200.

Okay, now granted I am new at this, but I can not imagine your bike shop not fitting your bike for your aerobars. Did you buy your bike from them? They way I see it is this. Bike Shop = $149, online + fitting = $144. Not that big of a difference. Plus if you go to the bike shop and start building that relationship, the next time you go in there they may give a better deal on whatever you are looking to buy. Which ever you decide, unless you are super good, I would not suggest fitting your own bike. Have it professionally done.

2005-08-10 12:26 PM
in reply to: #221649

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Washington DC
Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry
I agree with the above posts, plus you may be all ready to drive to the airport for a big race someday and have something mangled on your bike. If you've developed a relationship with the shop, they'll give you emergency room treatment.

Also understand that the shop isn't ripping you off ... they pay more for the bars. My coaching business used to sell heart rate monitors until Performance 2 miles away started selling them for below my wholesale cost. Performance buys 100,000 monitors and gets them really cheap.

The shop will probably install the bars free, but remember not to expect it on a weekend. Let them do the free work when it least interferes with what they are doing. Ken
2005-08-10 12:36 PM
in reply to: #221649

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New user
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Long Island NY
Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry
Maybe putting the bars on yourself would be a good experience. You could still buy em from your shop and put em on, but for any reason you cant, bring em to your shop to get fitted.


2005-08-10 12:53 PM
in reply to: #221649

Pro
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Andover
Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry
Those bars are a piece of cake to install! And, there really isn't much you need to do to fit them, as long as you aren't talking about doing a full fit/stem change. They adjust in/out from you and should be positioned with your forearms on the pads, which are also adjustable.

Don't forget to order their computer mount--no tools needed to install it and it's KEWL!

2005-08-10 12:58 PM
in reply to: #221747

Expert
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New Orleans, LA
Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry

MountainBreeze - 2005-08-10 12:53 PM Those bars are a piece of cake to install! And, there really isn't much you need to do to fit them, as long as you aren't talking about doing a full fit/stem change. They adjust in/out from you and should be positioned with your forearms on the pads, which are also adjustable. Don't forget to order their computer mount--no tools needed to install it and it's KEWL!

I thought that when you put aerobars on your bike you were supposed to adjust your handbars/seat etc to get an even better aerodynamic position to match your new aerobars?

2005-08-10 1:12 PM
in reply to: #221756

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Giver
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Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry
justalittletri - 2005-08-10 12:58 PM

I thought that when you put aerobars on your bike you were supposed to adjust your handbars/seat etc to get an even better aerodynamic position to match your new aerobars?

Exactly. You may need a shorter stem. You may need to move your seat forward, and therefore raise your saddle a bit. Of some combinaiton. Fitting aerobars isn't a matter of just slapping them on.

And to the poster that said shops pay more. Not really true. They probably pay less, actually, but have overhead that on-line retailers don't. Actually...I guess they may pay more, if you conisder volume discounts big retailers may get. Nevermind.

2005-08-10 1:17 PM
in reply to: #221756

Pro
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Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry
justalittletri - 2005-08-10 12:58 PM

I thought that when you put aerobars on your bike you were supposed to adjust your handbars/seat etc to get an even better aerodynamic position to match your new aerobars?



Only if you re trying to turn your road bike into a Tri bike. If you want to keep the bike comfortable/efficient in the road position and add the aero bars for an added advantage, then you don't have to adjust your seat/stem as they should already be fit/adjusted for your road position.

One of the nice things about the Carbon Stryke bars is that you can adjust them in/out so you don't have to change your bike's fit adjustments but you can still get aero.

Now, if you are trying to make it a Tri bike... then "Fitting aerobars isn't a matter of just slapping them on."

Edited by MountainBreeze 2005-08-10 1:19 PM
2005-08-10 1:19 PM
in reply to: #221779

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Giver
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Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry

MountainBreeze - 2005-08-10 1:17 PM Only if you re trying to turn your road bike into a Tri bike. If you want to keep the bike comfortable/efficient in the road position and add the aero bars for an added advantage, then you don't have to adjust your seat/stem as they should already be fit/adjusted for your road position. One of the nice things about the Carbon Stryke bars is that you can adjust them in/out so you don't have to change your bike's fit adjustments but you can still get aero. Now, if you are trying to make it a Tri bike... then that's a different story.

That may be a good point. I guess that I've found that when putting clip-ons on a road bike, you're waaaaay too stretched out on the aerobars, but if you can adjust them inward, it may negate that.



2005-08-10 1:39 PM
in reply to: #221649

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Veteran
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Indianapolis, IN
Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry
Thanks all. I would really like to develop a relationship with this shop since they are the only ones locally that cater to Tri's. They also carry the Felt I'm looking at in the future and they are very close to the house. I dont mind buying the bars from them if they will fit them for me.

I really dont want to change the overall geometry of the bike since it is my century bike and hill training bike so I most likely will move the bars in a bit. I cant move the saddle forward anymore than it already is and would have to either buy a new seatpost or get the Selle Tri saddle I want. Money that I dont have to spend right now.

I have very broad shoulders and know that the aero advantages would be huge with the bars.
2005-08-10 1:47 PM
in reply to: #221649

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Champion
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Sarasota, FL
Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry
Ironically, I recently got a set of the Carbon Strykes for my bike and went through the same anguish about supporting my LBS. I had found the bars online for $129, where the shop had them for $149.

My decision was made much easier because the shop owed me a follow-up fit session on my new bike and we combined the two together, where normally they would charge $50 for a fit session. So paying them the extra $20 for the aerobars was a no-brainer.

When I originally bought my bike they set it up to be optimal when I was riding on the brake hoods. With the new aerobars installed, they tweaked my seat height (up) and fore/aft position (aft to accomodate my long torso) a bit to try to find a good compromise between the two riding positions. I also did an hour-long Spinscan session afterwards to verify everything and to further fine-tune the alignment of my SPD cleats. We were able to get my watts up to 200 while on the aerobars with a spinscan number in the mid 70's. Not exactly Lance-type numbers, but a significant improvement for me, so I was very pleased. All-in-all it was money and time well spent.

Mark




2005-08-10 1:50 PM
in reply to: #221747

Regular
77
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Lewisville, NC
Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry
I'm thinking about buying clip on's from Profile Design as well. Does their computer mount work with any bike computer? I'm thinking about getting a new one - probably the Cateye Astrale 8.

Eric
2005-08-10 1:51 PM
in reply to: #221838

Pro
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Andover
Subject: RE: Aerobar LBS quandry
I'm using their bars, with their mount, and the Astrale 8--see pic in post above.
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