[Grringo6]

With SUCH a convoluted bike name (and hefty price tag) you’d think there’d be a comprehensive aero  bars setup . . . well, no.

Giant have gone to the no doubt expensive trouble of designing quite fancy clip-ons for the uniquely profiled aero composite drop bars BUT, while reasonably facilitating height and left/right elbow rest adjystment have criminally neglected to allow for forward/aft adjustment of their (£79) clip-ons.

What’s a poor (read – can’t afford TT bike as well!) endurance triathlete to do to get that proper bikefitted elbow position instead of a rubbish and sore-after-45-mins fixed reach?

I’m having to talk to engineers at the moment for a mod/hack that will transform these clip-ons into a properly adjustable form.

If there’s anyone out there who knows of any fixes for this please post. Any wonky solution considered as it seems wrong for the proprietary clip-ons to fit only the tiny minority of perfect medium or perfect large body types. 

Massive thanks in optomistic anticipation. 

G

 

This is 

Topic

[Grringo6]

hey there.

hey there.

sorry, no progress to report but my intention is still as above. i’ve bookmarked these 3: 

Carbon Armrests

https://www.revolverwheels.co.uk/shop/components-accessories/ergo-mantis-carbon-fibre-tribar-arm-rests/

https://www.aero-coach.co.uk/store/product/aerocoach-align-wing-carbon-arm-rests

soooo expensive though. sounds like we’re in precisely the same predicament (armrest mid-goddam-forearm) so my additional observations may be handy.

i’ve been out on the bike a lot trying to condition my lumbar spine for that aero position and just rested my arms on the bars (look dad, no hands) in what i consider the best position, just to get a rough idea of where these aftermarkets might sit and to make sure they’d not be so far back that my knees would hit them when out of the saddle (bearing in mind they’d be significantly elevated , obvs). worth a try to help get your head round your geometry.

my bikefit guy was awesome and confirmed stuff i’d read about the ‘mantis’ forearm (ie forearm angled up with hands high) position being more comfy and more aero. so not a flat/ski extension, more this 

https://www.aero-coach.co.uk/store/product/aerocoach-angles-aerobar-extensions

. . . in fact, i’m realising now that doing all this 3D guesstimation myself could be an expensive mistake. once those holes are drilled in the armrests – you’ve committed to the whole system. and maybe 60/40 chance of a satisfying fit?

anyway – food for thought. let me know if you pull the trigger on any of this stuff, but reckon the sensible/economical thing to do is go back to my bikefitter and do this accurately. likely to be kicking myself for a long time otherwise . . . 

 

 

[mikemjd]

Any update for you @Grringo6?

Any update for you @Grringo6?

I finally got around to fitting mine to my Propel yesterday, and of course I’ve run into the same issue as you, pads almost half way up my arm instead of back close the the elbow. It also seems the Giant TT bars themselves are too short, if I try putting my arms in the correct position, my hands are off the front of the TT bars.

Let me know if you picked up any after maket rests, it’s looking like I’ll have to do the same.

Cheers

 

[Grringo6]

Reckon jn46 has nailed best

Reckon jn46 has nailed best possible option. 

Buy the giant clip-ons for the clamp only (~£75),  remove rests and buy a pair of rests separately eg

https://www.revolverwheels.co.uk/shop/components-accessories/ergo-mantis-carbon-fibre-tribar-arm-rests/

while being super careful to match bolt positions on clamp (or get the undrilled rests and carefully drill myself – or someone who knows what they’re doing! ).

Good luck guys.

 

[Kendalred]

Ah..I see now, the elbow pad

Ah..I see now, the elbow pad comes away from the clamps and there’s a range of movement options including fore/aft and left/right. Right you are.

[mikeyc83]

Interested to see how you get

Interested to see how you get on Grringo6, i am in the same position.

Did you say you had managed to speak with anyone at Giant. I’ve dropped them a note. Just seems daft to create an amazing bike without the ability to accomodate more positions for tri bars.

[Grringo6]

Will check out these

Will check out these suppliers, jn46. Excellent tip.

As you say – it’s all a compromise when tt-ing a road bike because I’m trying to make one bike into 2, but agree that a happy medium and ‘sufficient’ comfort can be found with some patient searching . . . and bonkers expenditure unfortunately.

 

[jn46]

Hi guys,
Hi guys,
A good solution could be to ditch the giant arm rests and pads and replace with something from one of the specialist UK time trial suppliers, such as aerocoach, wattshop, revolver or Matt botrill coaching. You’re stuck with the giant clamps because of the aero shape of the bar obviously.
They’re not cheap but will significantly improve the comfort factor and give you more adjustability. The aerocoach ones for instance are probably twice the size of the stock giant pads, which as well as allowing you to move them fore/aft more also increases the contact area on your forearms, relieving some of the pressure that causes the pain.
From experience Tri bars on road bikes are always a compromise in way or another. Bring them too far back and they impact on handling and bang your knees when standing on climbs, too far forwards and you lose power and have to use your core more (not great if you have a run to follow). There is a happy compromise it’s just finding it.
The giant clip ons are really an afterthought for Olympic distance draft legal or sprint triathlons. The hardwares sound but the adjustability range in the arm rests is badly lacking by current standards and you’ll unfortunately need to spend some more to get them to work for you. Any of the specialist pads would be a worthwhile upgrade. Look at a lot of the top long distance triathletes or super fast time trialists and the majority are on aftermarket arm rests. Good luck!

[Grringo6]

Hey Kendalred & Fenix – Like

Hey Kendalred & Fenix – Like most fore/aft adjustable clip-ons you remove the elbow rest cushion (sometimes velcro, sometime adhesive) which reveals a grid of possible hex bolt positions in the underlying elbow rest from which you select 2, depending on your preferred fit. It takes looking at these things physically to get one’s head around I suspect.

You can see one example nice n clearly on the Profile Design installation vid on this page. 

https://trigearlab.com/best-aero-bars/

Also the rotational forces may be a consideration for round non-aero bars but the feature (and maddening factor) of the Giant aero bars we’re discussing is that they are not round but tear-shaped. The clamps cannot rotate.

Thanks anyway, guys, and happy cycling.

[Grringo6]

mikemjd wrote:

Hi Grringo6, thanks for getting back to me.

The bars on my bike are named Giant Contact SL Aero, and these are the clip-on bars I’ve purchased: https://www.7hundred.co.uk/50849/products/giant-contact-aero-clip-on-clamp-for-propel-disc-aero-handlebars.aspx

As I’ve unboxed them already I may try them out and see what position I can achieve, at least if I run into problems, thanks to your contributions I’ll know why the setup’s falling short.

It’s good to know the non-UK part is a potential solution, but I’m not sure that would match the shape of my bars (looking at the bars it was designed for).

That Celtman looks and sounds brutal, I’m doing my first 70.3s this year in the form of the Slateman, Snowman & Sandman tris, that’s the primary reason I got the Propel.

I’ve seen a video on YouTube of a Propel TT fit: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gfI7kQKVmmc – what’s your opinion of the position he’s in? not sure if he’s using the aero bars with clip-on setup, but it appears the arm rests are directly over the bars.

Hope your training goes well!

 

Thanks – and apologies, in my haste I mis-typed and did mean, of course, ‘Contact’ SL & SLR. The link you include are the exact set I returned as they cannot be adjusted fore/aft. 

The other version I linked to definitely do, as per Giant spec. You can google the product number for the installation l/setup guide pdf which is clearly different from the set you have as it instructs how to adjust fore/aft.

Frustratingly I can’t quite make out the setup on the video. He looks quite appropriate and comfy and with elbows over bars but you’ve only got to look at the variety of positions out there as well as the popularity of eg Profile Design clip-ons (adjustable fore/aft) to see that it’s a personal bio-mechanic issue. Shortening my stem length significantly alters handling and would mean I’d be too upright when on the hoods. But adjusting elbow rests aft would be ideal for both and is very common on non-aero bar setups.

[Kendalred]

Grringo6 wrote:

Hey Mikemjd – After weeks of deciphering the ludicrously complex Giant nomenclature (!) and international phone calls (I kid you not) I’ve arrived at a decision but not necessarily a surefire solution.

It’s all about the clamps. I have the Connect SLR Aero bars (previous version of yr bike) and you have the Connect SL Aero bars. I *believe* the cross-section profiles are identical but haven’t been able to verify this. I bought and then returned the clip-ons pushed in the UK. These are the square elbow rest design, and touted as ‘multi-position’ but are not adjustable in all 3 planes, ie, NOT fore/aft.

My only remaining lead came from non-UK, Euro Giant stores, eg, Dublin.

http://www.giant-dublin.ie/ie/contact-aero-clip-on-clamps-for-contact-slr-aero-handlebars

These clip-ons – more of a cup-shaped elbow rest – are adjustable fore/aft although not hugely. My Edinburgh Giant stockist said they were unable to order non-UK stock full stop. I decided to just get used to the feel of my standard bike over winter and then see if Dublin will sell me these clip-ons direct come spring and my Celtman training (yikes!)

BUT . . . it’s a punt as I’ve no guarantee the clamp profile will exactly match my bars. I suspect it’s the same story for your SL bars. 

The only solution offered by Giant UK stores was replace the stem & bars to conventional/non-aero and then there’d be plenty of better clip-on options. But obviously there wld be horrific messy fiddly consequences with cabling, not to mention aero-ness and aesthetics. 

Hope this helps. Let me know if you’ve unearthed any more info.

Cheers

G

I’ll take your word for it that these clip-ons can be adjusted backwards and forwards, but I can’t see how they would, looking at them. Typically, the description is minimalist at best: ‘wide-range armrest positioning’ is a bit ambiguous. 

As Fenix said, moving the armrests from directly above the bars would put rotational pressure on the clamps, and may cause them to move during the hours that you’ll be using them in the events that you are entering. If you have exhausted the other routes – namely a shorter stem or moving your saddle as far forward as possible (or both), then I suppose you have no choice if you want the best position.

[fenix]

If the rests aren’t over the

If the rests aren’t over the bars then you’ll be putting a lot of pressure on the clamps to rotate surely ?  You could just get a longer/shorter stem to suit ?  

[mikemjd]

Hi Grringo6, thanks for

Hi Grringo6, thanks for getting back to me.

The bars on my bike are named Giant Contact SL Aero, and these are the clip-on bars I’ve purchased: https://www.7hundred.co.uk/50849/products/giant-contact-aero-clip-on-clamp-for-propel-disc-aero-handlebars.aspx

As I’ve unboxed them already I may try them out and see what position I can achieve, at least if I run into problems, thanks to your contributions I’ll know why the setup’s falling short.

It’s good to know the non-UK part is a potential solution, but I’m not sure that would match the shape of my bars (looking at the bars it was designed for).

That Celtman looks and sounds brutal, I’m doing my first 70.3s this year in the form of the Slateman, Snowman & Sandman tris, that’s the primary reason I got the Propel.

I’ve seen a video on YouTube of a Propel TT fit: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gfI7kQKVmmc – what’s your opinion of the position he’s in? not sure if he’s using the aero bars with clip-on setup, but it appears the arm rests are directly over the bars.

Hope your training goes well!

[Grringo6]

Hey Mikemjd – After weeks of

Hey Mikemjd – After weeks of deciphering the ludicrously complex Giant nomenclature (!) and international phone calls (I kid you not) I’ve arrived at a decision but not necessarily a surefire solution.

It’s all about the clamps. I have the Connect SLR Aero bars (previous version of yr bike) and you have the Connect SL Aero bars. I *believe* the cross-section profiles are identical but haven’t been able to verify this. I bought and then returned the clip-ons pushed in the UK. These are the square elbow rest design, and touted as ‘multi-position’ but are not adjustable in all 3 planes, ie, NOT fore/aft.

My only remaining lead came from non-UK, Euro Giant stores, eg, Dublin.

http://www.giant-dublin.ie/ie/contact-aero-clip-on-clamps-for-contact-slr-aero-handlebars

These clip-ons – more of a cup-shaped elbow rest – are adjustable fore/aft although not hugely. My Edinburgh Giant stockist said they were unable to order non-UK stock full stop. I decided to just get used to the feel of my standard bike over winter and then see if Dublin will sell me these clip-ons direct come spring and my Celtman training (yikes!)

BUT . . . it’s a punt as I’ve no guarantee the clamp profile will exactly match my bars. I suspect it’s the same story for your SL bars. 

The only solution offered by Giant UK stores was replace the stem & bars to conventional/non-aero and then there’d be plenty of better clip-on options. But obviously there wld be horrific messy fiddly consequences with cabling, not to mention aero-ness and aesthetics. 

Hope this helps. Let me know if you’ve unearthed any more info.

Cheers

G

 

 

 

[mikemjd]

Grringo6 wrote:

So still unresolved.

My bikefitted aero position needs my elbows nearer my body than can be facilitated by Giant’s clip-ons for this bike model and that is that.

At least my definition of the problem is way more concise now !!

Thanks for your ideas/chat everyone.

To the hills.

 

Sorry to bump this @Grringo6 , but I’ve recently purchased a Giant Advanced Disc 2 (2019), along with the corrosponding aero clip-ons for Giant Contact SL Aero handlebars. The bike was purchased for 70.3 triathlons, knowing I could use it in group rides also.

I’m now wondering if I’m going to run into the same issues you’ve had when trying to find a comfortable position.

How did things progress for you with this bike and an aero bar setup?

[Grringo6]

So still unresolved.

So still unresolved.

My bikefitted aero position needs my elbows nearer my body than can be facilitated by Giant’s clip-ons for this bike model and that is that.

At least my definition of the problem is way more concise now !!

Thanks for your ideas/chat everyone.

To the hills.

[Author]

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