Oval A900 Carbon Single Bend Extensions

I should confess, Oval extensions are not new to me, I have used them on various bike but I haven’t used the carbon A900 extensions with this ‘ski tip’ type angling. On test the Oval carbon extensions were paired with an Oval under only aero bar set up and an Oval stem. This makes the Oval aero bar set up perfect for someone wanting to have an aero option on what is predominantly a standard road bike.

These extension bars are exceptionally light with a claimed weight of 100g, a saving of 50g over the alloy equivalent… which even at 50 per cent heavier are still pretty light. You will barely notice them on the bike, they also have a nice uplift of 30 degrees to fit neatly into the angle created by your arms and wrists on the oval arm pads. Measured and easily adjustable they allow for internal cable routing should you require bar end shifters.

Oval do a number of bar styles (straight, single bend, double bend etc). The shape choice is determined by your riding style and position, there isn't one shape that has massive aero benefits over another as the big lump behind the bars will negate any affect improved by the bar shape. The main difference in performance will be down to weight that weight saving over an alloy extension. I'd add that for some of us at least there's a psychological advantage to kit like this too, I feel quicker riding a bike with shiny carbon stuff on it!

At the end of the day these are carbon fibre extensions, they are light, they have the high quality we have come to expect from Oval products, they look good. They do exactly what they are designed for. Available in either lacquered carbon or ferrari red. These aren't cheap but they certainly aren't out of line with what you'd expect to pay for carbon bar extension, in fact you could pay a lot more. What you need to weigh up (pardon the pun) is whether for you the performance advantage of that 50g weight saving is worth more than the £70 difference in price over Oval's alloy version, the A700.

Verdict

Beautifully made, comfortable and featherweight carbon bar extensions, but as ever less costs more