New Smart ENVE System aero bar for triathlon and time trial bikes isn’t just aero, it’s perhaps the most massively adjustable set up we’ve seen.
This one’s still a prototype, but national sales manager Ronnie Points says it’s pretty much what the finished product will look like when it comes out later this year. The idea is to get the benefits of an aero position while still being able to get your fit right. The aero profiles of the base bar comes from Simon Smart, who also had input on the range of fit this would provide.
Tuck in past the break for all the details…
It’ll come as a very modular system, with 5, 10 and 20mm spacers for the elbow rests, which can be run inboard or outboard, and the base bar has a 21mm drop or rise.
The extensions are spaced 86mm or 173mm apart (center to center) based on how you mount the arm rests.
The mounts rotate, letting you angle the extensions from flat to 15° up. And, you can even mount the arm rests on top but the extensions on the bottom.
The arm rests have four mounting positions to adjust them a bit more in or out, rotate them a bit and set them fore/aft a bit.
The extensions have two sets of cable entry ports, with exit ports on the rear of the base bar and extensions. Cut guides are on the rear of the extension and front, in 10mm increments, and there are two cut lines at the beginning of each bend if you want a much shorter extension. And if you want the bend a certain way, flip the bar around to put the bends closer to the base bar.
At 706g, it’s respectably light for a complete aero system. Points says this is pretty close to what the final product should weigh.
Should start production later in the year. Retail should be around $1,300.
In other news, the mountain bike handlebars get the same graphical model treatment as the DH bar across the range, and all of them get a new logo treatment at the center. Unfortunately, most of them are backordered for weeks.
