Culprit CCSR Armrests Boost Aerobar Comfort & Control, From Triathlon to Gravel: Review

I’ll admit that I was quite reluctant to put a set of these giant Culprit CCSR armrests onto the lightweight aero bar setup I bolt onto my gravel bike for ultra-distance-style endurance riding. They are more than 300g heavier than the minimalist Deda setup I was already using, and so much bulkier that it almost seems silly to compare them.

But I did it, and I rode the bike with the CCSR setup. And the improvement in comfort and control with the Culprit Carbon Composite Speed Rests installed is night-and-day. So much so, that it’s much easier to spend more time on the aerobars, and I feel much more justified in having them on the gravel bike in the first place.

Culprit CCSR Carbon Composite Speed Rests aerobar upgrade

I first wrote about Culprit’s original CSR carbon armrest upgrade four years ago, and they now sell for $210 a pair. The benefits sounded solid, but many (most?) cyclists had a hard time wrapping their brain around paying so much to bolt a heavier set of armrests (CSR claimed weight of ~314g with pads) onto an aerobar setup which they probably already were generally satisfied riding.

The Culprit long arm cup concept was simple:

• Extra-long aerobar armrests spread your weight over a larger area for improved comfort
• Higher curved arm cups give you more surface to push against laterally for improved control
• More bolt-on positions allow riders to position and angle armrests in their ideal ergonomic position
• All of which result in a rider being able to stay in their most aero tuck position longer for less wind resistance

So, Culprit went back to the drawing board to figure out how to make them more affordable – and at the same time even more versatile. They settled on injection-molded carbon-reinforced composite. And were able to get the same length, shape, strength, and adjustability at just a slight weight penalty – claimed around +20g.

In fact, the new Culprit CCSR armrests have even more position adjustability (32 vs. 24 bolt holes) and even taller supporting sides to the arm cups (max 52mm height vs. 36mm).

Tech details and actual weight

The newer Culprit CCSR armrests are each 210mm long overall and 116mm wide at the widest point. They are 64mm wide at the flat spot under your forearms through the middle of the arm cups, then taper to 36mm wide closer to your wrists. The inner side of the cup is 36mm & outer side 52mm tall overall, measured from the base. The base of the cups is 8.5mm thick where they mount to your aerobar brackets, but with 4mm recessed holes so everything sits flush.

In actuality though, the real widths feel a bit narrower, side heights a bit lower, and the radii of its curves wider once you attach the cushy 12mm thick arm pads.

There’s an almost mind-boggling 32 bolt holes – for most standard 2-bolt mounting – which gives huge adjustability. And with alternately horizontal or longitudinal oversized slots, you can easily tweak their final angle with pretty much any aerobar mounting.

Culprit claims a weight of 318g for the 2 arm cups without pads or bolts – essentially the same as the original carbon version with its pads. Mine weighed a real 324g, but you aren’t going to use them without pads.

Their actual weight was 404g for the pair with pads (no bolts). I didn’t include the 30g of bolts that Culprit sent, because I didn’t use any of them, and you’ll most likely use whatever stock bolts you had, just like me.

So how do they compare size-wise to something more conventional?

Starting off, I had a clip-on Deda Fastblack2 aerobar for my long-distance gravel bike setup, which are great actually.

They are simple, not crazy expensive for what they are, and are lightweight – weighing just 394 in total – for carbon extensions, bolt-on bar clamps, alloy arm cups & pads.

Its curved alloy cups are 91cm wide, just 95cm long, and max out at 32mm high. Then, they are topped with 7mm thick shaped pads, and weigh 87g for the pair of cups & pads. They also have 16 bolt holes and no rotational adjustment.

Needless to say, they are a fraction of the size (<1/2) and weight (<1/4) of the Culprit CCSR setup. And I was fine riding them.

At least until I realized that I could be more comfortable…

Why I have aero bars on a gravel bike in the first place

I know aerobars on gravel bikes look weird, bordering on ludicrous. And there is certainly valid debate that they may not be a safe idea for gravel racing, especially not in mass-start events. But the reason that I have aerobars is simply to give me more, and more comfortable hand positions for extra-long distance riding (and potentially racing) over a mix of smooth & rough terrain.

I enjoy riding a gravel bike – even loaded down with bags – across some gnarly terrain. But my hands and wrists can really suffer, to the point after multiple days that I might have to stop for extended periods of time just to give my hands a break. I haven’t personally experienced it, but I’ve had more than one close friend come back from an ultra-distance off-road race with nerve damage, tingling hands, and a lack of feeling in their fingers for weeks on end.

So, I’m happy to ride around with these silly things strapped to my bar in hopes of avoiding that. And in reality, they’re only on the bike a couple of months of the year, and are easily removed for regular gravel riding.

My setup

Now, back to their setup. The huge positioning adjustability allowed me to install the new Culprit CCSR armrests a bit wider than my original cups, while also slightly angling them inward so I could keep the aerobar extensions narrow like I like. They’re also a bit further back, so I don’t have to lean quite so far forward (hence the extensions slid back too, which I’ve yet to trim down.)

Together, that puts my elbows a bit wider, so I have a much better steering control while leaned forward over the bar.

And even though these extended cups are huge, I still have ~3cm between their underside and the top of my bar tape, so there’s still plenty of room for my hands on the tops.

Review: Riding on the Culprit CCSR armrest setup is just better!

In the end, the carbon composite Culprit CCSR armrests literally do everything they promised they would. The long, wide & soft pads are so comfortable that I’m able to ride an almost infinite amount of time leaning forward – at least within my scope of mixed-surface riding. They aren’t there to ride off-road really, so it’s pretty much just a spot to lay down and rest my hands on sections of tarmac and smoother gravel roads.

With my elbows wider and supported by the high cups, I have no problem steering the bike through corners, as long as I can see far enough through the exit of the turn to know I won’t need to brake. But even when I do need to come out of them at high speed to slow down, the upturn of the cups makes for a comfortable and controlled move from the aerobars back to the brake hoods. There’s no sense of wobbling like I remember from occasionally riding tri bikes. Although, some of that also comes from extra handling stability of a gravel bike in the first place.

Ultimately, I spend more time on the aerobars with the Culprit CCSR setup than I did before. And that means more time in a more aerodynamic position, savings precious watts.

So I call that a win!

Plus, it helps me feel better about putting aerobars on the gravel bike in the first place.

Use beyond gravel

Gravel is surely an edge case for aero bars to start with. But I expect that these same benefits will apply just as much (or more!) to time trial and triathlon riders who want to spend a greater percentage of time on the aero bars. We all know aero gains mean more watts saved at higher speeds. And cyclists actually racing against the clock are going to care more about those seconds saved, when it could make a difference whether they win or not.

Simply being able to stay longer in your most aero tuck thanks to the extra comfort & control with the Culprit CCSR Carbon Composite Speed Rests is hard to argue with.

The downsides

While it sounds like a pretty glowing review, there are still a few cons to the CCSRs, too. The Culprit Carbon Composite Speed Rests are certainly heavy relative to conventional setups. I actually chose my original Deda setup because of its lightweight and hand position adjustability. And switching the cups out to CCSR cups added 317g. That’s an 80% weight increase, not to mention the increased cost.

Let’s be honest though, that weight gain is less than half a water bottle or a couple of spare light butyl inner tubes. It’s really not much.

The basic thick foam pads also aren’t as sophisticated as most aerobar setups. They are comfortable. But there are just 12 tiny 2mm perforated holes more for swat drainage than ventilation, with no airflow channels, and my forearms did get hot and sweaty staying in the same position on long, warm rides. Plus, the fabric face of the pads is soft, and can get caught on sharp edges like a watch. One of my pads has a small scrape, but it hasn’t frayed at all and still looks pretty good.

And lastly, the pads are held securely in place with velcro stuck onto the composite cups. And it holds so securely that when I wanted to remove and reposition the pads, I had to be very careful not to just pull the velcro away from the cup. Careful rolling/peeling the foam pads away mostly worked. And when it didn’t, I was able to just stick the velcro back to the cups and it still holds securely.

Culprit CCSR – Pricing, options & availability

A set of composite CCSR long armrests sells for $128-138 in Culprit’s webshop, plus shipping & import costs since they are sent directly from Taiwan where the company is based. For a very limited time now, they also are still offering a Black Friday special where you could get two sets of Culprit CCSR armrests for $200, presumably so you could share those delivery costs with a friend who also would benefit from an upgrade to their aerobars.

The Culprit CCSR armrests are not UCI legal (because they are too long), but Culprit does offer a chopped-down version that’s still wide and comfy but just 128mm long, for a lower $108.

Their lighter more expensive carbon CSRs are also currently on sale in a package with Culprit’s own extensions if you feel the need for padding all the way to your hands.

Get ’em all now, directly from Culprit.

CulpritBicycles.com