I recently purchased a set of aero bars for my Trek road bike. After a lot of
research, I decided the best fit for my bike and requirements were aero bars from
Redshift:
Redshift Quick-Release Clip-On Aerobars – Carbon Extensions – L-bend
I picked these aero bars for a few reasons:
- They had decent reviews around the web
- There was a carbon mount available (my bike frame and seat post is carbon, so for a few extra bucks, so are the aero bars)
- They were easily removed if I didn’t want to always ride with them (a tool free removal)
- With an extra purchase, I could get a computer mount (which later turned out to be not so worthwhile)
- In about 5 seconds, you can remove a single bar. This may be important to you as it was to me.
While the instructions for the aero bar are unnecessarily and unfortunately terse, they’re relatively easy to install.
Once I installed the aero bars per the instructions I couldn’t initially find a satisfactory location for my GoPro. I like riding with the GoPro set to 1 second time-lapse … then put to video (the results are often mesmerizing!).
A few months ago, I purchased a non-GoPro Hero mount for my bicycle, the K-EDGE GO BIG Pro HandleBar Mount. I bought this to reduce the vibrations and also better secure the Hero to the bicycle. Before the K-EDGE, I simply could not get the mount to stay consistently secure on my semi-bumpy rides. It would slowly change positions and ruin a large segment of the captures if I didn’t notice it quickly. The K-EDGE is certainly a premium product (but made in the USA!).
The K-EDGE is ROCK SOLID. I couldn’t believe how much better the results were when the camera would stay firmly in position. While it can’t solve the problem of a bumpy ride, the camera shakes less on it’s own (reducing secondary vibrations).
With the K-EDGE, the mount takes up very little space on the handlebars, unlike the original GoPro bicycle mount. So, by orienting the K-EDGE down and flipping the Hero, the image nicely captures the scene in front of the bicycle without being obscured by the aero bars.
I also own the
Annex Quad Lock Bike Mount Kit for iPhone 5/5S – Black. At first I was concerned that the combination of the aero bars, and the phone
would be a disaster (and that there wouldn’t be enough room to properly snap and
lock the quad lock case onto the bicycle mount). In fact, there isn’t room. But, in
about 5 seconds, you can release the tension on one of the aero bars, flip the small
catch, and remove the bar completely. Snap the phone onto the Quad Lock, and replace
the bar. It’s a really nice setup.
What didn’t work out was the Redshift Computer Mount for Quick-Release Aerobars. I didn’t realize that the mount was not the same diameter as my road bike handle bars. In fact, it’s small enough that I don’t have a single thing that would attach to it. I had a wonderful steel bicycle bell I’d bought via a Kickstarter that unfortunately doesn’t have a home on my bike anymore. I thought it would attach to the computer mount, but it’s much too large as is. I’ll probably need to rig up some extra padding for it to make up the difference, but I’d hate to loose the bell to my faulty contraption.
From the back …
On my first ride with the aero bars I noticed they’d rattle a tiny bit when riding. After stopping and over-analyzing the situation, I noticed that I simply had not tightened the quick release bolt well enough. An extra turn on both made them both rattle-free.
I also didn’t care for the raw feel of the bars, so I added handle-bar tape to the end where I rest my hands. The Comfort cork is very nice: Planet Bike Comfort GEL Road Bike Handlebar Tape with Reflective Bar Plugs (Orange Cork).