Find, Review and Buy Tribars for your Bike
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Carbon and carbon compositeTribars
Find, compare and buy carbon tribars
If you are considering buying carbon tribars this section should give you the main issues to think about before you purchase. We cover the types available, the main benefits and give some information about fitting; we've also included some links to the most popular bars in use.
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Looking for a particular brand ? - Use the left hand menu.
Types of carbon tribar
The basic choice is between clip-on or integrated carbon bars and as you might expect the clip on versions vary between a simple single piece tribar and multi-piece models that have a range of possible adjustments.With carbon tribars cost may become quite important as these are all more expensive than an equivalent alloy bar, so if you are starting out using tribars it's probably best to start with an alloy one to get used to them and then to move on to carbon. At this point it will make it easier to decide which adjustments you need to have when you buy your carbon tribars, which will probably involve buying a separate stem, extensions and other fitments to allow you the maximum adaptability, especially if you do different competitive rides.
Knowing what you want is especially important if you are going to the expense of buying some integrated carbon tribars, as these can cost several hundred pounds, with the top models perhaps around £700. These top-end tri bars do of course give the ultimate in aerodynamic performance as the manufacturing process can include profiling in all aspects of the bar. This is not possible with alloy bars.
Fitting carbon tribars
As with fitting any tribar the main issue here is to check the base bar diameter and that the clamp supplied with your new bar will allow you to fit it easily to handlebar. Also it's important if you have a carbon handlebar to check that the clamping area will be strong enough to take the force applied through the tribar.Advantages of using carbon tri-bars
As with many bike components the use of carbon gives an excellent combination of decreased weight and increased strength and rigidity; this is sometimes achieved by combination with alloys.Another indirect advantage is that in the case of tribars carbon is somewhat better at protecting you from the transmission of bumps and vibrations while riding. Obviously on longer rides this could be an important factor.
Using carbon in the manufacture of tribars also gives interesting possibilities for designing different profiles, to get the maximum benefit from aerodynamics. This comes to its ultimate result in the manufacture of single piece carbon tribars with remarkably complex shapes and profiles all rolled into one.
