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New Zipp SL70 Aero Road Handlebars Makes Ergonomics Fast & Light

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Zipp-SL70-Aero-Handlebar-SL-Sprint-Stem

The new ZippSL70 Aero Bar takes their slightly ergo round Service Course edition and makes it a bit more slippery.  The shape falls into their revised sizing system introduced last fall, giving it a fairly shallow reach and drop with a slight outward sweep to the lower handles.

The large, flat wings of the top section fall within UCI regulations, and they aren’t just for aerodynamics based on shape alone. Tony Martin says he’s been using them to mimic the position of a TT bike:

“I used it in the Prologue of Tour of Dubai and I can say that it is a fast handlebar. The Zipp SL-70 Aero is the closest thing to get to the position of TT bike even on the road. It looks good and it gives me the opportunity to go in an aero position with the arms inside the handlebar.”

Swoop down the line for more…

Zipp-SL70-Aero-Handlebar-for-road-bikes

Underneath, it gets the stealthy Rapid Routing system from the Vuka Stealth triathlon bars, making both mechanical and electronic drivetrain installation easy and tidy. While it’s hard to compare for usage, the SL70 Aero is supposedly 30% stiffer than the Vuka Sprint. But it’s not clip-on compatible. Other claims, from Zipp:

  • Distinctive wing-shaped top designed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the same supercomputing software used to design Zipp Firecrest wheels.
  • A traditional round-tube handlebar top creates drag of about 0.74 Newtons, which they found requires about 7.5 watts of effort at 30mph (48.3kph) to overcome. The SL-70 Aero exhibits just 0.11N of drag, which means a savings of 6.4 watts over a round bar.

Zipp-SL70-Aero-Handlebar-for-road-bikes

Other specs:

  • Sizes: 38, 40, 42, 44 cm (center-to-center)
  • Weight: 240g (42cm)
  • Material: Unidirectional carbon
  • Reach: 70mm
  • Drop: 128mm
  • Ramp angle: 10 degrees
  • Drop outsweep: 4 degrees
  • MSRP: $350, €300, £266
  • Retail Availability: March 2014

Zipp-SL70-Aero-Handlebar-for-road-bikes

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17 Comments
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pmurf
pmurf
10 years ago

At this point it would be well served with eagle wing graphics up top.

480rider
480rider
10 years ago

So…they re-branded the Vuka Sprint. It does not strike me as newsworthy.

Percist
Percist
10 years ago

If we’re looking at drag on handlebars now does this mean we need dimpled bar tape? Wax the tape before each race to save watts?

Skidmap
10 years ago

Looks sexy, but more than aerodynamics, I think having that area to rest your hands for long rides is nice. Though at first glance I think those flippers might clip my knees.

vectorbug
vectorbug
10 years ago

Funny how road bar trends are sweeping forward and mountain bike bars tend to sweep back.

Psi Squared
Psi Squared
10 years ago

From my own experience it seems swept back handlebars are more comfy than swept forward bars.

Derek
Derek
10 years ago

Road bars are usually swept forward because your hands are in a much narrower position than compared to when on a mountain bike.

Try it for yourself. When your hands are narrower of your elbows a swept forward bar will feel better in your hands. When your hands are wider than your elbows, a swept back bar will feel better.

goridebikes
goridebikes
10 years ago

Finally something cool and newsworthy… Nice refresh of the Vuka bar, a little more sex appeal.
Do want.

jon
jon
10 years ago

how about some pictures of Tony Martin using these to achieve his TT position.

Bert
Bert
10 years ago

Wondering if the aerodynamics improvements were measured with or without rider/dummy.

thesteve4761
thesteve4761
10 years ago

Do they make one to match my Campy Seatpost?

plebs
plebs
10 years ago

I still don’t understand why integrated combos aren’t more of a thing. I know it would cost a ton to make moulds and stock about 10 different sizes, but gains is gains. It seems odd to have a tri bike with solid chainrings and an actual faceplate with bolts that face into the wind.

Reynard
Reynard
10 years ago

Plebs, personally, I like the idea of being able to tilt my bars to my preferred angle. I’m a bit retro and don’t like the high angled bars/levers that many these days like.

Argh
Argh
10 years ago

@plebs, actually there is no problems with aerodynamics in stem area. Aerodynamics optimized in sides – there is a much more wind.

China sells a lot of integrated aero road handlebars

Jheeno
Jheeno
10 years ago
NASH
NASH
10 years ago

A round tube is a lot stronger than a flattened tube if the weight is directly on top of the bar such as when sprinting. had aero bars snap on a bike that wasn’t crashed, they were alloy so I am unsure carbon would be as easy to break.

Psi Squared
Psi Squared
10 years ago

Even the most cursory examination shows the Zipp aero bar and the Specialized Aerofly aren’t even close to being copies of each other.

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