The Fred Bar was born with the Tour Divide – but is it still relevant these days, or is it obsolete? We’ll discuss the pros and cons, tech, specs, and even a little history to help you decide if this aerobar rising accessory should still be on your radar. Enjoy!
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31 Comments
Great video. Just bought some aero bars and love the new position it gives me. What kind of bars are you showing in this video? Love the shape. Look very comfy. Thank you!!
How much 😮$$$!?…6061 is a basic alu bike tube….silly price.
THANK YOU ! Nice Job & great information ❗️👏👏
I've been running one on my Cutthroat since watching your tour divide setup video a few months ago.Recently moved it over to my Fargo and have a little fenix light mounted on it with my aero bars.Just enough room for my light to peek around the pitch fork bag under the aero bars.Really comfortable setup.Thanks for the great videos!
Great solution for those who need it. Luckily, a set of 40mm risers and enough adjustability on my Profile Designs bars does the trick for me and my fit, but will keep this in mind for the future.
Love the history. Thanks for the review. Looking to put aero on my touring bike. Video arrived right on time. Thanks and take care, Al
Unavailable in U.K…used a thorn variant & old style 25.4 tri bars does the jobbie
I have the same 2018 Cutthroat Apex bike that has gradually transformed into more upright position with flatbar (Ritchey Kyote) with 15 degree riser stem. Would the Fred be difficult to install with stem angle +15?
👉🏻🚴🏼🚴🏼🚴🏼🇺🇸🫡
what needs to happen is someone just needs to make a handlebar thats just full size diameter. it will reduce overall weight, but also give you better placement for aerobars for these long rides
Normally stock bikes don’t come with extra tube, that means you ’ll have to lower my handlebars and that’s a no for me! The Pro missile aero bars kind of gives you the same arm rest position and rise if you want it, without the extra weight and the $129, Controltech Sirocco mini clip-on Carbon Aerobar claps to the stem gives you the same position too, there are options! The Fred bar looks very solid and strong though.
Cheers
Alan
Does it eliminate completely being able to place hands on top of handlebars ? Looked like you were riding upright on top of bars in one of the screenshots , but maybe the aero bars were not installed ?
Had the Baryak setup , to heavy and didn’t work for me , maybe this is an option .
Thanks again for the well done video .
Miko is awesome .
What is the switch on the left side of your steerer tube/stem? I'm guessing something for your dynamo hub?
What aero bars are you using? They look nice and comfy? Risers too?
That makes a ton of sense, and gives me an excuse for my uncut steerer lol. Will probably have to get one at some point. Pretty steep price though
So I have a question do you know how usually with carbon they have a maximum height your supposed to put the stem
Would this come in to play with that if you have to go above the desired amount or would it affect it?
Thanks Dirty One: Never used the Fred, but I can double confirm that aero bars on the long trips are magic stuff. Tried once without, and was a lot slower, what with stopping every mile to kick myself for not having them. Oh, and spend for quality fixed A bars, and make sure they don't have the hinged elbow pads – flopped like a spastic seagull until I tied them down. I put 40mm riser blocks on mine (carbon Profile T2+) and made all the difference – so the Fred looks interesting. Not for use on all terrain tho – for example bombing down Galton Pass down snug on the bars can make you foul yourself – not that I would ever try that (again…).
out of luck if you are a tall guy who doesn't have room on the steerer without lowering your regular bars.
Way too pricey for what it is, especially with tarriffs now.
The idea is good though, sadly for me it won't fit with my eesilk stem.
Dude, you are awesome. You make everything so clear. Thanks man.
I purchased my first aero bars to ride faster, then I realized how much stress was taken off of my hands. Mine are not set up for comfort, but I can now ride for hours and my hands are not under pressure the whole time. Won’t have a road racing type bike without them now.
This in titanium! Awesome review, probably going to run this with some beast component hybrid bars… with that said, would love your take on ALT bars! Maybe one day in the future. I’ve been big on alt bars for bikepacking and I think we don’t see enough because of marketing trends… now I’m rambling, great stuff! Safe riding!
$128USD?!?
The redshift post is a great option, especially if you want a fairly low position on the aero bars. However, you still need bars that allow you to clamp aero bars, and many don’t.
Fred bar owner/user here. That bringing the bars back closer and raising them up can also be accomplished by choosing a more adjustable aero bar from the start. I find that the Fred Bars arey super suitable for non-drop bars. On my drop bar bikes, I can get by with taller risers combined with more adjustable aero bars.
Great idea! Because triathlon bikes push the saddle closer to the bars, you don’t need to set back the aerobars on bikes like that. But with regular road or gravel bikes, you have to get a forward sloping seatpost to shorten the distance and keep your back from hurting. Thompson Elite makes a good one.
I have my fred bars on my surly bridge club and use a 3" steering tube extender to raise my bars.
Nice commercial, a bit on the long side thoe…
On a lot of my bikes there is not enough room on the steerer tube. Otherwise I’m in
Would mounting a handlebar extender backwards (towards the rider) so it can rest the weight on the stem work the same way? Probably want to put some rubber where it touches the top of the stem… might even add some dampening. Just spitballing
Been on waitlist for months… I think Fred may be Ded :(.