Zipp has announced a new set of carbon aerobar extensions with integrated SRAM eTap brains that eliminate the need for the Blipbox (SRAM’s junction box for the wired Blip and Clic shifters).
Anyone who owns a modern time trial or triathlon bike with electronic gearing and a sleekly integrated front end will almost certainly have been upset at the prospect of having to mount a junction box somewhere awkward or in the wind.
If you’re a user of SRAM’s wireless eTap drivetrains, Zipp (owned by SRAM) thinks these could be the solution to your woes.
The VukaShift AXS 90 aerobar extensions are made out of carbon and feature a 90mm rise.
This is possibly due to the fact the maximum rise allowed in UCI governed events is 100mm from the middle of the armrests (to prevent extreme versions of the "praying mantis" position that Floyd Landis pioneered in the mid-2000s).
Usefully, they have a standard, 22.2mm diameter at the rear. This means they aren’t proprietary to Zipp aerobar systems and should be compatible with the vast majority of aerobar setups on the market (Zipp claims more than 90 per cent).
Each individual bar measures 410mm long, weighs 201g (actual weight) and can be trimmed by 90mm at the rear and 10mm at the front, so that position can be adjusted (just remember to measure twice, cut once).
Notably, Zipp doesn’t make any claims about the aerodynamics of the extensions, but our highly-calibrated eyeball test would guess they could possibly be a slightly more aerodynamic shape than standard round extensions, and may also integrate with a rider's forearms better.
We'd need to test that – both in the wind tunnel and out on the road – to reach a definitive conclusion though.
Priced at £750 / $850 / €850, each set ships with SRAM’s Clic shifters for both the bar ends and the base bar, as well as rubber grips for the bar ends and an integrated computer mount that SRAM says is compatible with Garmin, Wahoo and Bryton GPS cycle computers.
