Speeco ABB bars
€1,500 (approx £1,300), speeco.tech
In need of a Uci-legal alternative to the now-banned forearms-onbars ride position? For the princely sum of around £1,300, Speeco can offer an answer in the form of its new ABB cockpit, developed with help from pro breakaway specialist Jan-willem van Schip, who currently rides for the UCI Continental team Beat Cycling Club.
Despite its freakish appearance, the integrated bar/stem combo creates the same overall reach as a conventional stem and bars, but where the stem usually creates the length, the ABB uses a stubby stem portion married to drastically stretched tops. The long, level section behind the lever position uses a subtle concave profile, creating a channel in which to rest forearms but retain control of the bike. Combined with an exceedingly narrow width, the bars essentially legally recreate the banned position. The drops flare to create more leverage from which to sprint.
If the cost seems somewhat excessive, Speeco argues that each ABB cockpit is made to order using custom dimensions – after all, how aero the component is depends on how well it fits the rider using it. This means that weight varies too, but who cares about pounds and grams when watts are everything?