# Orca used in Tri's.



## Kabooby (Apr 24, 2005)

Anyone use their Orca for triathlons or TT's. If so what is your set up, wheels, bars, saddle and what distance races do you do. Pics would be appreciated as well, thanks.


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## megmarc (Oct 7, 2005)

*orca in TT*

I'm doing my first TT in 2 weeks on my orca. No mods, just the orca dura ace set up with all dura ace components including wheels. Only thing I have changed is to a selle carbon saddle. Will let you know how it goes. If I like it I will probably get a set of clip on ITM aero bars but want to see how it goes first.


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## Kabooby (Apr 24, 2005)

Sounds good to me except the carbon seat, you won't have as much padding on the butt if you wear tri shorts. I had a chat with a guy i met at Nyack and he had a carbon seat on his Giant and he said he slides a lot more and less friction, some day i will get one more for looks and only if my rear end can handle it. Good luck with your tri in 2 weeks and let me know how you went.


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## dave99ag (Jul 26, 2005)

megmarc, are you using the ITM wing bars? I have a set of their Ultra VIP bars coming from Ribble. They're the only bars that work the wing-style bars. We have a weekly TT here and I plan on posting a review of the bars when they come in. These bars will be on a stock DA Orca setup.


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## Kabooby (Apr 24, 2005)

I'm using the FSA K WING bar. Like it a lot but can't add clip on to it and don't want to go thru the hassle of internal cable routing everytime i'm doing a tri. 

I looked up the bars you're talking about and they look great. Wish FSA would create something for the K-WING.


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## dave99ag (Jul 26, 2005)

You should shoot them an e-mail and see if they have any in the works. At least let them know there's a demand.


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## Kabooby (Apr 24, 2005)

By the time they look into it i would of either bought a tri bike or another road bike without the flat bars and add clip ons when doing a tri. I hope i enjoy doing my first olympic tri, that way i will have a good reason to buy a tri bike.


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## megmarc (Oct 7, 2005)

Dave 99, sorry for the delay in responding. Yes I am using the ITM wing bar. Since this is my first TT I am going to try it with just my normal set up but I would be very interested in your thoughts on the clip on aero bars. I'm sure they will help but feel I need to do a TT before I spend another $ 150-200. Please post your thoughts. Mick


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## dave99ag (Jul 26, 2005)

I'm hoping that the bars will arrive in time for my TT on Wednesday. If not, I'll be able to give a review the following week. The carbon version was about $140 shipped from Ribble. The aluminum version is about $100. I think Probikekit has them cheaper, but they aren't in stock at the moment.


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## dave99ag (Jul 26, 2005)

Well, the ITM Ultra VIP aerobars finally came in last week. I was able to use them last night in our weekly 10.5 mi time trial. I improved about 40s from last week's time, but I don't think it was solely due to the aerobars. They sure did help though.

*Assembly:*
Assembly was fairly easy. Slide the carbon/aluminum extensions into the mounts and then screw them down onto your bars. I'm using the ITM Wing Lite Lux bars (31.8). There are several different versions of the Ultra VIP depending on what bar you have. The pads have three different placements that move your arms in or out. I choose the position closest to the stem. My one issue was that I couldn't get them level with my handlebars. I didn't feel like rotating my handlebars to make them flat, so they'll just remain at a slight upward angle. You also notice that I've installed a FSA Control Center so I could keep my HR monitor on while using the aerobars. This has worked quite well.

*How's it feel?:*
I found the bars quite comfortable. The anti-slip gel pads did their job during the TT. My forearms stayed in placed very well with very minimal slipping. The bars were getting a bit slippery from sweat, but I plan on adding some bar tape to fix that. I felt quite comfortable descending and ascending with these bars. They are a bit long though. I plan to cut off about 2 inches from the mount end for a better fit.

Considering these are the only aerobars you can use for the ITM wing-style handlebars, I'm very happy with this addition to my bike. I still need to do some adjustments, but my initial ride with these bars was very nice.


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## megmarc (Oct 7, 2005)

Dave 99ag, do you know what the difference is (other than the obvious shape) between your aero bars and the ones shown in this link
http://www.biketiresdirect.com/productdetail.asp?p=ITXTA&tnum=1077270&c=1435525


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## dave99ag (Jul 26, 2005)

Those are just the aluminum version of mine. The ones I have are the carbon version, but it's really just carbon wrapped around aluminum.

I found that link as well in a search, but they only have the round bar version and not one for the ITM wing bars. That's why I had to order across the pond. Plus it was at least $30 cheaper than any price I found in the US. I think the aluminum bars were a bit closer in price.


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## megmarc (Oct 7, 2005)

Dave, you've convinced me. I have a couple of questions if you dont mind:
1) How much flexibility do you have in terms of the position on the handlebar. I have a computer and a HRM mounted on each side of my stem and it doesnt look like there would be room for either.
2) You must be much taller than me because the bars seem to extend a long way. Does it allow for a shorter bar by sawing off the ends.
3) Did you need to retape your bars based on the location of the aero bar
4) It looks like your stem is mounted with spacers on top of it. I have seen others do this too, but am not sure why. 
Thanks. I absolutely love my orca. Mine is silver. Your's is gorgeous. Mick


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## dave99ag (Jul 26, 2005)

1) There's not a lot you can do about position on the handlebar since the mounts have to go around the wing-shape. I have mine about 4cm from the stem to the mount. I guess you can go out as far as needed. I have a Polar S725, so I only had to deal with one computer mount. That's what the FSA Computer Center (~$25) was for. There's also an ITM version, but it cost twice as much. I guess you could wear your HRM on your wrist and then use the center mount.

2) I'm 6'3" and ride a 60 Orca. The bars are even a bit long for me. The bars slide into the mounts (see photo), so you are able to shorten them by doing some sawing. I plan on cutting off about 2 inches from the mount end. The other end has a slight bend that I'd like to keep.

3) I just placed the bars over the tape and there wasn't much damage to the tape. Just be sure to tighten them down. It might be an issue if you have thick tape though.

4) I haven't cut my steer tube yet, that's all. Eventually I'll cut it and the spacers on top will be gone.

I love my Orca as well. I may not be as fast as the Orca deserves, but it sure makes riding a joy. Feel free to ask any other questions or if you want some particular photo. I'll be mounting them again tonight for tomorrow's TT.


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## megmarc (Oct 7, 2005)

Thanks. I think I will order today.


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