FSA Vision i003 tri-bars Review

Reviewer: Mike Hawkins

16-Mar-2009 | 0 Reviews

Rating:

£549.99 (at time of review)

Pros

Revolutionary padless arm supports
Swoopy carbon-fibre shape

Cons

Considerable flex in base bar
Price

See verdict and spec

Superfast, top-end tri-bars with a price tag to match

Time trial bars don’t come much sexier than the FSA Vision i003.

Everyone who’s seen the FSA Vision i003s has remarked on the complete lack of padding for the forearm; frankly, I was a little taken aback but one ride was enough to convince me that padding was completely unnecessary. By making the extension out of carbon-fibre FSA has been able to follow the underside of the arm much more closely than has been possible with previous bars. The resultant shape means that your weight is spread over a much larger area and comfort actually increased through the lack of padding.

What’s not to like? Well they’re ProTour expensive, which would be fine if they offered significant aero advantages over other models. Also, I found it hard to accept the flex of the base bar; it never gave any reason to mistrust it but the movement was considerable.

Verdict

The Vision i003 bar is at the very top end of the possible cost for a set of tri-bars; they perform well and are comfortable but my wallet just isn’t deep enough and I suspect few people’s would be.