Testing a base bar is not the easiest thing. The honest truth is that you really don’t want to spend much time in the pursuits. So how does one test the Vision TriMax Carbon base bar when you really don’t want to spend much time on it in the first place? We found that a 70-mile charity ride in a large peloton to be just the thing. But before we get to that, lets recap the bar.

The TriMax Carbon Slope

We covered the basics of the TriMax Carbon in our first ride article. It’s available in a flat and sloped (57mm drop) version with a claimed weight of 205g and 215g respectively (we weighed the slope at 200g).

These bars are deep but are in fact UCI legal. We almost wish they had gone even deeper just so we could see a bit more of the gorgeous carbon layup that Vision uses. [Editor Update: We originally published that these bars were not UCI legal. Vision has let us know that they do in fact meet the 3:1 guidelines of the UCI.] 

With the TriMax, Vision has chosen to go with straight pursuits. We happen to find straight pursuits to be more comfortable than the upturned variety. Many would likely disagree with that, but that’s our preference. However, if you have never tried straight pursuits (or inversely have never tried upturned) make sure to check out a pair at your LBS. You may find that this makes a world of difference.

Our Thoughts

When we started this review we were not quite sure what we would find with the TriMax. Would we determine that the upgrade was really more of a weight and visual one, or would we find that the TriMax had something else—that little bit extra that made us fall in love?

Turns out that it just took a 70-mile charity ride stuck in our pursuits to make up our minds. After those 70 miles—at least 90% of which we rode in our pursuits—we were shocked at the difference this bar made over our previous aluminum bar. There was a huge decrease in the amount of road vibration transmitted through the bar. As a result, we noticed a decrease in the amount of fatigue we felt at the end of the ride. When you consider that over 112 miles, even if you spent just 10% of your time in the pursuits, that is still 40 minutes of riding. That’s why you’ll want to be sure that your base bar is not taking away from your race in any way.

Wrapping Up

After two months of testing we would we recommend the TriMax as an upgrade for friends and family. And more importantly, would we want to make the upgrade on our personal bikes? Well, let’s recap the basics. The TriMax looks amazing, and for some, that would be more than enough reason to buy it (yes, it really does look as good in person as it does in the photos). And for the weight weenies out there – the fact that you can remove 70-80g is always going to be a winning move.

However for us, the increase in ride comfort and the decrease in fatigue was the biggest reason why we would make the switch. Products that are going to help ensure that we are that much more ready to go the distance when we enter T2 are the ones we want on our bike. The fact that it just so happens to make our bike lighter and look that much better is just icing on the cake.