Profile Design T3 Plus Carbon – Review

Profile Design’s T3 Plus is hands down one of our favorite aerobars on the market today. We have ridden many bikes with these bars and loved every mile in them. So it may come as a surprise when we say we were quite hesitant to try the T3 Plus Carbon—the reason being that the Carbon is much more than the T3 Plus fashioned in carbon fiber. While the Carbon retains the wrist-relief shape of the T3 Plus, that’s pretty much the only thing they have in common. From the new F-35 pads to the pistol grip bar ends, the Carbon is a different animal entirely. And as it turns out, one we enjoyed spending time with immensely.

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Our biggest hang-up when we first encountered the Carbon was the pistol grip bar ends. For lack of a better explanation, they just looked…well, “wrong.” We are fans of bar tape on our extensions as it adds to the “gripability” and comfort. But when we imagined the pistol grip bar ends with tape we thought it would be a bit too much to handle. Instead, we found the exact opposite to be true. These were some of the most comfortable grips we have ever come across. Since we did our testing with these clipped on to a drop bar, we unfortunately cannot speak to how they would function with shifters (mechanical or Di2). But when clipped to a road bike, they were fantastic.

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The Carbons also feature Profile Design’s new F-35 armrest and J4 Brackets. The F-35 features three positions that provide 30mm of adjustment and 15° of rotation adjustment. When compared with the F-19 pads on the alloy T3 Plus, the 35s provide a much greater amount of lateral support, which leads to an incredibly comfortable ride.

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The J4 bracket is a major change to Profile Design’s previous brackets. In prior designs, the armrest and pursuit brackets were completely different parts. With the J4, the armrest and pursuit brackets are integrated into a single piece. The downside is a bit less adjustability, specifically on pad angle. But we think that is a minor tradeoff when you consider how much easier this bracket is to setup. First (and this is huge) you can adjust the extensions without the need to remove the pads. Anyone who has adjusted aerobars can relate to the frustration of pulling off the pads to adjust the angle or position of the extensions—it’s just one more added step. Secondly, the majority of riders want a perfectly level pad angle, and the J4 ensures that without the need to pull out your level. Finally the J4 allows up to 80mm of stack adjustment that raises not just the pads, but the entire assembly, which allows you to maintain the relationship between pad and extension.

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Our only gripe about the Carbons is the weight. At a measured 616g for the pair, this is not a lightweight addition to the bike and certainly not the lightest option out there. But for the majority of riders, the comfort of the bars combined with the ease of adjustability will likely put to rest any concerns they have about weight.

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One of the best perks of being a part of the AeroGeeks team is that we get to experience new equipment we may normally just pass by at our local bike shop. The T3 Plus Carbons are the exact reason you cannot judge a book by its cover. Their incredible comfort combined with the ease of adjustability easily make the T3 Plus Carbons one of the top clip-on aerobars on the market.

9 responses to “Profile Design T3 Plus Carbon – Review

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  2. Hi Mike,
    Based on your helpful review I just bought the T3+ carbon. A big selling feature for me was that the “J4 allows up to 80mm of stack adjustment that raises not just the pads, but the entire assembly”. I have the brackets in my hand and they look identical to your photos, but I can’t figure out how to make this vertical “stack adjustment”. The installation instructions don’t mention it, and my vendor (Art’s Cyclery, St. Luis Obispo, California) doesn’t think this product has it. Can you shed any light on how one would make this adjustment?
    Thanks,
    Rob

    • So we reached out to Profile Design to see exactly what you needed to do to pedestal the bars and this is what they had to say:

      60mm is stock. The other 20mm to get to 80mm would need a shop special order (or they can contact us) for the below parts:
      10mm spacer(Small Parts Item# 293115) x 4
      35mm bolt (Small Parts Item# 313530) x4
      As part of our 2015 line, we’re actually changing how the riser kits come, so it will be far easier to buy the correct bolt combinations for up to any height.

      Hopefully this gets you where you need to go!

  3. Hi Rob,

    Thanks for reaching out. Profile Design demonstrates the 80mm of riser on the T3+ Page – https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/n4jJG2xb3V8. However on the site we only see the Aerobar Bracket Riser (http://www.profile-design.com/profile-design/products/accessories/armrests-brackets/aerobar-bracket-riser-kit.html) which indicates a max extension of 35mm. We reached out to PD to see how to get to the max 80mm extensions and as soon as they let us know we will make sure to post it here.

    Mike

  4. Hi, thanks for the helpful review. What are the differences (pros..) with Bontrager race x lite? What would you recommend? Thanks

    • The biggest pro of the race x lite is weight. You can easily save 200g with these bars over other options (http://aerogeeks.com/2014/02/18/bontrager-race-x-lite-clip-on-review/). Beyond weight however this becomes much more subjective. Do you need to pedestal your bar? If so you may want to look at other options such as the T3 plus. Also make sure to compare the actual grips on the aero bars. The Bontragers are a much more consistent tubular shape while the T3s have a more pistol grip type hand hold.

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  6. Although very late in the piece here, this review absolutely rips me to shreds. I have considered getting these bars, and the review is the final confirmation I should.
    Unfortunately, because I live in NZ, there are no NZ stores which can import them because of distributor restrictions, and I can’t even get them myself, online, through export restrictions.
    We can’t even get the riser kits here either.

    Grrrrr.

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