Just two weeks ago I got my pair of John Cobb's Big Slam Bars in the mail. I mounted them up, gave them a spin, and wrote about them. Then I packed them up and sent them to our San Fran correspondent, who promised to write a brilliant set of pre- and post-race Escape from Alcatraz race coverage stories (which he did) if he could just lay his hands on a pair of these.

Clearly, the world is ready for newer iterations of the aero bar craze started in 1987.

Funny, though, how things come full circle. What is it I'm clamoring for myself, and for which others likewise yearn, it appears? It's well-known that most of what's been "invented" in the bike industry during the past 20 years has already come and gone. If it wasn't for the fact that there is a work-around in patent law that says you can re-patent designs that are sufficiently old as to fall under the umbrella of "antiquities" I doubt that half of the newer bike patents would get issued.

Not exactly ancient, but pre-aero bars (as we've come to know them) are the examples below that I ferreted out of the garage of occasional riding partner Pete Pensyres.

Pete still holds a pair of Race Across America records: the fastest average speed of 15+ miles per hour, set in 1986; and the transcontinental tandem record he subsequently set with Lon Haldeman.

The clip-ons at left were those he used in his RAAM record, and they bear some features that are not unlike those I wish were available on today's clip-ons. Two in particular are the lack of kneecap-banging rearward extensions on the armrests, and the correspondingly greater surface area on which one can rest one's forearms. Notice the delta-shaped platform, into which a hole is cut for a handlebar water bottle carrier.

Here's the funny thing: A patent was granted for aero bars, and another subsequently for clip-ons, after these bars had already helped Pensyres into the record books. Go figure.

Pensyres aero bars were not only revolutionary, they were custom. The plaster of paris molds at left still sit in Pensyres' garage, and are mirror images of his forearms. The armrests were therefore perfectly tailored to Pensyres himself, like a pair of amrest orthotics.

These were not the first and last armrests Pensyres made. Below are a few of the others, such as the one in the upper left of the photo, which was used by the captain of the Haldeman-Pensyres tandem, and another to the right which looks not unlike the clip-ons we use today in many respects. The biggest difference between the pre-Scott clip-ons of '85-86 and those which were the basis of the Scott patent is narrowness. As Boone Lennon––the original patent holder––told me, "The key concept is narrowness; this is what the patent protects." Still, were the clip-ons pictured here to have been introduced after the Scott patent, it is hard to imagine the builder not getting a letter from Scott's lawyer.

Pensyres' bars did not have a pair of extensions on which to rest one's hands, but a single extension, as one can see on the clip-on pictured above left. One hand grabbed the "handle" and the other rested on top. But Pensyres actually did the record RAAM race with a brake lever mounted up front, as is pictured on the clip-ons below left. I personally don't like this option for triathletes, although this was in vogue for awhile about a decade ago. Remember, though, RAAM riders are riding at a much more relaxed pace, and without the need to corner and descend as quickly. When triathletes need to brake, they need––in my opinion––to have their hands on the more stable base bars (which means the brake levers need to be there as well).

Pete Pensyres still has a bike set up for time-trial racing, as he is still an avid bike racer and competes in both tandem and open time-trial events (as well as mass-start races). He doesn't use his vintage clip-ons now, preferring off-the-shelf Profile Design models for his timed races. Though Pensyres looks to Profile Design for modern clip-ons, perhaps he'll one day find companies like Profile Design looking back at his original clip-ons for inspiration.