First off, I should admit that Part I of this article may be the only part. I'm saying it's Part I because it certainly is not the end of the story -- it's the beginning or, if not, it's an early chapter.

We're at the beginning because the "shorty" bar is the most neglected or the least advanced tri-specific component made today. Aerobars are very good and offer a wide variety of features. Tri saddles are functional and diverse. Whenever a triathlete demands a design that diverges from whatever the industry makes for road racing -- including frames, forks, shifters, brake levers, water delivery systems -- tri-specific varieties are made that fit the need.

But the shorty bar lags behind, and this is odd because it is theoretically the biggest selling tri-specific item. But first let's define, and agree on, what the shorty bar is.

There are systems. Tri-geometry frames, pursuit bars, plug-in brake levers, bar-end shifters, tri-specific saddles, and full-length aero bars constitute a system. Break this system up if you will, but it's like putting trailer mirrors and a tow package on your Ferrari.

The road race bike, road bars, STI (or Ergopower, or Double-tap), road racing saddles, all comprise a system. Want an aero position with your burger and fries? That's do-able, but not by using a typical aero bar. You need a shorty bar.

We've all seen it while watching our favorite grand tours on the tube: the guy on a lone break adopting an aero position on his road bike, but without any aero bar. Wouldn't it be nice if there was something for him to grab onto? Enter the shorty bar. Why is it short? Road bike cockpits are longer than tri bike cockpits. Consider where this rider's hands are when he's adopting his pseudo aero position. They reach about to the ends of his STI levers. In fact, if his STI shift housing was any sturdier, he could just grab those. That's where the ends of the aerobar extensions ought to be, and this makes them much shorter than full length aerobars.

The other thing you'll notice is that these roadie aero positions look reasonably good. You can't place armrests there if such armrests hoist the rider's torso up in the air. Plus, any armrest must not mess with what's good about a road bike. In particular, no armrest should extend back far enough to cause the rider's knees to clip the backs when he's out of the saddle; and the armrest cannot eliminate a usable "tops" position, that is, the rider should be able to grap the tops of the road bar when seated climbing.

In short, armrests typically do more harm than good when a shorty bar is placed on a road bike. Such armrests get in the way, and they usually are not placed in the correct position for "shorty bar" riding.

Why do I say these bars are theoretically the best selling tri-specific item? Because of their mass utility. First, there is a minority -- but a large minority -- of triathletes that really shouldn't be on tri-geometry bikes, for reasons outside the circumspection of a shorty bar article. These riders are best off on road race bikes. No, road bikes are not as good as tri bikes when riding in the aero position. But tri bikes are not as functional as road bikes when you're not in the aero position, and a lot of folks are just not going to be in the aero position. For them, a road bike system is better.

But an available aero position on a road bike is still desirable, and the shorty bar is the right bar for that position. So, market-1 for the shorty bar is the 20% or 30% of triathletes who'd be better off on, say, a Solosit Carbon than a P3C. The shorty bar (not a full-length aerobar) is what ought to be outfitted on the Soloist Carbon.

Market-2 for this bar is the ITU racer, and the Junior who aspires to ITU race. Okay, this is not a huge market, but it's significant, when considered worldwide.

Market-3 is the road racer who doesn't want to schlep two bikes around to every omnium, yet wants an aero position for his TTs. Also, bike race organizers are getting pretty ingenious in the course designs for their prologues and TTs, such that it's often tough for a rider to decide whether to ride the road or the TT bike. Solution: the shorty bar.

Finally, the big market is the typical rider; the century and metric century rider; the disease rider; any road rider not facing a race legality issue.

So I thought I'd write a bit about what's possible for the person who finds himself in this market, but who can't find an ergonomic shorty bar solution.

The features I'd like to see in a shorty bar are these:

1. No messing with existing road bike functionality, specifically knee clearance when out of the saddle, use of the tops, and no raising the forearm elevation above the road bar's tops.

2. The brackets cannot interfere with cable routing, which is a single brake cable in the case of Shimano, but both brake and shift housing in the case of Campy and SRAM.

3. The armrests must either be nonexistent, or must conform with the shorty bar's more angular intersection with the forearm as it crosses the tops.

4. The hand's point of contact with the extension must be an ergonomic fit, and again reflect the more angular nature of the hand at that point while on a road bike.

All this having been established, I note that Hed's bracket, into which its clip-on extensions insert, is the least instrusive of all I've seen. It's basically a socket into which any extension of the proper diameter can be inserted. Accordingly I made my own extensions (the two photos furthest above) to conform with how and where my hands want the extensions to be when I'm laid out on a road-geometry aero position. I stuck them into Hed's "sockets" and they work like a charm.

But what to use as an armrest? Keep in mind that the extensionless aero position currently adopted by road racers have no armrest, so you aren't taking away anything with a shorty bar like this. You're adding something. If you want armrests, there are two options: you can wind on a second roll of tape, which some road racers have been doing since time immemorial anyway; or you can choose one of the new road bars with wing-style tops; or you can employ both methods in tandem.

Steve Hed informs me that he has an armrest that simply tapes onto the road bar tops that is very low-tech but also very comfortable. Because it simply tapes on there are no brackets to get in the way of cable routing; they add virtually no elevation to the forearm position; they can be placed as far from the stem as need be; and they do not interfere with the tops.

Probably the company with the best bag of parts and hardware with which to play (if you have good epoxy and a hacksaw), is Profile Design. Speaking of those wing-style road bars, Profile has one called the Dromo (and the Dromo Pro, the road race bar pictured above right). If you go to the Dromo's page you'll see the available wing kit. The thing is, you don't want the wing kit, you want the bracket that comes with the wing kit. What you want to do is put the CGT bars into this bracket, and mount it onto the Dromo Pro.

The CGT bars (above right, with armrests attached) are exceptionally versatile. Whomever came up with their shape was a genius, or very lucky and got it right the first time. You can use them rightside up or upside down, backward, forward, any which way. As a shorty bar -- the use for which they're designed -- I rather like them upside down. But the ends get in the way with each other (above left). This is nothing that a hacksaw won't cure.

This system just described (at right) is probably the most advanced and "finished" product for those wanting a shorty system for road bike riding. Of course you'll have to find a way to buy these items without buying superfluous hardware and equipment. And I would recomment taping up the ends of the extensions to properly "join" them, so as to give them a bit of extra stiffness.

Again, as a shorty bar I would use the CGTs without the armrest. The Dromo, perhaps with a bit of extra handlebar tape, is a nice enough armrest for the purpose.

When one considers both the Hed and the Profile Design solutions to the problem, they each are pretty good at solving all the issues. Both systems allow for use of the tops. Both allow for unimpeded cable routing: the Hed brackets because they are slim and light and unobtrusive, and mount right next to the stem; the Profiles because they have just enough sunlight between the bracket and the extension (above) so that the housing can pass through. In each case the world is your oyster as far as extension choice, though Profile probably offers my favorite current extension (after modifications described above). The Profile bracket may, for some people, be a bit of a knee biter.

About that Profile set-up, there are some things I ought to mention. First, this bracket system is unique. It is made to fit on Profile's wing-style road and pursuit bars, and these shapes are not reproduced on other bars made in a similar style and shape. If you try to attach them to bars made by other companies, something is likely to break and that's probably going to result in a bad crash.