BreezeBlockers AeroBlade

I can just imagine Eric Estrada having these fitted to his handlebars. Go CHiPs....personally I think they would have some danger attached to them....winter trainer or not...how many times have you had to quickly go from the tops to the brakes...and obviously there is that comedic Boudicea element..fnar fnar..

I'm not sure whether I want these on my bike, but they have convinced me that I'd like to date a woman with carbon fibre breasts.

Comfort before handlebar funiture anyday, sod the stylemasters.

Well, I'd have no problem trying them - in fact we've got some more so I will be cos I suffer really badly with cold hands. Also looking for the US product that goes over your levers, very similar to something you can get for motorbikes. The point here is that on those long flat stretches or when it's safe to do so you can keep your hands out of the wind and let them recover. This winter we had some weeks where on one of the long descents on my ride in to the office the windchill was so fierce that even with my thickest gloves not only could I not feel my hands i could barely make them work well enough to operate the brakes. I'd trade a bit of handlebar real estate for a little more hand sensation in a situation like that. The potential problem I could see for the winter commuter is accommodating lights on narrower bars.

I take Leonie's point - you're going to be aware of them but you'll also get used to it. She rode with them a lot and she's still here. She wasn't dancing around the issue she was telling it as she saw it. These aren't a particularly new idea

As for worrying about what the distributor might say? Why handlebarcam I've never been so insulted… (okay maybe a couple of times) believe me if it was crap we'd say so, the distributor would take it on the chin. End of.

We're not in the business of giving good reviews, we're in the business of giving honest reviews. You might not agree with them but that's another matter. Contrary to popular opinion most distributors or manufacturers don't have a problem with bad reviews, what they don't like are bad factually incorrect reviews and it certainly would do us no good with our users, or believe it or not the manufacturers or distributors if we went soft on stuff that we felt wasn't up to the mark - to them we're only as good as the trust our users have in our reviews. Equally we're not going to rubbish something just for the sake of it either. Which is a long-winded way of saying that while you might not agree with Leonie's review it is her honest opinion.

I didn't know the reviewer was a woman when I posted my comment, but I'm sure she is grateful to have big strong men rushing to her aid.

My point is that I think products are the opposite of people, in that if you can't bring yourself to say something bad about them, without dancing around the issue, then you shouldn't say anything at all. These things are dangerous. If anyone turns up at a club ride with a pair of them fitted, I'll make damn sure they never end up immediately in front or behind me. But then I can say that because I don't have to worry about distributors sending me more stuff to review.

Before I get accused of scaremongering, as well as sexism, I'd say a certain level of risk in cycling is unavoidable, but it is minimal. That is unless you start attaching things to your bike that actively make them more dangerous. In a time when people are trying to compel cyclists to wear helmets, it seems odd that companies are allowed to sell products that sacrifice road safety for mere convenience or comfort. In that group I'd include over-bright lights and satnavs - either on bikes or stuck to the inside of car windscreens (try commuting to a location that is not yet on the electronic maps, and you'll see what I mean.)

Not bad. Though not for me at all. I'd rather wrap up with some extra covers and/or material on the gloves (this article reminds me to do just that!).

I get the point of them. There seems to be a real need when it comes to wind and the elements of your poor hands, knuckles, and fingertips. It's even in carbon -- people are still loving the 'it's got to be in carbon' phase for bike bits. That's fine.

HOWEVER, here's the thing/rub. And this is not to say it's a gimmick in any way, but a few things to think about:

a) some (many?) might think the tops of handlebars are best left free and open for quick ease of access from tops to hoods, under and over, left and right, and other indescribable frontal movements made when the hands are in that area lol. I think they could pose a slight problem or obstruction if you needed to move your hands from inside the covers to the tops for a sudden movement for braking or any other sudden reaction.

b) they might get broken sooner or later as they are 'there' (garage, children, you!, something resting on them or pressing against them... [please add your own potential favourites to this list.]

c) like gloves, you could always, you know, lose one! (I'd rather lose one glove -- I could find another one than have to fashion a new piece of engineered plastic -- than misplace a breezeblock ("Ok, very funny, which smart alec's nicked me breezeblock!")

As comical as they may look as a long term sufferer of cold hands I reckon the only problem with these is you cant ride on the hoods with them oh and the carbon effect, tacky. Being able to use your hands as a variable heat sink depending on where you put them sounds pretty good to me

These things are as mad as a bottle of chips - I think I'd sooner spend the cash on thicker gloves, and or liners.

I must say, I do enjoy Leonie's reviews, they're well considered and very personal. I'm not sure why she appears, throughout her contributions, to have suffered at the hands of one or two unfair 'smart alecs' (@handlebarcam) who've taken pleasure at having an unnecessary pop at her. I wouldn't like to think it's because she's a woman.

looks like some dutch person has left their carbon clogs on your bars.

Apart from pedantry your point is? The meaning of what she is saying is quite clear

Quote:

psychologically it doesn't feel as easy

That would be because it really isn't as easy, physically. Likewise, I am sure getting out of wetsuit doesn't feel as easy, psychologically, as getting out of a t-shirt, and eating a light bulb doesn't feel as easy, psychologically, as drinking a glass of water.