Product Development: Aerobar Arm Rests
At Velobike, we are always searching for the next product to develop, in the pursuit of Olympic excellence. Our primary focus over previous years has been on the optimisation of sprint and bunch racing set ups. In the build up to the Paris 2024 Olympics, we collaborated with Cycling New Zealand to create the Aerobar Adjustable Riser. This was an absolute hit within the Time-Trial and Track Cycling communities alike with unmatched functionality and adjustability from anything of a like nature on the market. However, we never had anything else to form a Velobike pursuit ecosystem…until now!
The newly released Velobike Aerobar Arm Rests was the obvious next step to take for said pursuit ecosystem.
Joel, representing the New Zealand team, secured a bronze medal in the Teams Pursuit at the 2022 Junior World Championships. (Image Credit: Gilad Kavalerchick)
Early Beginnings
One Friday evening, the Velobike Team were sitting over drinks catching up on the previous week of work. I had recently bought a new time trial bike and began talking to Glenn about my frustrations in finding an arm rest that I was satisfied with. Luckily, I was in the right place! This is where project arm rest was born.
Time trialling is something that I have always been border-line obsessive about. Since I can remember, I have always spent countless hours researching the latest pursuit tech whilst spending just as much time tinkering with my set-up. Performance has always been the thing on the top of my mind, but the set-up must also be sustainable. In my experience, I have always found that the arm-rests are a huge factor into how sustainable and comfortable a position will be. Personally, my broad shoulders have proven quite difficult to tuck into a super narrow position. However, the correct arm rests are a means of aiding this.
After my discussion with Glenn, I set out to explore all the features I was looking for in my ideal arm rest. This had all come from my inability to find an arm rest readily available on the market which maximised the UCI ruling, and provided high enough side support whilst simultaneously being ergonomically shaped to provide comfort for a sustainable position. You often hear people saying that a fast position is uncomfortable; but why not have both?
3D Printing Prototype
Thinking behind the design
Maximal Length
The UCI sets out in Article 1.3.023 of the equipment regulations that the maximum length for arm rests is 125mm. We've all faced the nightmare of discovering that our chosen position or equipment, which we believed to be compliant, is suddenly deemed illegal during a bike check. This is why I developed our arm rest with a 2mm tolerance, resulting in a measurement of 123mm.
High-sides
Equally as important, I wanted an arm rest which would lock you into your position. This is easily done with a high-sided arm rest. A high outer side helps with “locking” you into position by giving you something to push against. Additionally, the often-overlooked inner side of the arm rest plays a crucial role in achieving a relaxed position by providing a supportive edge. By making the transition to these edges curved, this would ensure the arm rest would be ergonomically shaped for your arm, increasing the comfort.
The next feature I was after was for the leading and following edge of the arm rest to be parallel to each other. Why give an arm rest high-sides if these don’t extend to the full length of the arm rest?
Foam for grip
The next piece of the puzzle was the foam. It is often thought that foam is required for additional comfort. But my question was, shouldn’t an arm rest be designed to be comfortable on its own? With the help of the already listed features, I created an arm rest which doesn’t need foam for comfort, and instead it is primarily there for grip. At a mere 2mm thin, the Velobike laser engraved foam ensures a low stack height while offering ample grip to secure your position. This armrest offers the flexibility of being used with or without foam, according to your preference.
Why does the foam not extend up the sides?
From my experience, I've found that when the foam extends up the sides of the armrests, there's a risk of it detaching when arms are quickly inserted. Ensuring the foam is cut short of the sides eliminates this risk, allowing a snug and direct interface between your arm and the armrest.
Fore and aft adjustability
Quite a common feature on the market are “un-drilled” arm rests. You could say this gives the ability for a custom position. But, who are we kidding? In time-trial and pursuit setups, there's always a faster position to discover. Consider aero-testing, where continuous adjustments to your position often necessitate modifying arm rest placement. These arm rests are ready to be ridden out of the box. Want to test out a new position? No Problem! With 16 slotted mounting holes, these arm rests offer unparalleled adjustability for angle, fore, and aft positioning. This allows for endless customisation to achieve the perfect fit at any time!
Universal Compatibility
The Arm Rests are also compatible with our Aerobar Adjustable Risers and any extension clamp system using an M6 or smaller bolt. I knew how it felt to be particular about what goes on my bike and this is why I made them universal! No matter if you use our adjustable risers or not, these arm rests will likely fit on your bike! They are a no brainer if performance or comfort are at the top of your list.
Moulded Carbon Fibre Design
Achieving a sleek aesthetic with numerous mounting holes is possible because these armrests are meticulously moulded from raw carbon fibre, resulting in a clean, seamless design.
The End Result
What we have landed on with these Arm Rests is something that I’m truly proud of. It's been incredibly rewarding to contribute to the Arm Rest design process at Velobike Innovation, given my passion for pursuit and time-trial setups. This is an arm rest which simply makes sense. For those constantly seeking the next upgrade, these armrests are an essential!
Joel Douglas, 2025.