My Optimized KÚ Set-Up

May 9, 2023

Quite a few of you have asked how the KÚ rides and that report is imminent but before I could assess this bike fully I needed to “make it mine,” which is what I do to all my bikes. I pretty much do not own a bike that I can (or ever could) ride comfortably out of the box. If you’re riding a bike exactly as spec’d from the manufacturer, there’s a very good chance that bike is unoptimized… for you.

To recap, what this KÚ bike comes with is a SRAM AXS shift system and the extensions are the Zipp Vuka Shift AXS 90 and I write about these here. These extensions have the shifters built into them and that’s really neat! Wireless!

But there is one problem: I want a full forearm rest on my extensions. There are two variations of full forearm set ups and the most frequent has the extension and armrest all as a piece, and these direct-mount to a pad holder clamp (like the Vision Metron TFE Pro Clip-On Adaptor).

Built into the KÚ are collets that host standard round extensions and that’s the other kind of full forearm extensions: Those that terminate in a round tube. Enter the Profile Design 43asc about which I’ve written quite a bit. I love the Zipp extensions because I love the shifters in them, but the aerobar world has moved on. Just, I lose my bar end shifters by changing the extensions. This is where the SRAM Wireless Blips come in.

Here above is how I mounted these Wireless Blips previously. Functional but not ideal. In fact, SRAM has made a great product with a bad (for tri) mounting system and I’ll show you how that got fixed for this KÚ I’m riding. Let’s recap on the Wireless Blips. Below is the box they come in.

Below is what you get with a set of these. And, look, I don’t mean to harsh on SRAM. These cages may be fine for remote shifters on a road or gravel bike. This is what I’m sure SRAM had in mind for these. They replaced wired Blips and that was the point of that product. But look, the market decides how a product is used and I promise you Shimano bar end shifters appeared on tri bikes 500x more often than they did on tandems and other uses in mind for that product. Wireless Blips are great on tri bikes, but they need a different mounting process. Obvious to everyone who uses these that on the pursuits they need to be glued to the sides of the shift/brake levers as you see a bit below.

As to bar ends, the good folks at KÚ heard me and 3D printed a carrier. You can see this below.

I wrapped one lap of black plastic tape around the plug and that gave it just enough stiction to stay put. Gorilla glue works pretty well to glue the Wireless Blip onto this mount and I left the freshly glued shifter to cure overnight. This is the result.

Alas, I’m writing about a product you can’t buy. So, while I’m writing to you I guess I’m also writing to SRAM (or K-Edge or Bar Fly). Even if these were just 3D printed as a manufacturing process, that requires some code writing but not much more up-front investment. Low risk high reward.

About those Wireless Blips: As previously noted, they aren’t 100 percent ready to go if your bike comes with 4 of these. You have to pair them to the derailleurs. This is easily done, it takes less than a minute, and I describe it here but you can see this in a video featuring the suave and compelling GPLama if you prefer.

Note that you need a SRAM “controller” to pair the Blips to the derailleurs and that’s any shifter unit with an AXS button. I can (and have) used a Blip Box to execute pairing; one of the Zipp shifter extensions; and even a road shifter off of my road or my gravel bike. You don’t need a Blip Box on the bike. You just need a Blip Box or any of these other shifters – once – to pair the system. I don’t know how hard it would be for SRAM to embed into its AXS app the ability to execute the pairing but that would be ideal. In that case, SRAM could allow bike makers to spec Wireless Blips and there would be no need to invite your friend over for a beer just so you could use the shifter on his bike.

I’m quite happy with how this is all set up. Here’s my one warning on the Profile Design 43asc extensions for this use. They are “X” millimeters long and you really can’t shorten them up by cutting any of the round tubing off. X is about right for me, but, I’m 6’2”.

But the KÚ is “mine” now.