Everything you ever wanted to know about ... Scoops!
One of our missions at TriRig is to help athletes achieve their personal definition of success. For some of you at the pointy end of the field, that might mean winning a race. Or making the podium. For others, you just want to get fit, and be the healthiest you that you’ve ever been. For me personally, triathlon has always been about just putting together the best race performance that I can. I’m never going to win an Ironman, but I can keep improving on my personal best. I can arrive on race day ready to go, and execute a race to the absolute best of my ability. And just doing that – putting together a great race where I leave everything out on the pavement but still finish strong – to me, that’s success no matter if I’m first in my age group, or more likely somewhere in the middle.
But I start with all that to say that, whoever you are in this sport, your goals matter. Your performance matters. Because we devote so much time and energy to training, eating right, sleeping right, and that’s a craft unto itself. So at TriRig, we try to put that same level of devotion and attention to detail into the equipment we make.
And that brings me to the actual topic of today’s post, which is a look at our line of Scoops Arm Cups.
Over the past few years, Scoops have become a runaway success, representing a vastly larger share of our total sales than we had ever imagined. And I think the reason for that is that no one is really doing what we are in the world of arm cups. The core idea for Scoops is to be the most supportive and comfortable cups on the market. Because the more comfortable you can be while in aero, the longer you’ll stay there. And that has a very real impact on performance. It will depend on many factors, but a good rule of thumb is that every mile you stay in aero versus sitting upright saves you about ten seconds of time. Add that up over the course of a race, and you can start to see some huge savings.
So I want to take you around the line, explain what each one of these cups is all about, and why you might choose one of them over another.
As you can see, all of our cups come in both a closed-back version and an open-back version. The closed back gives you additional support, especially useful if you’re tilting your cups upward into the praying-mantis position, while the open-back cups offer you a little bit more room to move around if you find yourself wanting to move back and forth to some extent. Either is a great choice, you can’t go wrong either way.
At the beginning of the lineup, we have Scoops Mini. We used to call these Ergo Cups, but changed the name for the sake of consistency within the line. These are a very traditional cup size and shape, though providing much more surface area than what traditional cups have done in the past. They wrap nicely around the forearm, and use our textured, perforated neoprene pads which provide excellent grip and sweat wicking. These are easily the best pads in the industry, worlds better than the slick fabric tops most cups use which just get slippery and smelly over time. The 4x4 slotted hole pattern provides a great range of adjustment in any direction and compatibility with just about any aerobar. They’re made from a fiber-reinforced nylon which is extremely light and also very robust. Scoops Mini come in an open-back version for traditional setups, or a closed-back version for ultimate support in tilted mantis positions.
Moving up in the Scoops line, we have our Carbon Scoops. These take the exact same cup shape and profile from our Scoops Mini, a medium-snug grip on the arm, but extend the cup far out along the forearm for additional support. These were our first entry into the world of long arm cups and have been hugely popular with riders of all kinds. They’re made of premium carbon fiber for ultimate rigidity and support. They feature a 4x5 hole pattern for our widest range of adjustability. Of course on top you’ll find our fantastic textured neoprene pads, which provide excellent grip and sweat-wicking through the perforated holes. They come in an open-back version for fore-aft movement, or a closed-back version for greater elbow support and that ultimate “locked in” position.
Next up, we have TriRig’s brand new Signature Scoops. These are the heart of the Scoops lineup. They have a new medium-snug profile, just a little bit more snug than our original Scoops Carbon, but not quite so snug as the Scoops SL. They also have the most wrap out of any of our cups, going farther AROUND the forearm than any other shape we make. They extend far along the forearm for additional support, comfort, and control in the aero position. And of course, the more comfortable and supported you can be while in aero, the longer you’ll stay there. The good rule of thumb to remember is that every mile you stay in aero saves about ten seconds of time. So in terms of dollars per watt, Scoops may be the best value product we make at TriRig, so it makes sense that they’ve become our most popular product segment. And Signature Scoops are the best value within the lineup. Signature Scoops feature a 3 x 5 hole pattern for as very wide range of adjustment, and they’re topped with our textured, perforated neoprene pads which provide industry-best grip and sweat-wicking. They’re made from fiber-reinforced nylon for an ultralight but very robust cup. They come in both an open-back and a closed-back version. The open-back version gives you even more fore-aft adjustment, while the closed-back version provides the ultimate support for high-hands positions.
Scoops SL takes everything great about our Scoops lineup, and refines it for elite racers. The fit is the most snug of our arm cups, for those with skinnier builds who want the most locked-in feeling. They’re the lightest of the long cups we make, and feature a 2x5 hole pattern for adjustability. They have our fantastic neoprene pads, and they come in both closed-back and open-back versions depending on whether you want ultimate support or ultimate adjustability.
At the top of our range of cups sits Scoops Ultimate SL, a product unlike anything else on the market. These take the concept of extended forearm support, and push it to its ultimate conclusion. Yet unlike any other integrated extensions, Scoops Ultimate SL retains the ability to adjust the extension shape and reach, putting the shifter and your hand exactly where you want it. At the same time, it provides both the ultimate in support and in aero shaping, fairing your arm and creating a single integrated form. Scoops Ultimate SL is made of carbon fiber, has the very snug race shape from our Scoops SL line, and of course features our textured neoprene pads with excellent grip, comfort, and perforations for sweat wicking. It has a 2x4 hole pattern for adjustment.
So that’s the Scoops lineup. Nine different types of cups, with different features, materials, and price points to fit every athlete and every budget. Get yours now in the TriRig store.
