I’m in a season or riding with drop bars and STI levers until/if my neck heals so I can hold my head up longer than Oly distance. I have Kestrel carbon drop bars, which are fine for vibration dampening, but the curve downward begins right after bars turn forward, so I can’t get a flat transition between bar and STI hood/lever. I end up with a little dip, and thus I end up with a blister in between my thumb and forefinger. I have a friend with the new FSA carbon drop bars, which give a really comfortably flat transition, but they are not clip-on friendly. Is there a carbon drop bar out there that will provide a flat transition (I have heard that Kestrel makes the onoy carbon drops that accept clip-ons), or does anybody know of a non-carbon drop that provides the flat space my hand craves?
I use Campy - they are better at the flat transition than Shimano. Look at Lance - he has his Shimano levers set up for a flat transition, the result is that they look like they are sticking way up in the air.
I’ve found that Bontrager’s race flat bars allow me to position Shimano levers without that dip. I don’t know about their carbon versions and clip ons.