My road bike came with carbon fork and steerer, and I did upgrade the handlebars to a carbon-fiber reinforced with Kevlar handlebar. It is a bit damper, but I did it because of the comfort factor for my hands. The top of the bars is flatter which is where my hands are most of the time, and there is an indent in the bend that also makes that position more comfortable than a pure round bar.
http://www.fullspeedahead.com/products/183/K-Wing-Compact
For over a year, I've been fighting a very sore left hand at the base of the thumb joint. Research, via the net, indicated arthritis as the most probable cause, and, I just had that confirmed via x-ray. Damn the aging process.
It's surprising how much a small jolt can inflict a fair amount of pain. My thumb can also become very weak, no problem on a road bike, but, this fall I will need to change the thumb shifter on my cross bike to permit shifting with my hand grip. I can ride both in the drops and on the hoods of my shifters without pain, although after a couple of hours on the road, my thumb will be sore. I do have aero-bars and use them just to get all pressure off my hand. Not a fan of extended riding in that position.
While road biking, I've become pretty adept at looking for bumps in the road, then, getting my left hand off the handlebar. I've been considering transitioning to carbon bars. My net research seems to indicate that they will be damper, but, there is no magic to cure my problem.
Any thoughts?
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