I'd say get some gel mitts/gloves to go with the bar tape. It might be you're putting too much weight on the bars and could do with raising the bars up an inch or so. I found this to be the case on my fixie roadbike and found just an inch made such a difference. Lastly- if getting suspension forks makes you groan, you could consider the idea of softening up the front end just a little with a Pantour suspension hub.