Long Distance Cycling - Help me pick an aerobar for long distance racing

Title mostly says it. I want to put some clip-on aero bars on my road bike for long distance training and racing.

I'm looking more for comfort than TT aero. Ideally the pads will be raised above the bar and possibly set back behind the bar although I don't know if these exist.

Budget is not much of a concern. Ideally the aerobars will be the lightest, most comfortable solution currently available - with comfort winning over weight.

I am currently a big fan of the profile CARBON Strikes.

I used flip-ups (optional) though one set on one of the bikes finally broke and so I had to go back to the FIXED position.

I also kinda like the F22 carbon elbow cups over the F19s that come with the carbon strikes.

TIP: The pads will eventually come off (or I should say the velcro part that sticks them to the cups will come off) with enough sweat and heat and such.... So get some small black ZIP-TIES and zip-tie down the velcro part to the alumnum(F19) or carbon(F22) part and then the pads will not fall off and can actually be removed multiple times and washed or replaced.

I like these so much that I often just sit on the bike at lights relaxing with my elbows on the cups or when in the front/by-my-self to place my hands lazyily between the bar ends and just steer with my arms/elbows (on the straight bits of course)...

Syntace do some nice clip-on aerobars http://www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3

Title mostly says it. I want to put some clip-on aero bars on my road bike for long distance training and racing.

I'm looking more for comfort than TT aero. Ideally the pads will be raised above the bar and possibly set back behind the bar although I don't know if these exist.

Budget is not much of a concern. Ideally the aerobars will be the lightest, most comfortable solution currently available - with comfort winning over weight.

syntace c2s (http://www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3&pk=349). i have a pair that i'd part with. used 1 brevet series and a bit of training. i think i have the riser / OS bar adapters too.
pm me if interested.

very comfortable, and lightweight.
i do more mixed terrain / dirt / touring type riding now - so i run my bar bag and haven't used these in over a year.

Profile design air strikes are nice. They have the flip up arm rest option.

Profile design air strikes are nice. They have the flip up arm rest option.

i've heard mixed reviews about rattling and how useful the 'flip' actually is. i thought about those when i bought mine but they seemed heavy and complicated (more parts / mechanicals).

i've heard mixed reviews about rattling and how useful the 'flip' actually is. i thought about those when i bought mine but they seemed heavy and complicated (more parts / mechanicals).

As far as blocking the top. how much of the top does it block? The hoods and slightly behind the hoods are still accessible, right? I rarely ride on the fronts. occasionally when climbing, but it's usually not for long as i feel like I have more power, stability, and comfort with my hands over the brifters or just in the various places on and around the hood.

the c2's were on my short list before. I wonder what size I'd need? They look very similar in design to the strykes only simpler and lighter.

As far as blocking the top. how much of the top does it block? The hoods and slightly behind the hoods are still accessible, right? I rarely ride on the fronts. occasionally when climbing, but it's usually not for long as i feel like I have more power, stability, and comfort with my hands over the brifters or just in the various places on and around the hood.

the c2's were on my short list before. I wonder what size I'd need? They look very similar in design to the strykes only simpler and lighter.

with the OS bar kit i could get my fingers under the pads on the tops.
i found that i also just rode using the pads as the 'top' of my bar - they are contoured for fingers...

not sure on the size, and not sure what size i have - i'd have to check.
they come with a size chart - i thought i looked at that when i ordered - either at trisports.com or excelsports boulder.

I've been using some Profile T2+ (http://www.profile-design.com/products/aerobars/t2/) clip-on aerobars for the last few months. I've found them to be superb. I had the AirStryke (http://www.profile-design.com/products/aerobars/airstryke/) model on my previous bike, but I prefer the riding position of the T2+ (the shape of the extensions gives a flat hand hold instead of the raised one on the Airstyke). I was worried that the T2+ would interfere with my hand position on the top of the bars, but this is no problem because I mount them close to the stem on each side and there is still plenty of room on either side of a 42cm wide (c-c) set of bars for my hands.

The flip-up capability on my Airstrykes broke after about 2000km of touring with them (the springs are apparently too brittle), but I didn't need that anyway because I always had the arm rests in the most inner position, and so they didn't interfere with my hand position on the top of the bar even when I taped the armrests permanently down.

I've been using a set of Syntace C-2's for about 10 years. They are the bees knees. They do block the top a bit, but I'm fine with it. My road bars are 40cm. I tried the risers, but didn't like them as the added resistance was noticeable. In my setup, the elbow pads are about 1" below the top of the saddle. I've got short legs, which limits my position.

The in/out of the pads are adjustable. I set them a bit further apart than optimal for aero performance since my breathing is not all that great.

I use them a good bit on brevets, as I don't plan on riding PBP. They're also a kick in the butt on group rides, as one can bridge up to a break quite amazingly. No one's ever given me a hard time about leaving them on all the time, but then I train with them every time I ride my bike, and only use them on the front.

So that's the other bit - ride them a lot. The position takes some getting used to. You might even need a different saddle. If you have rollers, train with them there, too.