Bar comfort and position is one thing - how brifters are set up is something totally different.
His questions were:
The LBS guy said I should get a 31.8 handlebar, does that just refer to the clamp point for the stem or does that also refer to the overall thickness of the handles too? My current handles feel a bit thin and I'm hoping to get some that are a bit thicker this time around since I have medium sized hands.
Also, what's the best way to figure out how big of a drop I should be shopping for? The way my handle bars are set up right now, my drops aren't actually parallel to the ground they're angled slightly upwards at the front do they make the drops at different angles, or is it something I should just deal with?
[edit] Oh um... I guess I should also mention I have a climbing addiction. Makes a difference?
Bringing up 9 speed Ultegra is a very minor point.