If you value safety, get KoolStop salmon-colored pads. I endorse them wholeheartedly and refuse to use anything else. Don't forget low-compression cable housings, while you are at it.
As long as you can deal with the increased travel, the aero levers are a good step, because they will boost your leverage by about 10%.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069