I am seeing alot of bikes without the handlebar sheath. At first I thought they just didn't bother putting them back after performing maintenance on them. But the few times I had to ride them, the handlebars seems narrower and more swept back. I like the fact that it is narrower, so I can squeeze between vehicles or other bikes taking up too much space on the bike lanes. But it seeming to be more swept back, makes me be in a more upright position. I usually rest my forearm on the flat sheath of the handlebar, which is a stable area, but the plastic seam sometimes causes abrasion or small cuts that constantly gets irritated. The new bars might not have as much surface area to rest the forearm, but its round tube causes less irritation.

I still try to avoid them because they all have NuVinci hub, which mostly are maladjusted, leading to no overdrive.