Originally Posted by
Steel Charlie
How the bar is tilted and where the lever bodies are positioned obviously makes the difference. And that's a massively adjustable system. If you are going for a "look" then functionality may suffer.
I installed the shifters using the standard techniques - use a steel ruler clamped the bottom of the handlebars and then line up the bottoms of the levers with the ruler. Then use a level to ensure the two shifters are equally positioned. I made one change, moving the shifters 5mm higher than lined up with the ruler. I do that on all my bikes to give a slightly more upright position without changing the outward appearance much. From there, I have rolled the bars upward and downward a few mm to find the right angle for my hands, but just can't seem to find it. To be clear, I've been messing with this setup for the better part of a year.