cdr:

Thanks for the insight - you are likely correct that my carpal tunnel type pain stems from working at a computer. Recently I've been trying to approach it from all fronts, by changing my workspace and also adjusting my bars as well.

Upgrading to campy or electric DA will be a last attempt, however I'm hoping that the cause is the computer and just gets worse on the bike.

The UK company I ordered the bars from said they are out of stock for 6-8 weeks, so I think I'll be going with the FSA. As the price is about 65 bucks shipped, it's at least a cheap experiment.

One last question - you mentioned that braking is awkward from short reach bars, how about standing and shifting while sprinting?