Originally Posted by ChuckM
I am also a large rider, and sometimes suffer from carpal tunnel problems. When I got my first road bike this autumn, the LBS fitted me in a position where the stem is not lower than the seat. I find that the drops cause me much less trouble than the "riser" handlebars I used to use sitting nearly upright on my comfort bike. My back is not quite horizontal, so I'm not applying as much weight to my hands as I would have otherwise. Also, the risers only had one position to hold on with - definitely bad news for someone with repetitive motion syndrome.
I just found that the position of riding on the hoods with the hood pressing in to the middle of my palm was really bad for setting off my carpal tunnel. Up until using drop handle bars I had never had carpal tunnel that I really noticed. It is not surprising that this position is bad for the carpal nerve because if you look at the anatomical diagrams of the hand that is where the carpal nerve runs (right up the middle of the hand).
It has just been my experience that having the bar running more across my hand is more comfortable. I also don´t think that the tape is any substitute for a rubber grip particularly when the bike has no front suspension to even out the bumps.