I'm about to ink a deal on a new hybridish bike. I've been thinking about some things I can do first to make it more comfortable. Yes, I'm going to ride the heck out of it before I go upgrade crazy but I was just wondering how much bang for my buck I get with some carbon upgrades/changes? I'm eyeballing new handlebars, stem and seat post. Are they worth the change from alloy for the comfort and weight savings? I'm looking at about an 75/25 mix of pavement and light trails.

Thanks for any advice.

I have recently upgraded wheels, handlebars and stem. I would not have expected this outcome but for me the wheel upgrade albeit saving weight, is the least noticeable upgrade when it comes to the actual riding. The handlebars with the stem however I noticed right away. The ride is much more dampened. Very cool. I really enjoy my new carbon
handlebars.

Thanks for the reply,

I'm not thinking about changing my wheels and the cost involved. The bikes I'm looking at seem to have adequate wheels for my riding. What handlebars did you go with? New here and don't even know where to begin looking at handlebars, seat posts and stems (if worth it). I'm definitely going to get better tires and seat but am just looking at other changes that may be worth it.

I did not want to outlay too much money to get it figured out so I went to ebay and looked for used carbon handlebars but I wanted to gave a good brand name behind it. Easton brand gives me that reassurance. I was able to score the handlebars for less than 30 and same with the stem.

I am also new at this so let me tell you that I also bought a carbon seatpost only to find out it is too thick for my Sirrus and too thick even for my Surly ICT :-) Theck the diameters ;-)

handlebars will yield the most benefits to vibration reduction, skinnier riders can go 25.4 for more compliance. Stems, not so much as they're not designed for compliance but stiffness. Long seatposts on compact frames will also reduce vibrations, the longer the better - forget it if you're running six inches or less of post

edit: Running a 27.2mm seatpost with a shim can also yield a softer ride if you're rocking a 30mm+. Many brands are downsizing as a compliance feature; you can too.

OK, it sounds like start out with the handlebars, maybe a seat post next, skip the stem. Thanks again for the input.

Bars and seat post are great options, I'd also like to mention getting measured for the right sized saddle and better tires for your riding purposes. Most stock tires aren't great.

How well do carbon handlebars hold up in a crash? I'm talking about the drop bar variant if that matters. I'd just like to be able to ride home in the event that the BIKE not me, gets knocked over, ha ha.

I think the potential weight savings might be a nice kicker as well.

Don't get your expectations up too high for carbon bars and seatpost making a big difference, given their lack of width and length, respectively. Not saying it won't help, but it's not going to have the same effect as on a bike with wider bars and lower seat tube that gives them more room to "work", though I'm also hoping carbon bars will help mute some of the buzz remaining buzz and vibration from rough pavement(need more rise on my mtb, so am planning to get a 40mm riser and cut down its 720mm Easton EC70 20mm riser for use on the hybrid).
Fork's another story. Having never ridden a bike with a carbon fork before, I was very surprised when comparing my Trek 7.5 FX to the lower end models that I thought I'd be ok with. Wish I'd shopped around to see if there was something with a carbon fork and disc brakes available, but after a couple of back to back rides on bikes with and without the carbon fork, there's was no doubt in my mind that "with" was better. Made a very noticeable difference in the ride quality.