In regard to handlebars- What the heck does "Variable Radius Drop" mean? And are carbon handlebars that much better than aluminum other than the weight difference?

I'm guessing that it's their "fancy" way of implying that the curvature of their drops are somehow ergonomically superior to... whatever.

Bars are very personal. First, I would concentrate on the shape of the drops - you want something that's going to be comfy for whatever hand positions you use (and that allow full access to the brake/shifters) and reach/drop that's appropriate for your flexibility. After you've got that sorted out, ponder whether or not similar carbon bars are worth the price difference.

It's just market-speak.

As far as I can tell, the prevailing wisdom in these parts is that CF handlebars aren't worth the added expense/trouble. If you want vibration damping, you're probably better off with Fizik bar gels or something similar.

Every time I've seen one of those threads, they're usually pretty divided - I don't think that BF is close to a consensus on that one.

Carbon fiber is the bomb.

It explodes you know.

I like my carbon bars. The bike came with alu 3T Ergonoma Pro, or whatever it is, and I had them swapped out for the same bars in carbon immediately. I prefer them, and feel like there's some vibration dampening going on. Of course, there is some; it's a property of the material. The real question is how much, what difference will it make, and is it worth the money? Those are personal questions, depending on how you ride, how the rest of your bike is set up, and how much the money means to you.

But nice cork tape goes a long way to doing the same thing, at probably less than 10 % the cost. How wide and how inflated your rubber is makes a bigger difference (although carbon bars don't slow you down like half empty tubes do), and even your steering tube could make as much difference.

Bends on classic drops are like sections cut out of a circle - they have a constant radius.

On modern "new ergo" type of bars, the initial top part of the drop has quite tight bend to facilitate positioning of the hoods. The lower part of the drop bend is much wider to enable smooth transition between various hand positions in the drop. In technical terms, the initial radius of the drop is smaller, and it then increases toward the end of the bar - thus Variable Radius Drop.

This is not a smart ass answer.

I currently ride two bikes on the road one, my Specialized Langster has all aluminum bars. My other, a Bianchi 928 has a FSA K-wing CF bar on it. Both are covered in Cinelli cork. Both are attached to a carbon fork.

I can't tell a whole lot of difference between the two. Maybe I can ride the CF bars a little longer before shaking out my hands but, I can't really say that's a fact.

I think the fork makes more difference than the bars but again...

Nice! Well described-Thanks for the great input. Much appreciated...