Yes, that was me that got rid of the barcons.

Go down to your LBS and test ride a bike with barcons. I think Bianchi and Fuji each have touring bikes with barcons. It is a personal preference. I dislike them. With my small hands, it is very difficult to shift the front der and hold a line. I can shift far faster with Ergo which makes rollers a heck of a lot more fun. I've nearly slammed into the back of somone on a sudden swoopy uphill who used barcons because I could shift faster and use the momentum of my downhill speed. But, some folks don't care about that ability.

It really comes down to preference. The rollamajig - is that so your STI levers will pulled a cantilever brake? What kind of brakes are you planning to use?

I have a USE suspension post on the tandem and love it. Not horribly heavy and low maintenance but I'm not sure why you'd want it on a single bike. I guess it would be good for back problems just to even out the bumps a bit.