Quote Originally Posted by elk View Post
I did lower my bars one spacer re TxDoc's suggestion..and although today was a rather short ride (under 10miles all up hill and then all down) I noticed that my hands didn't hurt...and in fact, I felt the pressure on them was much relieved...

I still have my fitting next week...but I do like the bar lowered a bit...who woulda thunk it!!!!! thanks Doc!
But you just changed back to your original comfier bars, eliminated the bar gel fat pads, and added brake shims, right? (correct me if I'm wrong) Hard to really tell then what change or combination of these four changes are making your hands happier. A longer ride will be more telling, but good that you are not in pain!
I should note that my new bike has slightly lower bars, and I like them that way.