I'm looking into replacing the handlebars on my roadbike. I measured them at 44 o-o/42 c-c, and I've always felt a little awkward on them. I don't get any aches and pains from them, even on long rides (for me, anyway -- 80+ miles), but I feel like they make my elbows splay and I often just feel -- awkward -- on them (this is important because I tend to spend a lot of time hanging out on the drops, more than the hoods). My new Axis has bars that I measured at 40 o-o/38 c-c, and they're vastly more comfortable. However, the smaller bars also have smaller, shallower drops which i actually don't like as well as they don't offer as many hand positions.

This may not play much role in determining proper handlebar width, but for what it's worth, the road bike has very different geometry than the Axis -- much more stretched out and less upright. I guess what this means is that more of my weight will be on my hands on the road bike.

I measured my shoulders and (while I won't vouch for absolute accuracy since I was doing it myself) I came up with almost exactly 38cm.

So I have some questions:
1) If I go to a smaller bar on the roadbike, will I **lose** some of the power I get from my upper body when sprinting or when doing strenuous seated climbs? If so would it make sense to go from 42 to 40, rather than to 38? Would I notice a 2cm difference?

2) Does anyone know of bars that come in smaller sizes -- 38 -- that have longer drops? The bars on my Axis are Deda Piegas, and I'm not wild about the short drop or the shape, a hybrid between traditional and anatomic that would probably be more comfortable if it were more one or more the other. (The Felt has stock proprietary Felt bars, so I can't just look for the same bars in a smaller size).

3) Bars I've looked at online as possibilities are: Salsa Poco, Salsa Short & Shallow, and Ritchey Biomax Pro. Thoughts on any of these? Also, if a given bar has significantly shorter reach than one's current bar, should that change how one thinks about other aspects of setup (like stem length)? Some of the bars vary by as much as 15mm.

4) What's the deal with flared drops? The Biomax and some of the other Salsas have them -- what are the benefits and drawbacks?

Sorry this is a bit long and rambling. I will REALLY appreciate any advice anyone can give me!