I've been riding the Nitto RB021 for around a year straight, now. Prior, I had been running the Deda Pista drops, and while enjoying them, I felt that the track drops no longer seemed practical to road use. My biggest complaint has always been slipping off the shoulders during climbs - something that deep-set track drops were never designed to do - and while I've been experimenting with road drops, nothing has alleviated this predicament. So, on Sunday, I swallowed my pride & ventured to the ugly side of things: lever-less road hoods. Currently, these are mounted to Nitto B123AA's and are quite comfortable. In fact, I've found that this position has really opened up a new page in my Difisso's geometry. Seated or standing, the frame is quite responsive from this position, and mainly, I've gained all of the power that I was looking for in my climbs. Finally, I can dance in the pedals on the harder grades, and the positioning has taken a lot of stress out of my arms & back.
Is it ugly? Absolutely. However, if tarck kids can bike on BMX gear, than I will take a page from the roadie in me. If you're looking to do this at home, its quite easy. The only mod I did, outside of removing the levers, was to file down the undercarriage of the hood. I'm looking into getting the Cane Creek Tandem Dummy Levers in the near future:
view from the cockpit:
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