I had experience with one previous integrated bar stem, from FSA K-Force Wing Pro. The benefit of that product was that it gave a supremely damped feeling to the front of the bike when riding over rougher sections of pavement. It was quite a bit heavier than the Alpinist, so my hunch is that they shaping was intended to give this damped feeling and that increased the weight, in turn. The FSA was also painted, and that may have contributed slightly to this damped feeling and extra weight. While I would not say the Alpinist is uncomfortable, I was slightly underwhelmed with its effect on the front of the bike from a ride quality perspective. I can't honestly discern any difference in ride quality between this setup and just a normal carbon bar and alloy stem. So, a bit of a meh on that front. I also opted for Lizard Skins DSP 1.8, which in hindsight was probably a bit too thin for the Aplinist cockpit, considering I have somewhat large hands (can palm basketball) and the bars have minimal mass in some key areas, especially right behind the hoods, where it's nice to have some real estate to rest your palms. Where I absolutely love these bars is out of the saddle, both climbing on the hoods and sprinting. They are just rock solid stiff and really help the front of the bike track straight and stay strong when all you're weight is over the front wheel. I do wish there was a bit of backsweep to the tops, but they went with a very safe shape overall that's easy to get used to and shouldn't offend anyone. Another area that Roval could have done some subtle shaping is the drops, where it's sometimes a bit difficult to keep locked in because there is some pressure on my ulnar nerve from the way the bars position the hands in the drops. So a moderate flare here, maybe like 6 degrees, would be nice. Overall, very happy with them, they just suit the Aethos so nicely.