I purchased these bars for my No. 1 bike and immediately bought another for my second/gravel bike. I like the longer reach and slight backsweep of the tops as well as the flattened tops. I also purchased these narrower than what I have used in the past and like that aspect as well. The only change I would make would be a deeper drop ... I know "compact" bend bars are popular but wish there was a bar with tops/reach like this one but just a bit more drop.
This bar solved the 2 issues I have had with my Trek Checkpoint. I felt too stretched out, and had slight numbness in my hands. This bar has a shorter reach than the stock bar, which has solved both these problems. The brifters are also closer to the drops now, which gives me more confidence while riding in the drops as it is easier to reach the breaks. I also enjoy the slight backward sweep to the tops, which puts my hands/arms in a more comfortable position.
I couldn't tell you if they transmit more or less road buzz than the stock alloy bars, but this was not really a concern for me. I went with the same size 42cm bar, however the Zipp bar is slightly narrower than the stock 42cm bar.
I bought these Zipp bars to replace some alloy bars that came on my bike. The Zipps have a comfortable bend, and ample flat space on top for comfort and a bit of aero gain. Most importantly to me, they manage to cut down on road buzz while still being plenty stiff. I'm not a racer, but I don't like feeling any flex in my bars, and these do a great job of adding both performance and comfort. I caught a good sale, and at ~$260 I'd be hard pressed to find a better combination of performance and value.
I really like the design of the Zipp Service Course SL stem, and it's my favorite stem. Here's why:
* The clamping surfaces and edges are nice and smooth -- I've bought many and none had any burrs or rough edges. In case you think this is just for cosmetics, I had a catastrophic carbon handlebar failure once because the stem I was using had sharp, slightly rough edges with tiny, barely visible burrs. That stem was not Zipp! But it was an expensive, name-brand stem. With that other stem the bar failed right at the edge of the stem clamping surface where it was sharp and burred. I was very lucky not to crash. The bolts were torqued evenly and correctly to 5Nm using a Park Tools torque wrench, but the bar still failed because of the sharp edges on the stem. So now, every stem I get (including Zipp) I check out really carefully for any burrs or sharp edges at the clamping surfaces. The Zipp stems have been very good in this respect.
* I so enjoy having Torx head bolts on the stem -- easy to "feel" the torque with a torque wrench, and I have yet to round out a Torx head bolt. Torx head bolts are just so much better.
* Lots of choices in length and rise. I especially like the 17 degree rise version and that seems to work the best for fit on my road bike.
All in all, Zipp stems aren't cheap but in this case it's well worth it!
