Originally Posted by
Chilepines
I have Ritchey Venturemax bars and really like the minimal drop (102mm) but hate the bump in the drop. Riding in the drops is a really good idea on gravel descents, and it is so much easier to do when the drops are not so far down.
I have the Ritchey Venturemax Comp ergo (24deg) and like the ergo bump in the drop, especially going up a steep hill. and yes, I also find the flared drop gives good control in the technical buddy bite. A friend of mine has the same bike as mine, same redshift stem, only difference is the roady handle bar and his bike is twitchy in the techy bits.
To the OP, why do you need carbon? do you really need to save a few grammes on a gravel bike?
I tried a 12, 24 and 35 deg and found that 35 was too much especially on the road and 12 was more comfortable than nothing but didn't really improve control.
If your gravel is road orientated (hence carbon???) then 12 is probably better.
If your gravel is off road/single track/forest path biased then 24 is definitely the way to go in Aluminium, not carbon