Some things I've learned about standalone bullhorn bars (ie. bull horn bars without tri aero bars):
1. Most cyclist don't even use the drops of the drop bars, so you might as well be using bull horn bars.
2. Bullhorn bars don't work too well with aero brake levers (ie. under-bar-tape brake cable routing) mounted in the usual orientation, because the cable has to bend back 90 degree in a tight loop. You 'll want non-aero brake levers. If you are running dual pivot brakes, you need either BL6400 or BL1050 non-aero levers which work with SLR brakes. These are very rare.
3. If you want to use tri (reverse) brake levers, you will need to drill holes in your bars.
4. If you use tri (reverse) levers, you will lose the option to run barcon shifters
5. Most bullhorn bars have a sloping 'tops' section, making it hard for you to use the tops of the bars. The exception is the Nitto RB009 and whatever Nitto bar this is:
(Imagine it upside down)
6. Using bars shaped like I mentioned in #5, allows you to run aero brake levers mounted backwards.
This is the RB009 bar setup I have on my Nishiki Linear. Notice I have aero brake levers mounted backwards. The cable routing is very smooth with no sharp kinks. The 'tops' section is very useable as well. The braking is very good. In fact much better than braking from the hoods on a regular drop bar.
