Its a personal preference thing. Depends where you ride, your riding style, your bike position, bike setup, etc. For me, I take them off and on. For longer rides, they are good. They are also good in the winter for me since my hands get so cold, I notice a difference with these, probably because of less pressure on the ulnar nerve which keeps my hands from getting numb too fast. Generally I prefer a round grip (esi cush is nice), especially when I go to baldplate or round valley or anywhere technical.