So, I stopped at a bike shop and purchased these over-engineered beauties. I have no idea if the vibration dampening claims are real. My guess is that my 29" wheels are doing most of the work reducing road shock. I've been a sucker for a lot of bike technology that just turned out to be goofy: rear elastomer suspension; Profile aerobars; biopace chain rings, you name it.
No matter, the Bontragers serve the purpose of staying put. Look how long and fat they are! I had a hard time impaling my bars with the squishy fat rubber enclosures around the brass bars. I used a screwdriver to no avail to jam them. Finally, I just spit on them and they slid right in. It was almost erotic.
So, no more worries about tape unraveling.