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I use a few but to be honest don't think barbel are that riggy. My standard rig on the Kennet is 12 inches of 12 lb drennan sink braid to a size 10 Drennan super specialist barbel hook. I run the braid through some rig putty to ensure it sinks (not sure what difference it makes but a good confidence booster) and just fish a running lead with a Korda back lead. Most of my fish fall to this rig.

On the Avon and Stour which are a bit clearer I tend to swap the braid for flourocarbon (Korda IQ Soft) and lengthen the hooklink up to as much as 3 feet (although normally 18 inches to 2 feet) again with small amounts of putty added to sink it. I think this is less visible than the braid in the clear water and prefer the longer link to keep the bait away from line going up in the water. If the going is tough and I am sure there are fish in the swim I may swap to all braid or even part braid part flourocarbon but normally don't need too. I use this rig on the severn too as it is fairly tangle proof on the long casts.

In winter then the river is up and coloured I find braid can tangle a lot and so swap for coated braid (Suffix brands are good). I also use these when fishing near snags and up the hooks to a Drennan continental boilie hook. This is a last resort tactic though, I'd rather try to draw them out than fish hook and hold. It is exciting fishing hook and hold but is not fair on the fish to put them at unecessary risk.

Golden rule though is keep it simple. Stick to my first suggestion, concentrate on finding fish and feeding correctly and you'll catch loads of barbel.

Hope this helps

Mark