I have a woodchipper (monstercross bike) and I can easily ride it on the hoods/flats. I only use the drops when offroad or in the wind. I also have a Surly open bar touring/cargo bike) and find that it has a lot of hand positions although it is a bit flexy due to it being CroMo. My newest bar (my mountain bike) is a Misfit Psychles FU2 bar, the bar has a comfortable sweep and can be flipped to give a little bit of drop. What shifters/levers are you using?