Cyclocross - riding on hoods with dirt/flared drops- tips?

I am having a little buyer's remorse about my new set of Salsa Cowbell 2 bars on order. I have only used more traditional drop bars.
How easy is it to adapt to braking and riding from the hoods on flared type bars?

Those bars are hardly dirt drops, and I don't think you'll have any problem adjusting to the slight flare.

Heck, I find riding on the hoods to be better with flared handlebars like my Woodchippers than when I am on my road bike with FSA compacts.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll210/wildcat-bucket/CX700009.jpg

Older Nitto dirt drops start the flare below the brake lever, I use them with bar end shifters.

Bike Shop Take offs from BS MB1, they are on my RB1 instead ..

I didn't like the odd angle of the hoods, so I went back to take off bars from a lbs

Thanks for the opinions!! Should be setting them up next week.

I love my Salsa Bell Lap bars. The slight flare (same as the CowBells) provides a very natural wrist angle.

Like Barrett, I've got some superflared Woodchippers and I really like them. It wasn't much of a difference to get used to the angled position of the hoods; it's actually quite comfortable on the wrists, almost like angled bar-ends for a flat bar bike.

I note SRAM brifters angle the lever out a bit , as they are made.

I don't mind it at all with my Gary bars. 261900
My cross bike is a SS though... I don't know how I'd feel if I had to shift on them.

That whole flared design has puzzled me. I have never ridden them before. I can tell you that I sure would have ridden a bike with them before I ordered them. I've seen them used in cross races before but they seem like they'd be more useful for long distance riding versus "sprinting." Those that have ridden something as radical as woodchippers, what are your experiences.

That whole flared design has puzzled me. I have never ridden them before. I can tell you that I sure would have ridden a bike with them before I ordered them. I've seen them used in cross races before but they seem like they'd be more useful for long distance riding versus "sprinting." Those that have ridden something as radical as woodchippers, what are your experiences.

I started riding flares in exactly the style you considered; I have a pair of Bell Laps on my randonneuring bike and they're very comfortable for long haul riding and spending time on the hooks since they are lightly flared out.
Like Debusama, I race SSCX, so I don't have to deal with shifting on the heavily flared Woodchippers. I don't know if that would be a comfortable situation or not. I could almost see it being a detriment, given how sharp the flare is, and the possibility to accidentally put downward/inward pressure on the levers and mess up with an unintentional shift when you only meant to scrub some speed going into a bumpy corner.
For a SS rig, I find the wide flare to be an advantage in pulling leverage when hammering a short steep, or standing up to punch ahead on a long rising section when others are content to spin away in a lower gear.

Flared drops are less aerodynamic than narrow ones, but they give a more natural angle for your wrists and save your wrists from bruising.

Put the bars on yesterday and did a quick ride around the block. The flare on the Cowbell is hardly noticeable, like was mentioned above. Braking and riding from the hoods seems more ergonomic, since my wrists are rotated inward.
The other reason I got the bar was for the shallower drop, which will come in handy. Can't wait to put some miles on it.