Originally Posted by
tjspiel
Why can't you keep your hands on the brakes? You can while either on the hoods or in the drops and with cross brakes you can while on the tops too.
The hoods offer the best leverage for working the brakes,esp in a panic stop. They also give the best leverage for sprinting away from a light(you're too hunched over in the drops,and the tops are too narrow). Most drop bar bikes don't have cross levers,so you'd have to add them.