I I like to see what other people are riding, and I conducted a not very scientific survey while cycling in Germany. I looked at the next 100 "touring" bikes that passed me, and put them into a category. I can't quite remember the exact numbers but it seemed like about 97% of the bikes had flat bars, and a lot with suspension forks. Only about 3% had drop bars. Flat bars seemed to be the norm for touring cyclists in most of the European countries we rode through.
I also think that a lot of the European "trekking" bikes have aluminum frames, which generally have larger tubing than steel frame tubing.
This is the biggest bike shop I've ever been in. I did not see any drop bars in their Trekking section. However, I did not look very hard because I was looking for pannier parts.
