Originally Posted by
Dunbar
If you compare the top tube length between hybrids and road bikes the hybrid will be about 20-25mm longer for the same frame size. So if you just slap some drop bars/drop bar ends on the bike you'll feel really stretched out on/in the drops/hoods. All you have to do is put a shorter stem on the bike to compensate for this. If the bike is the wrong size then that's a different issue but you can't expect to put drop bars on a hybrid without compensating for the reach difference.
I have owned and ridden a Trek Road Bike and a Trek Hybrid. The 58 cm road bike fit me best and the 20" Hybrid fit me best. The 58 cm road bike has an effective tope tube length of of 573mm. The 20 inch FX has an effective top tube length of 568mm. If I had ridden a 56cm Trek, its effective top tube length is 560mm. 5mm and 8mm difference one way or another is inconsequential. 8mm is less than one third of one inch. My two points are that you can't arbitrarily say that a hybrid has a longer
effective top tube and that even if there is a difference it is likely inconsequential.