Practically speaking there's no way bar ends could be placed at 40-44CM wide on a flat bar bike. My experience riding both is that drop bar width is a compromise. The tops of the bars are narrower than the ideal position but it's worth it because it places the brake hoods in the ideal position which I ride 80% of the time. I tend to like narrower bars on my hybrids but there's a limit to how narrow you can go and still be able to fit the brakes and shifters. One of the reasons I don't like bar ends is they feel way too wide to be comfortable. If I was to cut the bar down enough that the bar ends were comfortable then the normal position on the grips would be too narrow.