I'm 63 and I have just built my first bike equipped with drop bars (that weren't flipped). I did this for style, as the bike is a fixie and I wanted it to look classic, not current. Prior to this all my bikes had high(ish) flat bars, for the most part.

For the past 50 years, I have found drop bars painful. For the first time, I am comfortable with them. I am 6'1 210 lbs down from 270 over 3 years. Here's an observation, by no means scientific.

While my previous instinct to raise the bars when my shoulders hurt provided temporary relief, it was short lived. The wrist and shoulder pain didn't go away, it moved to another spot. If the tops are just the right height, the balance between the spring effect from your bent torso and the support by your arms, makes it less painful on your shoulders and wrists. I still rarely visit the drops. That is why the tops are dead level and the drops at a rakish angle, almost parallel with the down tube.

The seat being at the correct height and practically level, I can position my sit bones near or even off the back of the seat for additional comfort. I would prefer an anatomical seat but styling dictated an age appropriate saddle.

I know the rest of the civilized world thinks suicide levers are dorky and useless, but I differ on this. Leaning way forward to brake on a fixie with only a front brake feels risky. If adjusted right, extension levers stop the bike well from a more upright position. They need to be tight so they brake with very little pull. The more you have to pull them, the less effective they feel. There has to be a good inch of air between the hard stop position and the bar. Again, my observation and not scientific.

I hope you find safety and comfort with your road bars.

Heres a picture of the bike in case any of this is unclear: