Really need to ride several styles and see what feels good. I swore up and down I wanted a flat-bar hybrid but some LBS guy convinced me to try his personal drop-bar bike and while I wasn't 'good' at it, having ridden mountain bikes for years and not being familiar with different shifters and brakes, it totally taught me to try some new styles in my search. I ended up with a cyclocross bike--I wanted something faster than my mtb but not as 'fragile' as road bikes seemed. I love my cross bike.