Drops for my entire commute 22 mile round trip. Granted, they are Midge Bar One bars and the drop is short. I have acclimated to my new commuter a Nashbar XCross frame and am currently riding single speed 48tx11. I haven't bothered to hook up the rear derailleur yet.:D

I also ride with bare bars, no tape. I recently injured my right hand in the palm just below the thumb and padding seems to aggravate it more than help, so the bars go nekkid, at least for now.

I had to contend with a steady headwind all the way to work today and was standing on the pedals and in the drops alot of the way.

New bike is one month old. Old bike was full suspension mtb with trekking/ butterfly bars. It was good, drops are much better!

If you want to stay with flat bars, try north road bars (like the English 3 speeds have.) These bars are great because they are narrow, and you can brake confidently while having quick access to the shifter. Having your grip position fore-to-aft allows you to float the rear wheel over potholes by twisting your wrist. I consider this essential when riding with platform pedals since they don't let you lift the rear wheel by pulling your feet up. Some smart person figured out a great handlebar setup for bad roads and heavy traffic over 100 years ago, and I'm sticking with it for now.

If you buy north road bars, be sure to find ones that have enough room for shifters, brake levers, and handle grips, many are cut too short.

Matt

I find that riding on the hoods causes my hands to get numb faster. I usually just ride in the drops where I can grasp the brakes. My bikes don't have a lot of saddle to bar drop so it comes pretty comfortable even in heavy traffic.

I've been riding flat bars with barends for a little while now. They are great to sprint/climb with, but when I'm using the barends I can't use the brakes. Thus, I end up sprinting in traffic whilst holding on to the flat, which is definitely less efficient. I'm rebuilding an old mtn bike with 46cm drop bars, so I'll be able to sprint from the hoods. This will allow me to sprint, while giving me great access to my brakes.

use drops all the time.
Tried flat bars for a while, but they just don't feel right to me. It's all in what you're used to I think.

I generally have the tops leveled with the ground and ride mostly in the drops, but in heavy traffic or rough spots switch to the hoods, gives me a better view of traffic, and puts the brakes at the ready

Ken

I've ridden drops, flats, and sweep (my old school 3 speed) in traffic. Depends on the bike and how much shifting/braking I need to do. My roadie has downtube (soon to be bar-end) shifting, so being in the drops makes everything easier to reach.

In traffic, I ride the hoods - easy to stop in a hurry, and it keeps the width-profile down. Cars tend to pass closer than they should around here, and I'd hate to have my bars/hands/arms out too far past the general width they're assuming and get clipped.

I put a set of North Roads on my wife's hybrid recently and she loves them. Set up was easy (she has SRAM twist grip shifters) and they look great.

My main bike right now is a roadie with drops, though I rarely use the drops unless I'm doing the sprint/downhill tuck thing (or it's very windy).

I installed cross levers on mine, and use them at least 90% of the time. I have DT shifters and mostly stick to 52:19 when riding around town, so that doesn't factor into my bar positioning.

I love being upright and still being able to brake just fine. Other than the tops, I ride on the corners (thumb->lever access barely) or on or just behind the hoods, depending on which depends on how much brake lever access I get. (When cranking it up I much prefer the corners/hoods too)

Once you get used to drops in traffic, you'll love them I'm sure. My MTB with riser bars and bar-ends feels so wide and I'm much slower because of second guessing my width/gaps.