Nor have I experienced any difficulties seeing or being seen with drops.

I suspect that many cyclists who express a preference for flat bars have never had the opportunity to experience and become accustomed to properly adjusted drop bars. More hand positions, better aerodynamics when at speed or running into a headwind, better weight distribution for slippery conditions, more efficient use of leg musculature. I have a severely herniated disk in my lower back and anything longer than 3 miles is pure torture on a bike with an upright position. With drops, I can put more of my torso weight onto my shoulders, arms, and hands - problem solved.

33,131mi w/o them

Not drops does not neccesarily mean less upright on average. My position on my non-drop bike is lower than the hoods on my bike w/drops.

This thread has shown me the folly of my ways...when I get home I am swapping out the non-drop bars on my Big Dummy and Superbe with drop bars, and I'm gonna replace the drop bars on the rest of my bikes with something else. Thank god for BF!

Do you ride in (on?) the tops, in traffic? My commuter bike has cross brakes, but my new road bike doesn't ... and I don't use the tops in some situations because of this.

Why can't you keep your hands on the brakes? You can while either on the hoods or in the drops and with cross brakes you can while on the tops too.

Me neither. If I ever felt reduced visibility was a problem I could always grab the tops and sit up if I wanted to.
I'm never anywhere near upright on my MTBs, except for when I put cruiser bars on 'em. I'm usually not as low as this guy, unless I'm out on the barends, but pretty close...

I don't really ride on the tops much at all personally. Moving from hoods to tops doesn't give me any significant advantage in terms of visibility and I prefer to have my hands out wider anyway.

You can add cross brakes to your road bike if you want them.

Yep. I'd much rather emergency brake from the hoods or drops too.

Its not a Food Group or a Vitamin..

OTOH,

bowel movements are essential, .. mammalians ..

^ I know I can add cross brakes ... ironically I almost removed them from my CX/commuter bike not long ago. I'm going to leave the road bike the way it is, and get used to it. At this point I'm really only using the tops when I climb, since it helps me leverage the clipless shoes ( ie pull upwards with all my might ) and I don't need brakes when I'm climbing. Mostly, though, I'm curious about how other people are using them, since this is my second drop bars bike. The commuter was really nice to learn on, since the cross brakes made an easier transition from hybrid/MTB riding. The road bike is fine, but I was surprised to see advice on using the tops in traffic...

X2, I love the ones I have.

Indeed, I see so many people with drop bars here riding around in Chicago. Strangely, never see them actually in the drops. Sometimes I wonder, what's the point....

I like riding in tops when just riding to school, and I'll switch to the hoods when coming up to intersections. I ride on the sidewalk though. If I'm on the road and in traffic, I ride on the hoods.

This kind of post is the equivalent of a bait bike.

When I had my vintage Peugeot I rode in the drops most of the time because the hoods were not that comfortable for riding extended distances. I'd ride on the tops if I needed to stretch the muscles a bit.

Once I got a modern bike with friendlier hoods I started to use the hoods more often. I still use the drops more than a lot of people I know. If I happen to have my aerobars mounted, I'll frequently use those instead of the drops. I use the hoods for climbing. I find them to be great for that.

Tops are limited to when I really just want to sit up for a bit. Usually it's only on long rides, almost never on a commute.

Use whatever bars you like, I don't care. I do notice a lot of beginners rejecting drops for no good reason. These are often the same people who buy gel seat covers.

when you are riding into a good wind, the point becomes obvious.

I should have finished my sentence.


Sometimes I wonder, what's the point.... when you have drop bars but you never really use it (even if riding into a good wind).

No, they're not.

A.

Personally I like my drops, and have no trouble in L.A. traffic. I also like my bullhorns on my fixed bike. Neither is essential though..

Ridiculous.

I like flat bars with bar ends stupidly mounted pointing sky-high so I have to impale my palms on them, like grasping the bottoms of two hideous walking canes.

I also mount my flat bar so low that everyone can see my ass crack when I'm going down the road.

^^ top two pieces of advice for success.

now that would just be crazy....and me more times than I care to admit.

Essential? Bah. I frequently go both ways, switching between my flabar folder and carbon racing machine, tending to "love the one [I'm] with".