Quote Originally Posted by captenaj View Post
I think I may end up ignoring the tour organizer's recommendation on tires. When I first tried the Giant OCR1W I thought it felt great. I tried it again today, went about 10-12 miles, and it wasn't so great. My hands were hurting a bit. Could it be that I am just not used to drops?
It wouldn't be the drops per se. It would most likely be that the way you are positioned on the bike causes you to put more weight on your hands, which would cause pain. You could fix this by changing the stem, but you will should be able to find a bike that fits better. And like everyone else has been saying, fit it what's most important.

Also, I don't know if the OCR is aluminum or carbon, but aluminum bikes transmit a lot of high frequency vibration ("chatter") which can get to your hands after a while.