When I switched from a friend's borrowed hybrid with straight bars to my own bike with drop bars, it felt really weird and kind of scary at first. But after a couple weeks of getting used to it, I loved the drops bars way more than the straight bars. And yes if you plan on doing 50 mile+ rides, drop bars are great- I can ride with my hands in about 6 different positions, so I never get tried hands from holding the bar in one position.