actually, i was wading through lots of old forum posts and trying to decide whether to post a new question about reach and drop. i do know that i am pretty unhappy braking in either position (e.g. on hoods or in drops) in my current nitto noodles. my boyfriend seems to think i could benefit from both different brake levers (i tried some smaller ones in a bike shop-- i am sure these would help), but also perhaps handlebars with a shorter reach. i am pretty much totally flummoxed as to whether a shorter reach would help anything, and almost just as confused as to what sort of drop i should be aiming for. (the noodles are 140 mm drop.) i thought i had long fingers for a woman, but again, braking in either position is really uncomfortable right now.
so... if you had any thoughts on this i'd be happy to hear them! or, i might still repost my new query in a new thread/diff. section...