Drop bars on a hybrid?

Morning folks. I have a SS BMC Hybrid that I commute and bop round town on. With the saddle at the right height and the bars slammed I’m still pretty upright and I like the view round town. Out on long straights in a headwind it would be good to get lower.
I like the idea of trying drops but cant see how the hydro brake levers would work anywhere other than the tops, so a long way to grab the brakes in a crisis.
Any other ideas, are there any bars designed to get round this with a straighter vertical section on the drops or am I looking at it from the wrong direction as usual?

Use Great North Road pattern bars inverted. They are 22.2mm diameter which is the same as your current levers.

Traditionally it was the way to have a bike for commuting and weekend sports use. Run the bars up for weekdays, and flip them for the weekend.

Nitto B483AA bar is pretty close to proper Great North Road bar, and I think PlanetX are selling them.

Take into consideration stem length – you may have to change it because of the different hand position.

eg:

(Proper GNR bars have more rise/drop than the example shown)

Best of both worlds.
thorn by michaelandamanda[/url], on Flickr

Alternatively Surly Moloko bars or Jones Loops with a garwhal?

Thanks for that epicyclo. Not seen them before.
mariner, can I assure the ONLY reason I’m not following your example is the lack of a quill stem on my bike.

Sorry its not mine its a Sheldon Brown creation.

Must be good then.

I put drops on a hybrid. The bike came with V brakes though so I was able to fit mini-Vs and use normal road levers. The mini-Vs required some heat-forming of the mudguards, but the result is lovely and a great ride.

With hydro discs you’d have to get hydro 105 levers I think which are not cheap. If you have calipers that take brake fluid you’d have to change the seals (which I think you can with Hope?) or just change the calipers too. Not particularly simple.

You could try perusing the Planet X website for a variety of interesting bar styles for cheap, they usually tell you if they fit MTB levers or road.

I’ve found bars end mounted either side of the stem useful on a flat bar bike when dealing with long stretches into a headwind.Depends on how near you need to be to your controls on those sections. Mine was along fairly quiet cycle paths.

Or you buy normal road drops and get some TRP Hylex, but that’s not a cheap solution either…

Has anyone tried a set of those Moloko bars?
I am kinda tempted after trying a set of H bars.