So I was wondering what the consensus was regarding riding position.
I have decided it seems logical to build a tourer up based on riding position first and foremost.
This conclusion is based upon the fact that my brooks b17 really really does require a more up right position. Should have bought the saddle last I guess.
The consensus is - go with what suits you best.
You need to get out and cover a good few miles and work out what's going to work for you. I ride a drop-barred tourer on the road and a flat-barred "tourer" for off-road. both work well in their environment, both have their pros and cons. I've never tried the "butterfly" bar set-up that is very popular in mainland Europe where, btw, there are all sorts of "Trekking" bikes that are used for a variety of on- and off-road touring.
How much touring, or other longs rides, have you already done? What have you learnt so far?
My normal road bike position. The only thing I might change is a slightly smaller frop from saddle to top of bars (normally 8cm) to allow longer on the drops into a headwind on a loaded bike. B17 saddle was fine for me with a drop of 8cm. and a
I guess mine works out a few cm shorter and higher at the front - stem swap and saddle adjustment sort that.
You can always change the saddle, sound like you are wanting to build a bike around it?
Yeah. Its and 18" inbred frame at the moment and I feel a more upright position works wonders on the b17.
My normal road bike position.
This (and I'm not ignoring the context of a slight change - I'd tend to argue that my road bike is set up to be comfortable on a 100 mile ride).
OP - you already seem to have worked out that selecting riding position based on a saddle is backwards - is this thread an attempt to try and justify that? Personally I've always used Flite saddles for touring. You could always try and find a different saddle which works wonders with your normal riding position - not really sure why a more traditional saddle is required for touring.
Flite Ti and Brooks B17 are surprisingly very similar in profile. I always swapped seamlessly between them.
b17 is not really bad in a racier position. The bars really need to be above the saddle and not level. Just wanted to know what position most people spent the majority of their time in.
my bars and saddle are level. also got a adjustable stem fitted so I can higher the bars if I feel the need to.
sat upright is the best for touring, so you can see things, which is the whole point of touring.
drop bars on a tourer is pointless imho.
My tourer has a B17 and the bars are a decent bit lower than the saddle. Comfort isn't an issue - nor is my visibility.
if my bars were level with the seat I would need about 9 inches of steerer out of the headset
I used to use a b17on my time trial bike
B17 doesnt need a special position !