Mark Sanders of Strida fame has a few good points to make about riding position.

Of course, they probably don’t apply to the finely toned athletes who inhabit this forum… 🙂

Where’s his other leg?

He designed this….so basically his opinion is baaallls

Saw someone on one of those ^ in Cromarty last week.
Cromarty is full of oddbods 🙂

Rorschach – Member
He designed this….so basically his opinion is baaallls

Nup, he’s a genius. 🙂

Ever watch someone fold them?

anyone who cycles daily, year after year, knows that he is talking sense.

for toddling round town, I’m sure he’s bang on – and LOADS of people toddling around town is exactly what the UK needs

Dunno. I found that riding a Dutch style bike ended up being agony. Too much weight on your bum was really uncomfortable pretty quickly. You need to take some weight on your wrists.

Yep i tend to agree with his summation, as i’m the “goto’ person in my local town for bike repairs/issues i’ve sorted out countless folk over the years who have been sold a bike that is not really suitable for their needs, so many bike shops seem to think that everyone who expresses an interest in buying a bike for fitness/leisure needs should ride a drop bar skinny tyred roadie style bike whilst resplendent in lycra.

Flat barred or even backswept barred upright “hybrid style” (i hate that term but there’s nothing else to describe such a style) with 35mm+ tyres at a minimum is ideal for folk getting back into cycling rather than the skinny tyred stretched out monstrosities that are still being sold to folk who will take it out for an afternoon and return crippled with pain to place it in the shed till next years solitary bike ride.

When I’ve ridden fully upright (by riding non-handed) I found it puts too much weight on the bum sitting fully upright but the trade off is its better for the lower back. But its surprising how much it hurts the bum after such a short time

grannyjone – Member
When I’ve ridden fully upright (by riding non-handed) I found it puts too much weight on the bum sitting fully upright but the trade off is its better for the lower back. But its surprising how much it hurts the bum after such a short time

If you ride upright you need a saddle intended for that purpose, eg a Brooks sprung saddle.

When I did a 140 mile day on an old upright roadster on rough roads what surprised me was the lack of saddle soreness. It gave me a new appreciation for those heavy old triple sprung saddles – so much so that I bought the bike a new one. 🙂

You can see the type of saddle in this pic (that’s the old one)

Upright bicycles are best for utility riding and casual riding – hence most bikes used in countries like the netherlands are like this. My commutter is also like this. Far more comfy, better visibility

I had a go on one of these in Copenhagen

Very comfortable, though it felt a bit like using a stairmaster. Plus great for looking around.

tjagain – Member
…Far more comfy, better visibility

The superior visibility on an upright bike is a major advantage if you’re riding for pleasure. You don’t realise how much you miss when you’re down low.

A bit like going from a sportscar to a Transit type van, suddenly the traffic isn’t so oppressive and you can see stuff at normal head height.

corroded – Member
I had a go on one of these in Copenhagen

The Dursley is one of my unscratched bike itches. 🙂

What was the ride like?

Pederson?

Geoff Apps says

Lordosis…

He’s wrong, this is the ideal riding position:

8)

I’d agree that sitting upright is better for town bikes, utility riding etc. As a ‘cyclist’ you need to remove your cyclist brain and install a ‘person on a bike’ brain. 99% of people don’t want or need anything even remotely sporty. They don’t want to wear a helmet or Lycra. They don’t want to look like a cyclist. They don’t want to be a cyclist. That just want cheap local transport. I totally get it*, and the more people that buy and ride bikes like this the better we’ll all be.

*My next bike will be a Gazelle. Probably a Heavy Duty NL.

Yes, I agree. I can imagine that for the majority of the population; getting dressed up in spandex and fancy shoes, and then riding an uncomfortable looking bike around for hours at a time would certainly seem like a daft thing to do.

But millions of people still like to do this, although a good number of them (looking at the tall stacks of stem spacers) would be better off on an upright bike.

100% agree.

Cycling is sold as a sport which means many people are riding around on uncomfortable bikes.

It’s why steerer extenders and gel saddle covers are so popular.

I came back from a weekend in Lyon thinking i need a nice upright slack seat tubed bike with a fat sprung saddle for pottering around town in normal clothes.

imnotverygood – Member

Dunno. I found that riding a Dutch style bike ended up being agony. Too much weight on your bum was really uncomfortable pretty quickly. You need to take some weight on your wrists.

Lots of Dutch, Danish and German folk in agony, not to mention India, Asia and China.

My bum is generally fairly well-cushioned, whereas my wrists are delicate multi-boned and jointed. I know which area I’m going to put my weight on.

This is worth a read.

If you want to go fast, then your biggest obstacle is wind resistance, and this is what creates the need for a low riding position – less frontal area = less drag. Once you clear your mind of the need to be fast, then things change.

However, the surprising thing is just how much ground you can cover in a day on an upright bike without being ‘fast’.

There’s a lot of evolution in the old-fashioned British roadster. The design was honed over 100 years by people who rode them as their primary transport. Maybe they knew something we have forgotten…

The bike I use/d for primary transport is the most upright bike I’ve had, including a 1936 police bike.

To echo what others have said, if you spend a lot of time using a bike for transport then upright rules the roost. It’s also relaxing and gives excellent traffic visibility/visual awareness. No sore back or neck after hours and hours in the saddle. I find it helps that my dutch bike has the B/B positioned appreciably further forward. Not as far as those Electra cruisers, but definitely re-laxed. Took me a while to find a suitable saddle and settled on a Specalized Sonoma, and wider than I would normally use.

Obviously the extra pressure goes here rather than shared with the arms. It helps to periodically stand and pedal, but I found with the right seat/cutout it just disappears and I don’t get sore. I spent more time on this just for the sheer pleasure of riding/moving along on own steam than any other bike in the same length of ownership. Relaxercise. Even go out for no reason in middle of the night just to ride it for fun and meditation. Weird.

As epicylo says – forget the need for speed. When touring in the Netherlands I met a chap who had been to the arctic circle adn back on his dutch 3 sp bike carrying huge amounts of luggage including a track pump! He was doing 80+ miles a day every day. I have done ( years ago) over 100 miles in a day on a 3sp upright bike. It just takes time. 10 mph for 10 hours

Sounds dull as **** Teej, I’ll pass.

My first thought seeing this that a bit leaned forwards is good, not just for aero reasons – but then reading the article that only applies if you’re putting significant effort in and so supporting your body with your leg muscles (and I agree with that point). So still only good for sporty cyclists.

But then thinking about it I do most of my utility cycling sat totally bolt upright. Sure I’m still trying to find a really comfy saddle for long distances like this, but then I have other issues.

Indeed. I’ve recently spent a bit of time riding one of these around, and it actually starts feeling a bit rude being able to see over people’s walls into their gardens 😉

Just read the article and totally agree with his sentiments. One of my bikes .a surly Ogre has so many hand positions up front I can choose anywhere between fully upright and mildly sporty riding positions which is fantastic for “relaxercise” type riding. I’ll try and post a pic tomorrow . Really is the best set up for variety.
mine is different to Sheldon’s approach (RIP) but I think he was on the same wavelength
I guess being mid fifties biases me to comfort above sport/style and allows me to carry on pedalling despite numerous aches and pains. I’m no longer in a hurry or looking to impress anyone..hence my setup. Probably wouldn’t have been seen dead on it when a youngster though!
The one thing i do dislike about a very upright position is poor hill climbing ability but that’s probably due to atrophying leg muscles .