Back around 1980, a "Comfort Bike" and a "Performance Bike" were the same bike. It took about a minute to raise the bars to a rider's preferred height (and raising the bars also brings the bars back closer to the saddle. And, a minute to drop the bars to a low position, if that were ever necessary.

After all of the "improvements" that have been made on road bikes over the past decade, many middle aged riders are on bikes that have the bars three or four inches lower than the saddle, and they are in a lot of pain...crotch, neck, back, hands, wrists. Pain that come with pretending to be a 25 year old Pro rider.

However, you can still get a comfortable fit on a road bike. Buy the largest size you can comfortably ride. So, at 5'9", I am riding size 58 bikes, not the size 55 or 56 a bike shop would put me on. That makes it easier to get the bars up higher. Then, add a stem that brings the bars back closer to the saddle, and raises them up as high as the saddle.

The funny thing is, the bike with the best performance is also the bike that is the most comfortable. If you are comfortable, you ride more hours per day and per week. You get in better shape, and ride faster. A lot of "performance bikes" that don't fit well end up hanging in the garage...they don't perform well hanging on the ceiling.