Originally Posted by
abdon
The funny thing is that this whole discussion does not apply to most of the planet.
Bicycles are the most prevalent form of transportation. Today, there are two bikes for every car. The overwhelming majority of those bikes are utilitarian and upright for a good reason.
On a daily basis I see ladies on high heels, long skirts, and a hand bag get on their bikes and pedal away to take care of business. I also see grannies get on theirs to go grocery shopping. I would love to see you guys explaining to them how a crouched stance is better
On a healthy society, utilitarian upright bikes have a more important role than any other bike type.
Not that I would be caught dead riding one of those
My "upright" roadster-type bike (which is what most of the world uses) doesn't actually give me an "upright" position- I still have some lean even in the most upright position, and when I move my hands toward the inside curve of the bars (north road/mustache style that is standard on utilitarian cycles) I stretch out considerably.
Cricisms of uprights are very true when they're referring to bolt-upright seating positions, either on crappy comfort bikes or poorly informed people raising their bars and lowering their saddles to where the bike feels like an easy chair. But in terms of standard utility cycles, which do have some natural lean in all hand positions and allow considerable lean if set up correctly, it's very much opinion, and depends on the individual rider. I personally can't use either drops or flats, so a multi-position bar with a slight to medium drop is my only option.