Originally Posted by
SBRDude
Two issues here.
One, I wasn't just reading stuff written by cyclists, but at medical and sports medicine websites.
Two, you're not addressing the point they make - that being bent, even if it's being bent while sitting at a desk all day, isn't how are bodies are designed to perform. You are talking about a different issue, even though it has to do with the back.
Links to studies done by sports medicine doctors then, which show your contention to be true. Otherwise, it's just CW, I don't care who it's from.
Au contraire, our bodies perform well in a great variety of postures. The traditional posture works best for cycling, and there's a reason that experienced cyclists, from MTB to RAAM riders, adopt almost identical positions. Being on a bike is not the same as sitting at a desk. And one's back should not be "bent," but ideally straight in the upper part and only curved in the lumbar region.
The Position does put weight on the hands, just as it subtracts that weight from the butt. Having the proper back position means that one must acquire sufficient arm and shoulder strength and endurance to support that weight. No way around that. If a cyclist's shoulders hurt, it is either that they are not conditioned to riding or their position is incorrect in some detail. Sitting upright may seem like the thing to do, but it is not, not because of the shoulders, but because of the imperative of the correct back position.
It's not that our bodies are designed to perform very well in the traditional cycling position, but rather that The Position is designed to take advantage of the characteristics of our bodies. That's one of the reasons that cycling on modern bicycles has become so popular and is called the "ageless sport." It's a fit.
Having taught people to hike, I might point out that how to walk is not that obvious to modern humans, either.