Originally Posted by
haplorrhine
Recently, I realized it is a good idea to grip the handle bars tightly and pull my torso forward with my arms. ... it helps me go faster with less leg push.
Road racers call it riding "on the rivet"
A rider who is riding at maximum speed. When riding at maximum power output, a road racer often perches on the front tip of the saddle, where the shell of an old-style leather saddle would be attached to the saddle frame with a rivet
It allows you to put more power into the peddles by using slightly different position and muscles. It cannot be maintained for long periods of riding, but it does make for another good change in position during rides and added speed when desired.
Originally Posted by
haplorrhine
This is helpful to me in particular because I wear a backpack that varies from 5 to 50 pounds.
I've thought about racks, but the backpack keeps my back in shape. Although backpacks hurt my shoulders when I'm walking around (vertical torso), they don't when I'm cycling (horizontal torso).
Just riding a bicycle in a somewhat aero position will strengthen your back muscles. Thus the complaints of new riders about back pain. Your solution may be a better back pack (CamelBak military packs do the job well and have a good capacity - they are still designed with cycling also in mind) or switch to a messenger bag (lots of choices with each cyclist having their own favorite).
http://shop.camelbak.com/Military-Ta...us-cargo/l/401
http://www.chromebagsstore.com/bags/messenger-bags.html