Surprised no one mentions this: according to what I've read, the riding posture on road bikes is more comfortable for long distance, and upright position is better for shorter distance, which have to do with the pressue on the seat.
What I wonder is whether those on road bikes riding long distance feel wrist discomfort or pain from the pressure even though the drop bar allows flexible hand position. Also by looking at some pictures of the riding posture on a road bike such as in
post #172 in this thread I wonder if the position does harm to one's digestion?
I've never ridden a road bike but wish I could ride one comfortably.
IMHO, the guy in that post is trying to achieve a flat back on a bike that is too small for him. It's an aerodynamic posture but I'd guess he's sacrificing power, maybe without realizing it. On the other hand, we're all built differently and maybe that works for him.
That posture may be more common for triathletes who use tri-bars. In that case, your wrists isn't supporting any weight at all, it's the forearms.
The way my road bikes are set up there really isn't much weight on my wrists even though I have a pretty healthy saddle to bar drop on one of them. Your back is supporting part of your weight and so are your arms. It's sort of the way a lot of us sit a lot of the time. Many people will support their upper body partially with their arms while sitting rather than sitting bolt upright.
In any case, the short answer is that the riding position represented in that post is an extreme and not typical. Even racers are often in a more relaxed position:
