Originally Posted by
grolby
Yep. I did the higher handlebar thing for a couple years about a decade ago, because I had little experience of my own and figured Grant Petersen and Sheldon Brown were surely the only experts worth listening to.
LOL. Yeah, while I greatly admire the contributions of both those dudes, they are not infallible.
I haven't raced or for that matter ridden long miles
every day regularly since I was a teenager, but back then I honestly don't remember my rear being sore, despite ~400 miles/week and 3-4" drop. Sore legs, yes, that was continual...
AFA the B17 not being for dropped position, I think you are correct that it is somewhat of a modern myth, but still IME there's some truth to it. I will be curious to see how the Swift works out on my new Mercian. I am glad I went with that instead of another B17, as the shape seems near identical to the old Avocet/Sella Italia racing saddle on my Masi.