Originally Posted by alanbikehouston
Why is the "handling" of THIS particular frame so vastly different than on a Trek road bike or Centurion road bike from that same era? I have raised the bars up a couple of inches on several bikes from that era. Having the bars as high as the saddle takes weight off my hands, and makes it easier, not harder, to steer the bike. And, makes it easier, not harder, to ride on rough roads, hour after hour.
If you read bike books and bike owner's manuals published between 1960 and around 1985, they typically suggested that an "average" rider set the top of the bars about as high as the top of the saddle. The bike designers of that era EXPECTED most "average" riders would have their hands almost as high as the saddle. Look at photos of the Tour de France from the 1970's...a lot of Pros were riding with a higher hand position as well.
The "fashion" of riding long distances on a road bike with the hands about three inches lower than the saddle began in the late '80's with two or three Pro riders, and sadly, that "fad" has become almost the "standard" position, even with middle-aged riders who will never enter a bike race. As goofy as commuting to work in a Formula 1 car.
Alan, you obviously have neither raced, nor ridden any bike at the limit. I doubt that you have even toured long distance either. If you had done any of these, you would realise the misguidedness of what you write above. The slow speed handling that you seem to appreciate are precisely what you want to avoid at the limit. The Vitus is not your "average" bike, nor was it designed to be ridden by your "average" rider. As you correctly state, to ride a bike designed for racing in a non-racing posture is just as goofy as using a formula one car to commute. So why, pray tell, understanding this, would you therefore attempt to corrupt the racing bike for something that it is obviously not suited for?
As for your statement of racers riding with their hands above their saddle, please show me the pictures. Whether you take Garin's bike from the first Tour de France, that of Bottecchia's bikes from the 20's those of Bartali in the 30's or 40's, those of Coppi in the 50's, those of Anquetil in the 60's all the way up to today, you will see that the bars are always below the saddle. The big difference between the bikes of the last 30 years and those of the further back past is that now, the huge majority of the time racing is spent on the brake hoods instead of the drops. This means that whereas the cyclists in the 20's 30's, 40's and 50's spent virtually all their time on the drops (about 5" below the saddle height), the riders of the 80's to today spend more time on the lever hoods (surprise, surprise with the now greater difference in drop this still remains about 5" below saddle height!) Another big difference is the quality of the road surfaces. Try to ride any modern bike on a washboard dirt road and you will understand why riders of the past rode in a different position. The difference is not only the handlebar height but also the relative saddle height. On rough roads, like the Paris-Roubaix, most pros lower their saddles likely to allow them to better absorb the bumps with their legs. If you also oblige a pro to trade his super-stiff soled shoes for the more flexible leather soled shoes of the past, you will also see that they lower the saddle. This is because they can no longer use their leg muscles in the same way. Positions therefore have changed to accomodate changes in conditions, but never have these changes encouraged any racer to place the bars of their racing bike above their saddle: It is simply WRONG! If you insist on doing so, my suggestion is to select a bike that was designed for such a position. There are plenty of them out there, just not the Vitus mentioned by the original poster.