I am considering a new commuting bike and one of the ideas I have had is to purchase a commute-only bike with a rear rack. Furthering that thought is to consider a bike with a more upright seating position.

The routes I take range from 5km to 18km depending on whether I want the shortest route or more of a fitness route. The routes are all paved on relatively good surfaces although one route is on a pretty good hard-pack gravel surface.

What do other riders think of the upright posture for commuting?

Get a road bike with drop bars.

Ignore road weenies that only ride in the drops; they are consistently exhausted and stupid. See that spot on top the bars? Your hands go there. When it gets hard to pedal, it's because you're going too damn fast; get in the drops and duck under the wind, you'll go even faster.

I find that the more upright my seating position, the more lower back pain I get from longer rides. I ride 7 miles to work and it's a mild strain. I'm done with this. Seat post suspension helps immensely with this, but a proper riding position is better. Another thing I noticed is the upright seating position has severely reduced pedaling efficiency.

my commute takes me directly along the windy, windy shores of lake michigan. being able to get down and out of the wind when it's blowing hard is paramount. an upright bike would be my last choice for a daily commuter. an air-foiled recumbent would probably be the best choice for my commute, but i'm not ready to be that "different" yet.

For me upright bikes are *the* most comfortable bikes for very short distances at speeds of 15mph or below. That's why my 'grocery getter' and around the neighborhood utility bike is an upright bike.

Once you start wanting to ride a longer distance at faster speeds, then drop bar bikes start to make sense. To take it a step further, TT bikes are even more comfortable for longer distances because you get to rest on your elbows, but the downside is that they are harder to maneuver.

For the distances you're talking about, 5km is fine on an upright hybrid bike. 18km is doable also, but at that distance the drop bar bike would probably start to be more comfortable.

North road bars are great for an upright riding position. In high winds, you can also stretch forwards a bit and hold the front curves, or even the middle of the bars if your hands aren't too wide. One thing I would recommend is a comfortable, sprung saddle. Your behind will be supporting more of your weight, and your back will be straighter, so a sprung saddle helps to smooth out bumps without jarring your back.

Hmmm, no good, I'm travelling south, both ways.

Jokes aside, what are North Road bars?

I ride a drop bar commuter most days, and I have a more (but not totally) upright MTB as my backup. For trips up to 10 miles, the MTB is fine, but I find that much over that I miss my drop bars and the extra hand positions. But this has more to do with drop (or, I suspect trekking) bars versus flat style bars. The upright thing adds a different dimension.

I've not owned a really 'upright' bike since I was a kid, but I can't quite imagine commuting on one for any distance. I see people using them around the city all the time, but few (none?) of the long haul commuters use them. As others have mentioned, you lose pedaling efficiency, and your weight is all on your rear. It would also seem like a challenge to get up out of the saddle for hill climbing. I guess if it were geared right and you wanted to crawl up hills (or you live where it is truly flat) it might be okay. 5K? No problem. 18K? probably the outer limit of what might be passably comfortable on an upright bike. But ride what works for you.

There are plenty of drop bar bikes with less 'hunched over' geometries, rather than pure road bikes. I'd say consider these...

North road bars look like this:


I find them to be really comfortable, partly due to the swept-back grips, which place the hands in a more natural position than conventional flat bars. They work with flat-bar brake and shift levers, though I'd use thumb shifters or grip shifters rather than brifters or triggers.

Alternatively, I'd consider an older road bike, which tend to be built more for transportation than racing. Set the handlebars at a sensible height, and use all of the available grip positions, and you'll probably find drop bars to be quite comfortable to use.

I commute upright on the north style bars now, just over 3 miles. The better I get at biking, the more I find myself wanting to lean forward to get up those hills; my next bike will have drops. But I'll never get rid of my upright beater. And the flat bar bikes I've test driven did NOT work for me at all, my poor wrists.

I guess the best option is to have one of everything! It's not like the bars aren't easy to switch out anyway. Do you already have a bike? Are you new to biking? There's nothing wrong with upright commuting, and I think it might be easier if you're new to it (I know I had a lot of core strength building to do). I'll also mention I always thought drop bars were super uncomfortable until I was fitted and got to try some that were the proper size for me.

Get whatever handlebars you want. It really doesn't make that much of a difference. Because racing bikes have drop bars, there is a false perception that you need drop bars to go fast or ride long distances.

I rode 160 miles last weekend, both on and off road, on an MTB with riser handlebars with bar ends, and was perfectly comfortable. The bars are about level with the saddle. On downhills or riding into a headwind, you can just bend your arms to get a little lower. I hit 47 mph on one downhill.

I commute 30 miles a day, 5 days a week on an MTB with riser bars and bar ends.

You can get into a more aerodynamic position on a road bike with drop bars, but this is only really necessary on fast group rides or racing, where speeds are much higher. For commuting or more relaxed riding, there is no real difference in comfort or performance with drop bars or riser bars.

It's true! I see guys that are standing outside a store, with their hands in the drop, straddling the bike, hunched over, deciding where to go. Then they hop on the bike and pedal around the parking lot at all of 5mph, sitting on the nose, down in the drops hardcore! What is this????

i've found that being able to get aero is important for me on my windy-ass commutes along lake michigan's shore. now, drop bars are not the only way to get aero on a bike, but my commuting experience tells me that aero isn't only important for racing or fast group rides.

even my hybrid has a slammed down, downward angle stem to give me a more down posture to help get out of the wind.

I can certainly understand wanting to get out of the wind in your circumstances. My only point is that for the "average" commuter (whatever that is), slightly less wind resistance is not a major factor, compared to things like the ability to mount a rack and fenders, a reliable, comfortable bike, good tires, proper clothing, etc.

I used to commute on an old mountain bike with a fairly upright position. With light wind it was fine (18 mph or so) but in a strong headwind I would be doing well to go 13 mph with the same effort.

I switched to an old road bike and got some clip-on aero bars. Same setup as the mountain bike: backpack in a rack-mounted basket. My light wind speed was a couple of mph faster, but my headwind speed went up to 18 mph.

The more wind, the bigger the penalty for an upright position.

Another way to look at it is effort. At the same speed, a lower position makes it an awful lot easier to pedal.

The upright position of the mountain bike was pleasant in good conditions, but in wind it was miserable.

As I type this I have the mountain bike out of service for maintenance. One of the changes it is getting is a road handlebar so I have some way to get out of the wind.

lol
Don't hangout at starbucks

I have friends who spend most of their time in the drops but their handlebars are a bit higher than mine. Most folks ride on the hoods.

Whether flat bars or the tekking bars I have now, if my hand position is too low my hands get numb. I can't take weight on them. That's OK, they weren't made for it. On my next bike (probably a Salsa Fargo unless I change my mind again -- a Hunqapiller is too expensive) I'll give the drop bars a chance but I want it set up so that the hoods are a little higher than my seat. I should be fine.

I do like the trekking bars. When it's windy or I'm coasting down a long hill (every day) I put my hands on the forward arches and rest my wrists on the rear, normal hand position. I'm pretty low but my weight is on my wrists, not my hands. I don't know if that's how you are supposed to use the bars.

If it's a strain to ride seven miles, maybe you could learn a thing or two from those weenies.

Neither sitting straight up nor the flat bars that usually go with that position are comfortable.

The brake hoods on drop bars with good drop and reach are very comfortable whether you're riding 10 miles or 100.

lol, love it. Hes right though. My commuter is a cyclocross. Drop bars are great. Just ride on the hoods or the bars unless you're into the wind or getting some serious speed, then get into the drops to lose the wind resistance.

Agreed. I ride the same path in Chicago and get destroyed by the wind. I have literally seen cyclists stop, get off their bikes, and start walking them when the wind gets out of control. This is of course due to the wind tunneling effect of the towers along the lake. If you don't have these conditions I wouldn't worry about the aerodynamics so much. I ride a straight bar road bike with bolt-on drops. When I ride the path I use the drops, through the city I use the straight bar.

What is your section of trail, Steely Dan?

I don't really like riding too upright. I'll pick my cyclocross over my cruiser for everything except liesurely trips to the ice cream shoppe. It's a combination of all the stuff that's been said already, but I find that on my 6-7 mile commute, if I don't move my hands around they get uncomfortable, and if I sit with too much weight on the saddle, my butt gets really uncomfortable. What I really like about drop bars, especially with cross levers, is that it offers multiple postures, giving you a choice of not only how aero you get, but IMO more importantly, how you distribute your weight. I'm not sure I'd feel up to riding 18km on a bar that only allowed me one hand position and one posture.

Then again, this is what I've found works for me, and it may not work for you. The best thing to do would be to borrow some bikes with different postures and take them for really long rides and see what really works best for you.

I ride from downtown up to my job in Evanston, so I get on the lakefront path at Illinois and ride it all the way north to where it ends at Ardmore. From there I surface street it through edgewater, rogers park and south Evanston.

Handlebars is a personal choice. Ride whatever feels comfortable to you.

I think the key thing as others mentioned is the ability to mount fenders and a rack. I look for this more than anything when I consider a bike. I have touring / cyclocross / hybrid frames that all have lots of clearance and braze-ons. From there, ride drops, bullhorns, flat bars whatever. As others stated you can get aero with anything by adjusting the stem and bars. My Hybrid stem is pointing down due to the crazy tall headtube but ultimately it puts me at the same height as I am on a road bike. I use flat bars with no rise as well and I shoved my brake / shifters as close to the center as they could go to reduce the width of the bars effectively.

In the end, I am just saying bars can be swapped and adjusted... best make sure you have a frame that works as a first order of business. Next thing to consider is what kind of shifters you like - if it is brifters (my preference) you best buy a bike that has them as switching out bars later is a costly endeavor. Also, make sure to go with a 8 or 9 speed system only. 10 speed is far more expensive for little gain - just look at the price of a chain...