From photos others have taken of me riding I’ve noticed I lean forward a lot more than most riders. My bars are generally about 4” lower than the saddle. I guess that’s position 2? I intentionally have higher bars on my gravel bike so maybe it’s a 3. My flexibility seems to be pretty good. I still have a really long golf backswing just like when I started playing about 60 years ago. I was hoping it might get shorter as I aged but so far it’s about the same.

I suspect that riding in the drops (with good form of course) is a form of stretching and core strengthening, I was surprised the first time I went to a yoga class and was able to do a plank much longer than expected. I can also touch my toes easily. Of course, I have all sorts of tightness and weakness in other directions, but going forward and down is no problem.

My lifetime of cycling set me up for back failures, and no matter what I tried - I could never make up for the deficiency of having a very curved lumbar spine.

However, it was marathon running that finally triggered a full blown herniated disc and subsequent sciatica.

Word to the wise - if you feel back or butt pain, or foot numbness or leg tingling - stop what you are doing and CHANGE your fitness routine or equipment.

Don't be a RICHARD cranium........

I'm 66 and have Spinal Stenosis. I can't walk real far without leg numbness, but thank goodness, I can currently ride my bikes as far as I want. :)

I ride in position 3 on my road bike which I try to ride more often for fitness.

I recently converted my old Trek 970 to a beach cruiser and use it when riding the beach trails with my significant other. I'm in position 5 on it.

I am in position 3 on my commuting bike and 2-1 on my road bike, about 3 or 4 inches drop. 61 years old, I started cycling at 48 and my position gradually lowered over the first few years. So it's not a fundamental law that we have to sit more upright as we age.

The short answer: No and I am not sad that I or others ride in a non areo position
I am glad that I am mentally flexible enough to adapt my cycling technique to the associated aches, pains and/or limitations that may accompany the aging process and can continue to enjoy bicycling even if not with the same intensity of younger years.

I never felt any sadness about buying or riding bicycles strictly for recreation, and have never felt any obligation to buy race bikes or ride in an areo position.

Nor do I feel sad if other bicyclists are able to adapt their cycling technique/equipment to their physical conditions in order to keep enjoying bicycling.

I'm 62 and ride in the 2-3 position almost all the time. I have about a 5" drop from my saddle to the top of the bars, although my arms are pretty long.
I started doing yoga intermittently a few years ago and subsequently stopped doing all the other stretches that I used to do when I played soccer.
The most important thing for my well being (aside from regular riding) is the foam roller on the IT bands.

I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish with your poll. My aggressive position has nothing to do with saddles or stem height, it has everything to do with the bike design. Put me on a nice downhill and I can coast away from a furiously-pedaling tandem team. I have set KOMs on roads where I was riding the brakes. At least your poll seems to imply, correctly, that sometimes the bike matters.

I'm doing a highly unscientific survey to try and determine if it's inevitable that bicyclists "devolve" to a more up-right riding position as we age no-matter-what or if the more aggressive riding positions are just as possible despite one's age.

What I've experienced on various bicycle forums and in real life is that many people who rode a race bike when they were young gradually buy a bicycle that has a more up-right riding position as they age... and in many cases, give-up on traditional bikes altogether and buy a recumbent or trike. The reason for this is typically, "I can't comfortably ride in that low position any more due to [insert medical conditions here, like lower back pain, neck pain, belly is too big, etc.]".

I'll be 62 in a few months, and I'm a 2 or 3 riding a Ridley Fenix frame with I think 20 mm of spacers 6 degree stem rise.

Of course it's not inevitable for everyone. We are not all the same. A friend who was an Olympian and national team member is now 69 and can still get the total "flat back" position. Another friend is 68 and has the body of a fit 35 year old and can also get low and haul ass on his Tarmac.

I have never been able to get super low and age has definitely affected my flexibility and if I spend a few hours in the drops it wears me out.

At 63 I probably ride mostly in #3 position even if I like to believe it is #2 ;)

I believe my frame size is a tad on the bigger size, so I ride mostly with hands on top or on brakes and go into more aggressive position by bending elbows more, not by moving hands to drops. That would make my arms almost straight, but perhaps that is because I don't like to bend my back that much.

Reading the thread, all I can say, there is huge diversity of body builds and riding style. If you do long endurance rides, your position will be less aggressive than if you do fast fitness rides that don't need to be too long. In long endurance rides, you have more weight on the saddle that goes hand in hand with less aggressive position, and vice versa.

At this age, I got my first aero bars TT bike LOL with much smaller frame, hope I will be able to last on it for some 20-30 miles rides.

Just turned 62 on Sept. 10, 2020. I use position #2 most of the time (saddle to bar drop is about 2.5 inches and I do bend my elbows a little) but go to position #1 for short periods if I'm on a flat or downhill section of something I'm trying to PR. I can only hold that flat back aero position for about 8 minutes without relief unless I put on some tri bars and completely slam the stem (which I haven't done in a couple of years). Without doing that, I find it so uncomfortable to hold a bent elbow position and keep my neck in place that it affects my performance (plus it just takes a lot of the fun out of it).

My riding position is more aggressive and aero now than in 2015 when I first resumed cycling after a 30-year hiatus. But that demanded a lot of physical therapy, in a clinic under supervision and at home. After being hit by cars twice in 20 years with serious injuries it takes a lot of work to stay reasonably limber.

I set up my bikes to suit my neck, which has permanent C1-C2 damage from injuries. I prefer being a bit more stretched out, but without too much drop between bar/stem and saddle. Over the years I've gone toward longer stems.

Oddly, a position that's too upright is less comfortable. My neck feels better with a moderately aggressive position -- usually illustrations 2 and 3. When I'm sitting too upright I can feel crunching in my neck on every little jolt in the road. And an aero tuck with drop bars or aero bars strains the neck and upper back muscles, so I can hold an aero tuck for only 30-60 seconds at a time.

I mostly ride drop bar road bikes now -- bars about 2" below saddle height -- and had to adjust my favorite hybrid to be a bit more aggressive for comfort. I replaced the upward angled stem to a long horizontal stem from a road bike, and set the albatross bar at saddle height. My comfort hybrid/errand bike has bars slightly higher than the saddle and is comfortable only for short distances.

I’m 66. Old neck fracture has me with a 3 level cervical fusion. Using a Rivendell inspired setup. I’m good with it. Enjoying the non competitive ride..
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3152a5c2d.jpeg

50 y/o here
Though I have several bikes for several purposes. my fastest two bikes are setup like position 2. These are for shorter 20-50 mile rides, where I am pushing myself for decent average speeds (usually 17-18mph). I can usually last up to 3 hours in those positions before my neck and shoulders start to feel it.
My two classic vintage racing bikes are setup like this too.

The rest of my road bikes are setup like position 3, for example, my randonnuering bikes.

Position 2 or 3 for me still even after 3 level lower back fusion 3 years ago and another spinal stenosis surgery 11 years prior to that. I find that am completely painless on the bike and after a ride my back feels the best. It's my therapy at 60+.

I will be 66 in a week and still in the drops 90% of the time. I do stretch at least once an hour on long rides. I stop and drink and then a few stretching exercises . This keeps me in the drops without suffering from any fatigue.

I'm 75 and on long rides go about 50 miles between water stops, where I don't stretch. My bars are about 10cm below my saddle. I normally ride either on the hoods or on my aero bars, using the drops for sprinting, out of the saddle efforts, and fast technical sections. That's how modern bikes are set up to be used. This is how most folks do it today:


After a long hard ride, I'm totally cooked. I used to stretch at stops, but don't need to anymore. I stretch most mornings instead.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...987a96f999.jpg
1982 Medici Pro Strada
This is my most modern bike!

Nice! That's a modern setup except for those shifters. I clearly remember holding the wheel of a younger guy with brifters. Every time I had to shift he'd put a little pressure on me. I admit to having lusted. That was the first time I ever saw brifters.

I find the older I get, my bars get a bit higher, my low gear a bit lower, and my tires a bit fatter. I recently built up this 1979 Trek 510 (full ishiwata O22 frame, low temp silver brazed). I like it because it fits 700 x 35c tires; perfect for gravel and road riding.



https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d452fa7bf9.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9b7133a65.jpeg
I have a 1973 Mondia Special that takes really wide tires (1.39") and has a taller stem. That is my go to when my arthritis is acting up. That Trek is set up nicely , they are great bikes.

I checked "fitness." All of my bikes are set up with the tops of the bars level with the saddle, give or take. With that said, I injured my back a couple weeks ago, and only today was ready to even try riding a bike again. It was painful to ride, so I ordered a 120 mm stem riser for one bike. My guess is that I'll ride it that way until my back heals, then I'll take it back off when I get sick of it. Or maybe not. We'll see.

The riser seems like a decent compromise. It's my only bike with a threadless steerer. If this becomes permanent, then I'll have to figure out longer stems on the other bikes, or decide how many bikes I really need. That would be a bit sad. Or maybe I'll get a new bike. ;)

Now, all of my bikes have swept bars, so I have a lot less reach to contend with than most riders.

#1 priority is getting back on my bike at all. #2 is comfort and performance. #3 is looks.

This book really helped me to rehab my injured back: https://pezcyclingnews.com/latestnew...ore-advantage/
I didn't change my slammed stem fit.