Originally Posted by
rawklobster
If efficiency and wind are not variables, is there anything wrong with building a custom touring bike with geometry that leads to a more upright position?
^^^ this is my current touring bike and riding position. I can put in 10-12hr days pretty comfortably like this.
When it comes to your touring riding position you have to support your body weight via 3 points of contact - hands, feet and butt. Those are the 3 only options if we exclude aerobars and recumbents]. So it's a bit of a zero sum game.
You can sit bolt upright which takes all the weight off your hands and puts your neck vertical, but that leads to all the weight shifting to your butt. I find that isn't very comfortable for me for more than 1hr.
If you go the opposite way and lean far forward you take a lot of the weight off your butt and move it to your hands and feet. I find that leads to hand pressure/numbness issues and a sore neck after 4hrs+.
Since we are all different the optimal solution I come up with may not suit you and vice versa. What I would not assume is that a bolt upright posture is comfortable for touring unless you have some experience that leads you to believe your body likes that. Before you commit to a custom touring bike you need to experiment with the options you are considering and validate what really works for you in practice.