Originally Posted by
wphamilton
Hit a pothole sitting bolt-straight upright and it's more likely to hurt your neck that way than low and parallel. Your spine is less flexible vertically.
You can also tilt your head slightly to get a better view but it's not necessary once you get strong enough and flexible enough to hold your head up like that and look eyeballs up.
it's easy to straighten elbows a bit for higher position with better relaxed forward vision.
also, better stopping distances with a low center of gravity and max leverage near bottom of brake levers.
Don't you guys move around much on the bike during a ride? I certainly do. Antsy rider, I guess. Not a tourer for sure.