Helderberg

I have been riding a Cannondale Quick for about 6 months now and I would like to consider a road bike of a type. The Synapse is said to have a more upright seating position than a full tilt road bike. The reason for the question is that I do not know if a road bike is something my back can handle so I am thinking of a Fuji or equivalent as the price would not be as high. What I am asking is can anyone give me a recommendation of a model of bike that has the more upright position but not the position of my Quick? I don't mind not riding a 200-300 dollar bike, used I realize, or a slightly more expensive new but I do not want to drop a grand only to find out that my back will not allow it.
Thanks, Frank.

MattTheHat 

Can you rent one? That's what I did. I'd been riding a fairly heavy mountain bike on which I'd fitted some 32mm road tires. One of my local bike stores has a pretty extensive rental fleet. I rented a Trek Domane (endurance geometry with slightly more upright position) and I could tell within one ride (40 miles) that I could deal with it. A few weeks later (about a month ago), I picked up my Specialized Diverge Comp which also has the more relaxed geometry. I've put about 800 miles on the bike and am having a blast!

-Matt

Maelochs

Whatever you buy, make sure there is room for spacers to raise the bars ... and keep in mind that for $15-$30 you can get a top-quality stem which will angle upwards sharply, to raise the bars. The bike as it is advertised doesn't have to be the bike as you ride it---you can make it fit better.

Hondo Gravel

70sSanO

Wildwood 

Making a drop bar feel natural is more a matter of rotating your hips than bending your back. The type of saddle you ride will determine if you can role your hips into a position that is comfortable. Many older folks lack core strength, putting excessive weight on hands.

The upright position you seek is more a function of bar height and stem length than model of bicycle.

rm -rf

Disclaimer: IANABF (I Am Not A Bike Fitter)

I've seen multiple reports on BF of riders with bad backs that did better when they were more stretched out. If you sit up too high, too much weight is on your saddle. That's okay for shorter rides.

Shallow drop bars
I have "shallow drop" bars. These are very common on newer bikes. They typically have 125mm reach and 75-80mm drop.

I have my bars set high enough that I can use the drops comfortably, as just another hand position. The top edge of the center of my drop bars is about even with the top of my saddle on my all-day-ride / gravel bike, and about 1.5 inches below the saddle height on my fast group ride bike. I use the hoods about 50% of the time, the drops about 40%, and the flats about 10% of the time.

I think that it's easier to get an upright position on a reasonably recent bike. The trend in the last few years has been for larger tires, lower low gears, and a reasonably upright position. Lots of 10 year old bikes were often more "racey". Riders rarely used the drops, it was too low to be very comfortable.

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You might go test ride a bike. I think that many or most of the bikes in the store will be the "endurance" style, with a taller head tube compared to the race models in the same size.

It was quite surprising to me when I test rode a drop bar bike after not riding one for 30 years or more. They are comfortable right away.

Helderberg

Thank you all for your information. I was not sure that the, what I would call, a true road bike could be retrofitted enough without messing up the handling. I have already used the raised angle stem so I am familiar with that change. Again though I was not sure the road bike would be adaptable. Thank you all again and I believe my first move will be to rent one and see just how it feels.
Be safe all, Frank.