Originally Posted by
northernlights
I can't imagine riding any kind of bike for that long. I think after a hundred miles you're going to be sore no matter what kind of bike you're on. I don't know how they do it in the Tour de France. They're obviously highly-conditioned but still, doing a hundred miles a day, everyday for many days on a road bike (or any bike) almost seems like a form of torture.
This points out what should be obvious, but instead is oblivious to those discussing what is comfortable on 100 mile rides, the Tour de France or up and down mountain sides; i.e. most cyclists cycling in metropolitan areas are not riding a 100 miles daily, are not in a competitive event, nor climbing up and down mountain sides.
Drop bars and postures comfortable or appropriate for racing or long distance rides in the country are not necessarily very comfortable for the city traffic that city bicyclists do every day for distances that for the most part are not very far (or they wouldn't be ridden at all); riding that calls for having to keep the head up and vision forward in a position to see traffic conditions beyond the front wheel (or the cyclist ahead in the peloton). Presumably the areo cyclist in the city can put hands on the upper bar when the strain on neck, shoulders, arms and wrist are excessive and lose contact with the brake levers, a sad compromise not needed on a bike set up for city bike riding rather than set up for training rides with the club on the weekends.