most bicycles put the human body in a position it was not evolved for. the body is moved out of a neutral, at-rest position and muscles and joints are engaged in ways contrarary to their design. in addition to the ways this affects the body posture and parts (detailed in part 1), most bikes provide some other disservices. i'll list some of the differences in the way a body makes use of upright bikes vs more common bike designs.
- sitting on the sitting bones with an upright spine allows a greater range of motion in the neck and therefore better ability to see what's going on around you. a standard diamond-frame necessitates lifting the head up toward the back. a recumbent bike forces a tucking of the head toward the chest. both actions limit the neck's mobility.
- placing the pedals too directly below or too far away from the pelvis forces a rocking off of the sitting bones. i'll split this up into two seperate bullets:
- standard diamond frames, "cruiser" frames, and most all frames on "comfort" bikes place the pedals close to below the pelvis. this forces the body into two potential positions, both of which rest the weight of the body on the perineum. either (on a road or mountain bike) the spine is pitched forward toward the handlebars resulting in weight bearing and shock absorbing via the hands, wrists, arms and shoulders. the neck is also forced to hold the head aloft. or (on a cruiser or comfort bike) the handlebars are higher and closer to the saddle. the body cannot lean forward, so instead the lower back arches to compensate.
- many recumbents have the opposite effect. the pedals are often very far forward and much higher in relation to the pelvis. this causes the pelvis to rock back onto the tailbone. it also forces the neck to tuck the head in toward the chest.
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