foxyrider wrote: I have ridden a Dutch roadster ... they don't go up hills ...
I think that riding in different positions uses muscles in different ways. Therefore, if someone who is used to a fairly aggressive riding position tries riding in a very upright position, they may be lacking in power because they are not used to it.
Ontherivet77 wrote:However, whatever the bike I'm always fettling with the set up to make it comfortable. With swept back bars I was immediately in a comfy position ...
It seems to me that a more upright position is less sensitive to small adjustments. What I mean is that if you want to ride in aggressive position, everything needs to be in exactly the right place, whereas in an upright position it is not as critical.
I think the preferred position also relates to how hard you want to pedal. For low levels of effort, the aggressive position is not comfortable. The upright position is very comfy at low levels of effort, and is actually OK at higher levels of effort too.