Shoulders/neck cramping and sore after one hour riding new bike, what's wrong here?

[Jdora]

I just two days ago bought a Trek 7000 wsd. It's a 16", I'm 5'4.5".
My old bike is a trek 800 that I have been riding daily around town for the past month (hadn't ridden it in 5 years) I haven't had any real problems with the 800 other than just wanting more of a street bike.
I love everything about the 7000, it's fast, nimble and I thought very comfortable, but after about an hour of riding my middle upper shoulder area got very cramped and sore. I rode it again today for only 15 minutes and same thing.
I have never had this happen on a bike before. Could anyone tell me what could be causing this, something I'm doing wrong? Is the bike the wrong size, or is there something I could adjust? I'm planning to take it to the LBS where I bought it to ask them, but it's not nearby. Please lend me your knowledge!

[WC89]

Lower, even slightly lower position, and possibly a more stretched out position on the new bike, compared to your older bike, could be the reason. If that's the case, might be that you're just not used to the new bike yet. 2 days is absolutely not a long time, and if you're used to one position for a long time, even the slightest change in position could be temporarily problemattic to your body. With that said, feeling that bad only after 1 hr seems unusual. Hopefully, it's not a pinched nerve. I'd make some comparative measurements (top tube lengths, seat heights, stem heights, difference in seat-to-stem heights, handlebar heights, seat tubes, etc.) of both bikes and see how much the new bike differs from the old one.

[Yo Spiff]

Sounds like you are bearing the weight differently on the new bike. I have no clue what the difference is, though. I agree with taking some measurements between the old and new bikes.

[Pug]

In sum, it sounds like too much of your weight is distributed on the handlebars instead of your seat. This could be caused by many things and without a picture you actually sitting on the bike we can only speculate. Accordingly, here's some speculation:

- Make sure your saddle isn't tilted down too much. This could be causing you to slip forward and therefore putting tension on your shoulders.

- Check your handlebar height. This is something your LBS should be able to help with. Raising your handlebars might help.

As another poster mentioned, you may need to just get accustomed to riding a road bike. To do so, gradually increase the amount of time you spend on each ride and give extra time for recovery between rides. If the slow/gradual/extra rest approach doesn't work, you need your LBS to evaluate your position and posture on the bike. Or, if you can get someone to take a photo while you're riding, you can benefit from the collective wisdom of BF!

Related article from Sheldon Brown's website.

[Bill G]

It is to hard to explain to you how to do it properly on line but I would suggest you get your bike fitted or set up by someone that knows what there doing or try fitting it your self with the info in the link below to help you out. (Check out the bike fit procedure link below, this may help with understanding and show you what may be wrong with your bike set up) After your bike is fitted and set up properly for your body dementions and for your riding style things will get a lot better. Read the part on straight or flat bars if you have those type bars over road bars the rest is the same as far as fit goes.

Good Luck

http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefit.html

Ride Safe,
Bill G