I was wondering what your take was on this. I own a 56cm Allez with a 100mm stem, which makes the effective top tub (plus stem) around 665mm. I tend to lock out my elbows and then later on down the ride my shoulders and neck start cramping. I can relieve tension by bending my elbows but my weak core and triceps start to get tired, then I lock out my elbows again.

There are a few things I'm constantly thinking about on the bike. One is "Pedal in circles" and the other is "bend your elbows"

Recently, I went to my LBS to try out a different stem. They gave me a 75mm stem to test ride for a weekend and it was great. I didn't have any cramping in the shoulders on long rides, and I was alright with the steering, but of course it was more responsive and needed more finesse in hard sprints. It looked stumpy, but whatever.

I'm not in a position to buy a smaller frame and before I do go and buy this stem, I was just wondering, is my shoulder problem something that every new rider starts out with? I wish I could use the longer stem, because I feel like that's what I should be using, but I'm not strong enough. the short stem seems like a crutch.

Keep in mind that my setup with the long stem doesn't put me in a ridiculously stretched out position - the fit appears pretty normal.

Anyway, thoughts?