Originally Posted by
awsimons
I am 32 years old, 5'10" and ride a 58cm (horizontal top tube) road bike..
A week ago, I woke up with a horrible pain in my shoulder/back of my neck.
...II noticed on my ride home, today, that I was riding with my shoulders in a shrugged position and now I am wondering if this could be a problem.
Yes, posture is the first thing most riders need to review, both for comfort and performance
Originally Posted by
awsimons
IIs it normal to ride this way?
Yes, for many. Many don;t know how to/can't ride any other way, by their choice. 'Normal' doesn't necessarily mean good, proper, optimum. In this case means 'bad, worse, awful'.
Originally Posted by
awsimons
I I have a feeling my bike frame/stem is still too big. Could this be causing some of my shoulder problems?
Thanks!
Alan
That is not immediately obvious from just some text, but percentages say that it's very likely. And the compensations you'll likely make for ill matched equipment will not fully solve the issues. A bike which is too long will contribute greatly to the shoulder shrugging thing and make it difficult overcome with good intent. Once you do make some equipment compensations on the bike, the handling and stability will suffer greatly, to the point of actually increased risk of crashing.
If road cycling of any sort seems to be something you wish to do consistently, then I'd consider getting a bike which is sized to give you a broader range of fitting and posture options.
There are many ways to do this - some can self-educate, some need to be shown the way. But that's another topic, for another thread.