Originally Posted by cyclintom
In a word, yes. Your neck hurts because you have to tip your head back so far to see forward. Road stems come in -17 degrees or so, then they are about level when placed on the steerer right side up. MOST people have to turn them upside down in order to get the bars up high enough to keep from getting neck cramps of even over-extension which can be pretty serious if you hit a bump just right.
Since I build up most of my bikes these days, I always leave the steerer very long and space it up as much as possible without it looking too geeky. This is usually about 3-4 inches. Then with the reversed stem you can usually get the bars up to where they belong with is 1-2 inches before the seat level. When the bars are at this height you can actually ride in the drops the way you are supposed to be able to do.
yikes... there's no way to tell what the problem is without seeing the OP riding his bike. It could be flexibility, it could be conditioning, it could be his bike isn't fit properly as you describe. 1 - 2" below the saddle height works for your anatomy, but we have to know more about the rider in question. Bars up high enough to avoid cramps if you hit a bump? No. This is clearly a lack of conditioning. It may be counter intuitive, but a good riding position takes a lot of work, a strong core, solid/smooth pedaling form, and flexibility. It takes awhile and it doesn't happen without working at it.
