Originally Posted by
Dave Horne
In the Netherlands the vast majority of bikes use a handlebar with a curve in it (does this have a name?) so you sit more upright. Most of the bikes sold here are for basic transportation, students biking to school or bikes used by adults to get to and from work, and bikes just for pleasure.
I'll try and embed a photo of a typical Dutch bike showing the handlebar I'm referring to.
The straight handle over here is typically seen on mountain bikes.
When I lived in the US I had a racing type handlebar and I lost interest in biking because of the neck pain. Once I moved over here the situation was different, most bikes came with a curved (or slightly curved) handlebar forcing you to sit more upright and the neck pain disappeared.
You had either a bad fit for the bike, bad posture or both. A normal recreational road bike with a good fit and the rider having a good posture should not cause neck problems.
The problem with upright riding position is that funnily enough it's not as good for the back in long distance riding and it's slower as well