Originally Posted by 79pmooney

Neck and shoulder pain after two hours sounds like a conditioning issue. I know I see that if I have not been exercising and I get back on the bike. But if I have been doing even light weights and some very rudimentary neck exercises those pains don't happen or go way after just a few rides.

Now I see here and on other forums that we are to set our bikes with the ideal being no weight on the hands so hands, arms and shoulders don't get sore. I have never bought that for myself. Being bent over so I can travel faster and further on the legs I was born with, even against the wind was the huge breakthrough of my teen years. I fully plan to still be enjoying that freedom in my late years (not all that far away now).

I am very fussy about stem, handlebar and brake lever setup precisely because I plan to spend so much time with real weight on my arms. Lifting weights and accepting the drill of sore shoulders and neck for the first several weeks of getting back into riding is just the penance I have to pay for getting off the bike. (I do raise my stem 1 to 1 1/2 cms when I get back on but this is more for the reality of needing those weeks to get my flexibility back. The reason I will never cut a steerer to the minimum. And why I will always love traditional quill stems where raising and lowering is so easy.)

For me, a too short stem leads to the inability to fully and comfortably inhale by pulling my diaphram down. I find I cannot breath as deeply and suffer a lot more on hills. Also that my back gives me issues. Riding longer stems, I feel I can stretch like a cat and that oxygenated blood is reaching everywhere. I feel far better after rides. Drawback - those first several weeks. Oh well.

Ben