Originally Posted by canklecat

Regarding the neck strain -- assuming the bike fits you appropriately -- you should work on neck and back strength and flexibility in addition to riding.

I need to do this almost every day, otherwise I'd never be able to ride a bike at all, let alone a drop bar road bike. Old neck and back injury and damaged C2 vertebrae from a car wreck umpteen years ago.

Just the basics to start -- neck rolls, shoulder rolls, etc. Gradually ease into strengthening. Stop whenever your neck is hurting and do some more stretches and massage the neck and shoulder muscles. I usually need to stop every 5-10 miles on the road bike to do this. I can ride farther with less discomfort on my upright hybrids, but I'm determined to get back into shape for the drop bar bike.

Regarding road hazards, avoid 'em all with skinny tire road bikes. They'll stumble over their own shadows, compared with bikes with fatter tires at lower pressure. A parking lot entrance ramp ledge that a 700x38 or wider tire would ignore might knock a skinny road bike tire off balance, if taken at the wrong angle. Ditto railroad track crossings, rutted and broken asphalt, etc. Avoid 'em all, if possible, or take the crossings perpendicularly at right angles.

And even puncture resistant road bike tires are vulnerable compared with puncture resistant hybrid tires. So avoid 'em all if you can.

That's why you need to work on neck conditioning. And don't just plow ahead with your head down when you're too tired to keep your head up. Stop and rest and massage the neck and shoulders.