Rltot

I have a 2010 Specialized Crosstrail. I am sure that this has been discussed before, but I can't seen to find it. I am fairly new to riding. My handlebars are at the stock full height, but being as I am rather short I am still getting some neck pain, so I am thinking of raising my handlebars up. Any thoughts? How do I go about doing this? I guess my has threadless headset whatever that means.

LesterOfPuppets

Higher rise stem.
Higher rise bar.
or a combination of the two.

motobecane69

since you are at the stock full height, you can't reposition spacers to get more height. as mentioned above you can get a different stem that will have a steeper angle to it that will raise your bars. Do you have a picture of your setup now? just want to make sure you already have yourstem flipped up. sometimes just flipping a stem can be enough of a change. there are also MTB "riser" handlebars where the bar is sweeps up on each end to add height. a new stem can be 15-30 for an inexpensive one and a new handle bar can be had at a similar price point

fietsbob

There are 'stem raisers' for threadless steerers they replace the stem,
then you clamp the stem onto the stem raiser's upper portion.

BCRider

A short and high rise stem is the easiest swap to raise the bars you have now. But keep the old stem for later. The Crosstrail is already a very "relaxed" fit bike with the bars a little above the saddle. As you ride more you'll be become better conditioned and find that you want to go back to the slightly more aggresive leaned forward posture as it gives you more power for climbing hills or just for riding a little faster.

If you're new to riding it may well be that you're "sitting" too much on the bike. It's not a lounger, it's a bicycle that you're using to try to get some exercise. So firm up and don't just rest one the saddle and lean on your hands. instead tighten up a little and use ALL of the contact points to support you. That's the pedals, saddle and grips. When you become more balanced between all five points of contact you'll find that your hands, wrists and neck will be less stressed and likely not hurt after a ride.

This is why I suggest that you keep your old stem. Because as you learn into this aspect and get more fit and flexible you'll likely find yourself wanting to get leaned down and forward again. But at this point if you are actually hurting during or after the ride then a new shorter and higher angle stem will ease the stress for now.

phoebeisis

I also have a "bad neck" so I have to sit bolt upright.
You have 3 options.
1) High rise bars of one sort or another.
2) High rise stem- you can get a threadless stem with 45 degrees up and maybe 100mm length.
3) Riser with threadless stem.
I quit riding from 1983- 1998 because most multispeed bikes back then had you bent over-killed my neck. It wasn't until I became aware of MTB style bikes that I started riding again.
Now I use bars that would have been exactly what ALL USA bikes had in the 50's 60's when I was a kid.Drop bars and even flat bars just aren't practical for real transportation or fun riding. Just look at what euros and orientals ride- no drop bars, no flat bars- bolt upright!!
You have two of these options with threaded stems, and 3 with threadless.
The pictures show a threaded setup, but same story with threadless.
The only real work is redoing cables cable housing- maybe 1.5-2 hours.
Charlie
PS- figure $25 bars- $25 for cables housing- 2-3 hours worth of work- buy decent cable cutters- $25.Worth every penny to raise your bars!!
PPS- not a great picture-but roughly 3-4" rise about 7" pullback(5" at mid hand grip)-flat bars have no rise and maybe 1/2" pullback

BCRider

Well, that's not the best picture of the bars in phoebeisis' post but I have to agree that if the pain you have is due to some issue with your neck other than just being out of shape then yeah, different bars would be a great idea. And for two reasons. One is that it would let you sit up more and the other being that you can get a more natural angle for your wrists and forearms. Here's a link to one option that I believe is similar to the bar he's describing...

https://www.somafab.com/baroxford.html

I put similar bars onto a bike for a friend that just wanted to ride around the neighbourhood and go get stuff at the market. With these bars she's sitting up very much like the average european city commuter does. For her and at her riding pace it's a perfect matchup.

Rltot

Yeah it is genetics. I am 5'3" with very short neck. I agree I need to ride more and toughen up more, but that won't help lengthen my neck. Any ideas on a stretching rack? lol. Thanks for all the ideas though!