I recently got a new road bike, and have been getting some pretty bad elbow pain that i've never experienced with my other bikes.

My new bike is a super stiff carbon frame and sometimes during my rides I'll have to sit up and bend my arms a few times to help relieve the pain.

I'm not sure if its a fit issue, thinking maybe raising my bars would help create more bend in my elbows, or if I just need to work on my body position and remember to bend my elbows rather than having them locked out so much.

Any ideas on what I may could to to help?

Is your elbow "locked" when riding the new bike? If so, adjust the bike accordingly so that you have bent arms. Nothing should be locked on your body when riding a bike other than your feet to the pedals.

Elbows locked or arms too straight (perhaps too long a reach) was my first thought. Another reason, not fit or comfort related, to always ride with elbows bent (and if you are in the company of other cyclists) rotated out is that position puts yo in a far better place to absorb road shocks from things you didn't see and allows you to quite safely bump elbows with your neighbors. I try to align my handlebars with theirs. That way, even bumping HBs doesn't matter; they cannot get locked. I also keep in mind the concept of a firm grip on the bars (not a death grip!) and my arms relaxed.

This knowledge was passed veteran to rookie in my day. (Passed on like it really mattered; because those veterans didn't like crashing!) If everyone knows these rules, not only is accidental contact safer, you now have the option of moving other riders over when ou have to get around something. I once had to move two riders to get around a washed out pavement edge. I had been regularly pshngmy neighbor fo smaller washouts but this time I had to push him hard enough to move the next guy over. He didn't like it, but he knew why I was going it and since all three of us knew "the rules" it wasn't an issue.

Sadly, I rarely hear of these rules being passed on (except in velodromes).

Ben

Right now i have a short stem ( 70mm) thinking it would help the reach ( the bike is a 54 and i'm 5'9 but it feels a little big to me )

Wondering if going back to a 100cm stem would allow my arms to be further from under my body and make my arms less vertical would help any?

( and fwiw my bike is a fuji sst, not really a comfort bike by any means )

We're just shooting in the dark here.

But you have your other bikes, and can compare to bikes where there wasn't a problem. That should tell you which way to jump.

yeah, one of my favorite bikes i've just sat them next to eachother and tried to adjust them as close together as I could, which is why I think it just be a lazy technique thing, adn goign from a springy fat tired steel bike to a super fast carbon frame on skinny tires probably does not help things either.