Need road bike fit help - I'm getting desperate!

[fatbottomedgurl]

When I bought my road bike in December (Trek 2.3) the first thing I dealt with was pain between my shoulders. I am a mtn biker and the position is so much different my muscles weren't used to it. We put a shorter, more upright stem which helped the neck issue. We also swapped to compact bars out and added shims to the levers which eliminated the elbow pain I experienced. I also swapped the saddle. I have put about 900 miles on the bike and my longest rides are 38 miles. At this point now that I am stronger I find myself in the drops more and more and I think I want to switch back to the original stem to get a more aero position.

My LBS used a fit kit to determine the right frame for me. I am not wsd, at 5'3" I ended up with a 50cm. Yet my best bike friend is the same height and rides a 48 wsd Orbea. Definitely different body types!

I don't think you can get a bike right "out of the box" and ride it and expect it to feel perfect. Your body is not used to it. I understand not wanting to plunk down 3 or 4 grand for a bike and thinking it might not work out for you. Pick the bike that has the best initial feel too it, and then trust your LBS to get it set up right. (A good LBS is critical.) And expect your body to do what it does best and get stronger and adjust to what you are asking of it.