Maelochs

This is it.

A road bike Generally will weigh a bit less and offer a bit less cushion, but for anything over about ten miles the greater efficiency will actually make the bike more comfortable---your body is the spring, not just the tires and seat cushion---Assuming it fits.

Set-up tends to take some tweaking, and also changes the more (or less) you ride.

I find that when I get a bike properly adjusted, my comfort level is determined by my fitness level. If I ride too far for my legs, I start carrying weight on my hands, which hurts my neck, shoulders, and lower back. As i ride more as the season passes, I can ride farther in comfort. if I push really hard (say, trying to keep up with a faster rider for a couple dozen miles), my lower back will feel it eventually, and then the neck and shoulders .... but I gain from the extra exercise in the long run.

For short rides, the road bike is Generally lighter and more efficient, so you can go a little faster for the same effort, which can be fun in itself.

if you are not used to a road bike, you might try to set it up like a more upright hybrid with a more padded seat, and since it is a very different machine, that won't work. Then you might think road bikes hurt.

When riding a road bike, you don't really "sit" on the saddle----most of the weight should be borne by the legs (of course to do sit on the saddle---you don't hover)---but a lot of people used to upright bikes place themselves in the saddle as if it were a chair, with their legs dangling and lazily spinning the pedals. On a road bike you have to push a little more. Of course you can coast and all that, but generally you need to put more leg into it. Not a lot, but if you don't, that narrow saddle will start to feel like an ax more than a chair.

A lot of people see racers with their long, low set-ups and try to imitate them, and put way too much weight on their hands, which hurts neck, shoulders, and hands. It is better to sit a little more upright (you can always use the drops to get low) and keep your weight back over the hips.

Also, a road bike works your core. Your upper body is cantilevered from the base of your spine, with your stomach and lower back working together to keep it at a comfortable angle. if you are used to sitting upright, this will take some time to adapt to.

On an upright bike, your spine is sort of in the position you are in while standing. Comfortable on short rides if you have a good, padded seat, but really harsh on a longer ride, because your spine is getting compressed like you are walking, but you don't have your legs as shock absorbers---the force goes from the seat-tube to the seat to your spine.

Road bikes engage the stomach and lower back more .... which can lead to soreness until you get used to it. Also, some folks don't use their stomach muscles much in daily life---we sit so much----so when we get on a bike, those muscles can't hold up their end, which hurts the back, which makes one lean forward onto the hands, which hurts neck, shoulders, and hands .....

Once you do adapt, and figure out where saddle and bars need to be to fit your flexibility and fitness level, riding a road bike is as easy a riding a bike.