Neck pain ! height, width or length ??

chris217

Ok i have recently changed my bike and fine tuning the cockpit geo.

still suffer from pain / discomfort at the base of my neck in between shoulder blades especialliy when climbing.

i have raised the stem, lowered the stem still cant seem to cure it...not whether my bars might be affecting this although i have run a 120 stem and 42 cm bars for some time.

any thoughts / experiences ??

cheers

mrushton

How tall are you? What size bike are you on? Are you on a seatpost with/without layback? How flexible are you? Have you suffered neck pain before? A lot of variables could e the cause or just one

rabk

Been having the same trouble for a few weeks - cured it today by moving my seat forward 10mm

Did 84 miles today, and no problems whereas over the last few weeks after an hour of riding I would have a sharp pain between the shoulder blades.

8)

chris217

thanks guys...ok, firstly mrushton, i am over 6 foot but have been using thie same set up for years althoigh have spent a bit of time riding a bike with a slightly shorter top tube. but otherwise nothing changed/

i ride a bike with a 58 top tube, 120 mm stem and use 30mm of spacers, i have experimented with raising and lowering the stem to no avail.

however have changed saddle and rabcp you may have the answer,,,, more experimenting

cheers again

mrushton

What is the difference between new and old bike. If you didn't have discomfort before, what changes are there/have you made?

Uncle Ook

I had similar issues all year - long rides, or high intensity rides, would cause neck pain similar to yours. Late October I did a Bike Fit session which resulted in two things a) my handle bars are too wide and my saddle had to come forward 4cm. The saddle change alone has pretty much cured the neck problem...

My research has thrown up some interesting info, particularly in regard to the bike fit data. It seems a common cause of neck pain is either over stretching (hence the change in seat position helping) but also handlebars that are too wide... I'm 6'1" and the standard width on a 58cm frame seems to be 44cm bars. My bike fit specifies 40cm... I'm getting a new bike soon and am having 42cm bars fit (a compromise between comfort and safety - if handling is fine on the 42cm I may drop to 40cm in the future).

Any help?

Mark

chris217

thanks guys, v helpful

saddle now moved and wait results

ut_och_cykla

Also make sure your winter clothing isnt restricting around neck and making itharder for your back /neck muscles to hold head up!

chris217

i knew i should stop carrying my bottles and energy bars on my head !!! must think of better place for them ...