Road bikes and neck pain...

cookeeemonster

Noticed that so many people recommend road bikes for any sort of distance.

I do a 37 mile round trip commute a couple times a week on my specialized sirrus sport hybrid which is more of a sit up thingy and I'm pretty sure I'd get bad neck pain on a more forward leaning bike (previously had this on a forward leaning motorcycle...yeah I know its different!). My brother also gets this on his boardman comp hybrid which is more forward leaning. we're both noobs btw

just wondered what peoples experiences are? I'm in no rush to swop just wondered

Also while I'm here is it worth going from 32c tyres to 28c - will it make any difference to speed?

jomoj

getting used to a new riding position is mostly a question of gradually conditioning yourself to it, building up the muscle support and flexibility but there can be physical factors as well if you're prone to neck / back ache ache etc. that can make it more difficult.

A more forward position is generally more efficient for pedalling and reduces wind resistance (which is a bigger factor than your tyre choice BTW) and I think once you get used to it is also more comfortable but like I said, not everyone is made the same way.

You don't have to go the whole way to try it, you could remove some spacers under your stem and / or flip it to get the bars lower. Even fitting a longer stem can get you a bit of an aero advantage.

re: the tyres - possibly yes but its the tyre type, tread and weight more than the width. You're better off posting a separate thread if you want more in depth answers.

cookeeemonster

thanks for your reply!

you've given me some food for thought regarding adjusting the stem, I might try it once I get my fitness up and find it a struggle to go much faster...not that I'm biking for speed, just that it'd be nice to cut some minutes off my commute.

cheers

jonomc4

I have a sirrus expert for commuting. I ended up shortening the stem and cranks and buying a new saddle and no spacer under the handlebar - all in the name of comfort, less wind and rain in the face and better speed. Additionally - I ended up putting new wheels and 23mm tyres on - realistically for commuting I would say use a 25 or 28mm tyre.

I would really recommend a proper bike fit and relax your shoulder more - the pain you are experiencing maybe from being to stretched out on your bike and therefore too much weight on your shoulders - this can lead to neck pain.

Also on the motorbike you have a heavy helmet to support on your neck - a lightweight bike helmet will not give these issues.

corshamjim

I always used to get the muscles near my shoulder-blades knot up especially in cold weather. Since getting a much shorter stem I don't have that problem, but I do wonder if that's partly also just because I'm riding more so the muscles have got more used to riding.

There's lots of advice out there on bike fitting. Personally I found this one the most intuitive (and right for me) ...

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

cookeeemonster

thanks for all your replies, some good advice and recommendations.

as I'm still getting used to this cycling lark I'm not intending to do anything yet, but will look into adjusting the sirrus as far as it goes to see what happens before considering anything else. At the moment the biggest thing stopping me going faster is me, need to work harder

cheers all

tonye_n

Quite simple really.
Neck pain = Probably reach to the handlebar/hoods is too long. Solution = slightly shorter stem.
Lower back pain = Probably handlebar position is too low. Solution = flip the stem to raise the handlebar.

For your issueI would buy a cheap stem that is 1-2 cm shorter. Try that for a bit.

Twostage

It might be counter intuitive but I recently raised my bars by swapping the spacers from above the bar to below in the belief that it would be a more relaxed position and immediately got a stiff neck. Swapped them back and I was ok again.
I then remembered last year when I was training to do the Hadrian's cycleway in a day with a mate and developed such a bad neck I was seeing a chiropractor. I'd raised my bar then to give me a more relaxed position.
Moral is higher position does not always mean less strain on the neck.

tonye_n

Twostage wrote:

It might be counter intuitive but I recently raised my bars by swapping the spacers from above the bar to below in the belief that it would be a more relaxed position and immediately got a stiff neck. Swapped them back and I was ok again.
I then remembered last year when I was training to do the Hadrian's cycleway in a day with a mate and developed such a bad neck I was seeing a chiropractor. I'd raised my bar then to give me a more relaxed position.
Moral is higher position does not always mean less strain on the neck.

Indeed.
What using a shorter stem will do is bring your arms closer to you and put less stress on you neck.
What raising the bar will do is alter the angle of you lower back. It does not really address the reach issues which cause stiff neck in most cases.

godders1

Twostage wrote:

It might be counter intuitive but I recently raised my bars by swapping the spacers from above the bar to below in the belief that it would be a more relaxed position and immediately got a stiff neck. Swapped them back and I was ok again.
I then remembered last year when I was training to do the Hadrian's cycleway in a day with a mate and developed such a bad neck I was seeing a chiropractor. I'd raised my bar then to give me a more relaxed position.
Moral is higher position does not always mean less strain on the neck.

Very true. Only yesterday I was reading a blog on a bike fit someone had with Adrian Timmis (ex pro, very highly regarded bike fitter). He dropped the bars by 3 cm (a pretty huge adjustment in bike fitting terms) and it was apparently much more comfortable.

My theory is that more upright bikes feel more comfortable to people new to cycling (hence the popularity of hybrids) but as your body adjusts and your "cycling muscles" get stronger a lower position can actually be very comfortable (and being "too upright" can actually cause problems).

godders1

Found it:

http://girodilento.com/bikefit-with-adr ... ence-sport

An interesting read.

cookeeemonster

Just thought I'd give you a quick update...lowered the bar slightly by removing 2 of the 3 spacers and putting them on top.

Neck feels fine so far so might remove the third spacer at some point, but hands now get a bit numb might be because I often leave my fingers on the brake levers so more vibration...or not. Need to do a bit more riding to see what happens.

Tomorrow I put on some foot straps and 28c Durano pluses...