Stem riser
Mas0n
Posts: 23
Hi all,
Im after a bit of help if possible. Ive recently bought a Trek Madone 4.7 - 58cm. I set it up quickly when i bought it just so i could go out on it for a quick blast. I soon came to realise that the set up was giving me a sore knee. I booked a bike fit (a local LBS does them with the help of bikiefitting.com) and they highered my seat quite a lot and flipped my stem around to give it a bit more rise - now at 7 degrees as it was originally set as a negative rise.
I've been out on the bike a good couple of times since the fit and my knee pain has gone - with relief! But.........I now get severe neck pain during the ride and for a couple of days after. During the bike fit the LBS did say that the handlebars could do with coming up a bit but its not of massive urgency and I probably wouldnt even notice any difference - but I am!! My question to you all is what stem would i now buy to help me? IVE ATTACHED THE BIKEFITTINGI GEOMETRY. I was looking to keep the same current length (120mm) but then increasing the angle of the stem - to either a 10, 17 or 25 degree - would this help in increasing the height of the handlebars and then hopefully getting rid of my neck pain?
Before i heighered my seat i never had an issue with neck pain.
I hope someone can help
Im after a bit of help if possible. Ive recently bought a Trek Madone 4.7 - 58cm. I set it up quickly when i bought it just so i could go out on it for a quick blast. I soon came to realise that the set up was giving me a sore knee. I booked a bike fit (a local LBS does them with the help of bikiefitting.com) and they highered my seat quite a lot and flipped my stem around to give it a bit more rise - now at 7 degrees as it was originally set as a negative rise.
I've been out on the bike a good couple of times since the fit and my knee pain has gone - with relief! But.........I now get severe neck pain during the ride and for a couple of days after. During the bike fit the LBS did say that the handlebars could do with coming up a bit but its not of massive urgency and I probably wouldnt even notice any difference - but I am!! My question to you all is what stem would i now buy to help me? IVE ATTACHED THE BIKEFITTINGI GEOMETRY. I was looking to keep the same current length (120mm) but then increasing the angle of the stem - to either a 10, 17 or 25 degree - would this help in increasing the height of the handlebars and then hopefully getting rid of my neck pain?
Before i heighered my seat i never had an issue with neck pain.
I hope someone can help
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Comments
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Why not go back to the place that did the fit?0
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A sore neck probably means you are too stretched out.
We cant really gauge anything from the diagram. A sideways picture of you on the bike would help.
How tall are you ?0 -
During the bike fit the LBS did say that the handlebars could do with coming up a bit
I hope you didn't pay for this level of accuracy...
Go back, tell them you are having problems and don't pay them any more money.
Bloody bike fits...0 -
Many thanks for all your replies guys. Im 6'2'' and have attached a photo of me on the bike - no comments about the beard please - it's a long boring story!
The red arrow is pointing to the place where im getting the pain, smack in the middle of my neck, as if its where my spine meets my big fat head.
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Are you relatively new to road cycling? It could just be that it will take a little while to get used to holding your head up to look forward for extended periods of time.0
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Relax the shoulders and beNd Your elbows, loosen up....0
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My thoughts, and they are only thoughts....
It's an OK position for now.
Riding a bike is an unnatural thing to do, and it takes time to adapt to doing it without discomfort. Ride more, as often as you can and things will improve.
My personal prejudice, and that's what you pay for when you get a bike fit, is that you should aim towards moving your saddle down by a cm and back by another couple of cms. As you ride more, you will get more accustomed to a riding position and can begin to stretch out and get a bit lower.
Jens is 6' 2"...
Magnus is as big...
These are positions to work towards as you develop, not patterns to attempt to fit straight away...0 -
i agree with the comments above. Your position doesn't look too bad. If the neck pain doesn't subside, ask your LBS if they have an 110mm stem or shorter reach bars you can test to see if it improves things.0
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2.5 years ago I was recovering from a back injury (a bulged disc in the lower back) so I bought an adjustable specialised stem like this one: http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Specialized-Comp-Multi-Stem_50620.htm?sku=136302#. Started off with the highest position and gradually brought it back down and then changed back to my 3T stem. The Spesh is a little heavy compared to the 3T but is still stiff and fits well with the 3T bars.
I picked mine up on eBay for around 12 quid (from memory) so I think it is worth a try!0 -
Thanks for all your replies. I'm not really new to cycling. Have been doing it for about 18 months but I have recently bought that bike.
I'll try manning up for a couple of weeks, if not I'll have a look at that stem.
Many thanks all0 -
+1 to what darkhairedlord said….
If anything I'd say you're probably too upright. Your arms appear locked and if I imitate that position my shoulder blades automatically come together and my neck and head drop, doing that whilst trying to look up the road is going to become tedious and put strain on my neck.
If I then just bend my elbows then my shoulders drop and I feel much more relaxed.“Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”0 -
Stem comparison tool
hi mason I found the following instument, http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php, extremely helpfull in figuring out which stem will achieve what on my bike, check it out, it's the nearest thing to magic since 11-32 casettes
By the way, whats with the beard?0 -
That's great - many thanks Jordan and martino.
The jist of the beard is: a bet in work, first to shave has to shave their head, but im going bald so my hair will never grow back!! I'd rather grow a beard :oops:0 -
An old friend of mine never grew tired of suggesting that I should "shave my ass and walk backwards" but I've always figured he was just gealous of my good looks :P0
