Shoulder Pain and Straight Arms

cannondalerun

Hi

I have developed some pain in my right shoulder which I attribute to my riding position or possibly my riding position aggravates a frozen shoulder condition which I have had for a while.

I tend to ride with my arms locked and straight, I do make a conscious effort to unlock my arms and relax but after about 5 minutes they lock up again. I have had a professional bike fit and I am quite happy with the setup, I am just wondering if there is a final tweak that I can add that will encourage me to unlock my arms?

J

sungod

it may be a habit, in which case it's a matter of awareness and training yourself to not do it

or do you feel you 'need' to lean on the bars? if so, and the bike fit really is correct, then try working on your core strength, with correct saddle position you should be able to ride without needing to support your upper body with your arms

Zingzang

CannondaleRun wrote:

Hi

I have developed some pain in my right shoulder which I attribute to my riding position or possibly my riding position aggravates a frozen shoulder condition which I have had for a while.

I tend to ride with my arms locked and straight, I do make a conscious effort to unlock my arms and relax but after about 5 minutes they lock up again. I have had a professional bike fit and I am quite happy with the setup, I am just wondering if there is a final tweak that I can add that will encourage me to unlock my arms?

J

Your shoulder pain is unlikely to be directly due to riding with locked arms. I've ridden with one locked arm for the last thirty years out of injury-induced necessity, and it's never caused shoulder pain in that arm. The shoulder pain has always been in the other arm, which has had to do all the work of supporting me. The pain you're experiencing is far more likely to be to do with the frozen shoulder experience you've been through.

Zingzang

sungod wrote:

with correct saddle position you should be able to ride without needing to support your upper body with your arms

Lose the use in one or more of your arms and you'll discover that most of the time you do actually need at least one arm to support your upper body on the bike.

cannondalerun

sungod wrote:

it may be a habit, in which case it's a matter of awareness and training yourself to not do it

or do you feel you 'need' to lean on the bars? if so, and the bike fit really is correct, then try working on your core strength, with correct saddle position you should be able to ride without needing to support your upper body with your arms

I do tend to ride with a lot of weight on my arms, this may explain why they are locked all the time So in answer to your question, yes, I would say that I am leaning on the bars all the time.

sungod

Zingzang wrote:

sungod wrote:

with correct saddle position you should be able to ride without needing to support your upper body with your arms

Lose the use in one or more of your arms and you'll discover that most of the time you do actually need at least one arm to support your upper body on the bike.

hardly a common situation

i'm fortunate to have the use of both arms and can ride quite happily without needing to lean on them for support

davebradswmb

sungod wrote:

Zingzang wrote:

sungod wrote:

with correct saddle position you should be able to ride without needing to support your upper body with your arms

Lose the use in one or more of your arms and you'll discover that most of the time you do actually need at least one arm to support your upper body on the bike.

hardly a common situation

i'm fortunate to have the use of both arms and can ride quite happily without needing to lean on them for support

Most people support some of their weight on their arms, it is more comfortable since it means there's less weight on the saddle. It's partly why a fast touring bike is much better for long journeys than a sit up and beg bike.

Zingzang

sungod wrote:

i'm fortunate to have the use of both arms and can ride quite happily without needing to lean on them for support

What do you mean by saying you don't need to lean on your arms for support? Are you saying your arms play no role in supporting your upper body weight while you are cycling? Try tying your arms behind your back next time you're out on your bike and seeing whether you miss their support.

sungod wrote:

hardly a common situation

I'm not really sure what we're meant to read into that. It's experiencing this kind of uncommon situation first hand that makes you aware to what extent you do rely on your arm/s for support during cycling. You're possibly not aware of this because you take for granted the small amount of supportive work your arms do when you're on your bike. If you lost the use of one of your arms it's likely you wouldn't be so ready to say you don't need to lean on your arms for support when you are cycling. Experto crede.

davebradswmb

sungod wrote:

Zingzang wrote:

sungod wrote:

with correct saddle position you should be able to ride without needing to support your upper body with your arms

Lose the use in one or more of your arms and you'll discover that most of the time you do actually need at least one arm to support your upper body on the bike.

hardly a common situation

i'm fortunate to have the use of both arms and can ride quite happily without needing to lean on them for support

Most people support some of their weight on their arms, it is more comfortable since it means there's less weight on the saddle. It's partly why a fast touring bike is much better for long journeys than a sit up and beg bike.

kajjal

Riding with your arms locked means the bike setup is not quite right normally but part of the riding position is down to personal preference. Locked arms often means over stretching with too much weight on the hands. This can come from too much reach or drop to the bars. My new current bike has shorter reach, shallow drop bars which means i ride alot looser in the arms and can now ride in the drops for long periods of time with no problems. Before i was over reaching with locked arms to compensate.

Due to your injury speak to the person that did the fit and ask their advice.

slowmart

@op I'd re examine your comment that your happy with the bike fit?

Clearly something is amiss and I'd revert back to a baseline for further scrutiny and that would include the bike fit as small adjustments can make a significant difference.

cannondalerun

Kajjal wrote:

Riding with your arms locked means the bike setup is not quite right normally but part of the riding position is down to personal preference. Locked arms often means over stretching with too much weight on the hands. This can come from too much reach or drop to the bars. My new current bike has shorter reach, shallow drop bars which means i ride alot looser in the arms and can now ride in the drops for long periods of time with no problems. Before i was over reaching with locked arms to compensate.

Due to your injury speak to the person that did the fit and ask their advice.

I am calling into the dealer next week to look at the set up again, I just needed to gather some knowledge so I can contribute to the conversation. I hardly use the drop position, I tend to keep to the hoods. The stem could do with shortening or the saddle moving forward. It has to be one or the other.

cannondalerun

Slowmart wrote:

@op I'd re examine your comment that your happy with the bike fit?

Clearly something is amiss and I'd revert back to a baseline for further scrutiny and that would include the bike fit as small adjustments can make a significant difference.

The pain is only on my right shoulder, so I am thinking that the fit is aggravating my injury rather than the cause of it. I may be able to get away with locked arms once I get my shoulder sorted, but to do that I need to encourage a more comfortable riding position. That's my plan, not sure if it is the correct approach.

sungod

Zingzang wrote:

sungod wrote:

i'm fortunate to have the use of both arms and can ride quite happily without needing to lean on them for support

What do you mean by saying you don't need to lean on your arms for support? Are you saying your arms play no role in supporting your upper body weight while you are cycling? Try tying your arms behind your back next time you're out on your bike and seeing whether you miss their support.

sungod wrote:

hardly a common situation

I'm not really sure what we're meant to read into that. It's experiencing this kind of uncommon situation first hand that makes you aware to what extent you do rely on your arm/s for support during cycling. You're possibly not aware of this because you take for granted the small amount of supportive work your arms do when you're on your bike. If you lost the use of one of your arms it's likely you wouldn't be so ready to say you don't need to lean on your arms for support when you are cycling. Experto crede.

"Try tying your arms behind your back next time you're out on your bike", really?

you're concocting nonsensical examples for the sake of argument, that's the mark of a troll

cannondalerun

sungod wrote:

Zingzang wrote:

sungod wrote:

i'm fortunate to have the use of both arms and can ride quite happily without needing to lean on them for support

What do you mean by saying you don't need to lean on your arms for support? Are you saying your arms play no role in supporting your upper body weight while you are cycling? Try tying your arms behind your back next time you're out on your bike and seeing whether you miss their support.

sungod wrote:

hardly a common situation

I'm not really sure what we're meant to read into that. It's experiencing this kind of uncommon situation first hand that makes you aware to what extent you do rely on your arm/s for support during cycling. You're possibly not aware of this because you take for granted the small amount of supportive work your arms do when you're on your bike. If you lost the use of one of your arms it's likely you wouldn't be so ready to say you don't need to lean on your arms for support when you are cycling. Experto crede.

"Try tying your arms behind your back next time you're out on your bike", really?

you're concocting nonsensical examples for the sake of argument, that's the mark of a troll

I am sure there is some good evidence out there that supports Zingzangs theory, there is another post on this forum which suggests you should be able let go of the bars (on a trainer) put arms behind your back and maintain your position.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY7zoPzMeRo , hold bars lighltly at 44s

John

kajjal

CannondaleRun wrote:

Kajjal wrote:

Riding with your arms locked means the bike setup is not quite right normally but part of the riding position is down to personal preference. Locked arms often means over stretching with too much weight on the hands. This can come from too much reach or drop to the bars. My new current bike has shorter reach, shallow drop bars which means i ride alot looser in the arms and can now ride in the drops for long periods of time with no problems. Before i was over reaching with locked arms to compensate.

Due to your injury speak to the person that did the fit and ask their advice.

I am calling into the dealer next week to look at the set up again, I just needed to gather some knowledge so I can contribute to the conversation. I hardly use the drop position, I tend to keep to the hoods. The stem could do with shortening or the saddle moving forward. It has to be one or the other.

That's what i used to do on my old bike with too much reach and the drops were too low for me so i rarely used them. One thing to bear in mind is the saddle position is purely to get your legs in the right position and not used to adjust reach to the bars. Get the right position for you, and your riding, my bars are an inch or two below the saddle as thats my preference. One quick easily reversed change is to flip the stem up right which reduces drop and reach to give you a comparison.

Zingzang

sungod wrote:

that's the mark of a troll

Incapable of articulating a coherent counter-argument, you call your opponent a troll. That doesn't reflect well on you. However, judging by your shaky grasp of elementary matters such as what is involved in riding a bike, I didn't really expect much better from you.

cannondalerun

Here is the site I mentioned in an earlier post, it was published on this forum in a different thread

https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bi ... oad-bikes/

There is a suggestion that your posture should provide adequate support when hands are released from the bars.

However if you do move them behind your back you are shifting the centre of gravity.

sungod

Zingzang wrote:

sungod wrote:

that's the mark of a troll

Incapable of articulating a coherent counter-argument, you call your opponent a troll. That doesn't reflect well on you. However, judging by your shaky grasp of elementary matters such as what is involved in riding a bike, I didn't really expect much better from you.

i'm not arguing, i'm simply stating fact

like i said, you're a troll

Zingzang

sungod wrote:

Zingzang wrote:

sungod wrote:

that's the mark of a troll

Incapable of articulating a coherent counter-argument, you call your opponent a troll. That doesn't reflect well on you. However, judging by your shaky grasp of elementary matters such as what is involved in riding a bike, I didn't really expect much better from you.

i'm not arguing, i'm simply stating fact

like i said, you're a troll

Because you say so? Someone who doesn't even know what job his arms do when he rides a bike?
You're the troll; your pistol has misfired, and you're trying to knock me down with the butt end of it.
Take a walk, buddy.

fenix

Sungod - you're bike is set up wrong if you're not using the bars to support your weight - it's often quoted as 30% of the weight should be going thru them. Otherwise it's all on your bum and it can't help with handling having a light front wheel.

Cannondale - sounds like you are almost the opposite - too much weight on the bars. I'd look to raise the stem height or maybe look at reducing the reach - if you're locked out I'd think you're overstretching a bit.

cannondalerun

Fenix wrote:

Sungod - you're bike is set up wrong if you're not using the bars to support your weight - it's often quoted as 30% of the weight should be going thru them. Otherwise it's all on your bum and it can't help with handling having a light front wheel.

Cannondale - sounds like you are almost the opposite - too much weight on the bars. I'd look to raise the stem height or maybe look at reducing the reach - if you're locked out I'd think you're overstretching a bit.

Yes, I agree I am going to try both and see how it goes

cannondalerun

Hi

I have been making some comparisons with my second bike that I have set up in my trainer, it is a Boardman (ex Halfords) which I bought second hand of eBay, I have it permanently set up on my Tacx. The seat height is exactly the same but the reach is slightly longer as I think this is a larger frame than my Cannondale. My Cannondale is 51Cm and I think the Boardman is 54cm.

I would say that the Boardman is slightly more comfortable that the Cannondale, however when I look down at the bar the bar on the Cannondale sits exactly over the front hub (as it should be) whereas that bar on the Boardman is in front of the hub which suggests the Boardman stem is too long.

I am about 5' 8", I was beginning to think that the 51cm frame was too small for me. How much difference is a 51cm to a 54cm, can a 51Cm be set up like a 54cm. When I go back to the dealer I was going to suggest / challenge the frame could be to small for me.

J