Shorter stem due to neck & shoulder pain

neilophenia

After years of fiddling around with my position (including comparison to my second bike which doesn’t cause this discomfort) I’ve come to the conclusion that I need a shorter handlebar stem to alleviate the neck and shoulder pain which I get on any ride over 1 hour.
My LBS has closed so I need to order one online and would prefer to get the right one first go.
My current stem is 130mm. My question is how much shorter should I go to increase the comfort without changing things too drastically? I don’t want to go too short and was thinking that 50 mm sounded good.
I know it’s hard to answer without seeing me on my bike and that a bike fit would be the best option but that’s not possible at the moment. For some reason I have a lot of time to ride right now and would prefer it to be less of a pain in the neck.

johngti

130mm to 50mm is a massive change. Why not try 100-110 first? I get the same type of pain with a 100mm stem but 90mm fixes it.

neilophenia

Whoops! I actually meant 50 mm shorter, down to 80 mm
I might give that a go. I’m happy with my position but I have to try and do something to stop the pain. You obviously seem to think that 20 - 30 mm makes a noticeable difference. I just don’t want to have to keep ordering, testing and sending stuff back. Plus there’s the fact that I’d need to ride a couple of hours with the thing to see if it’s ok. I may not be able to send it back in mint condition.

johngti

I’d suggest trying used ones to see. Once you have the right length then buy the one you want new. 50mm shorter is still a huge change

neilophenia

Thanks for the input. I’m not so young any more and don’t race so I don’t need a pro-style aerodynamic position to slice through the air and was also thinking about getting an adjustable stem or one with a slight upwards tilt as a little more height may also help (reached my spacer max). Nothing drastic, though.

rwoofer

Yes I would also be tempted to try 110mm first. Why don't you order some cheap stems via ebay, till you get the right size.

All my bikes have Kalloy Uno7 stems which cost less than £20 and are surprisingly light. Even got one on my gravel bike, so they seem to be strong as well.

sniper68

Can you swap over the stem on your 2nd bike to try that?(if you haven't already?)
As above I'd go 20mm first.Try this in both positions.130-80mm is a huge difference!
A newbie I've been riding with had 120mm on his Boardman.He was getting pain between his shoulders.I "flipped" it for him and although better it wasn't 100%.I gave him a spare 100mm and that cured it.
I'm a short ar$e and ride with 90mm stems and going up 10mm makes a big difference to me!

neilophenia

Good ideas, guys.
Unfortunately I can’t try the stem from my other bike as it’s an old steel Mercks with an old school stem. But the reach is a couple of cm shorter than on my main bike.
Why didn’t I think of ebay? I was just on it looking for something for the wife🤔

sniper68

I have 2 spare stems.
110mm Bontrager(used)
80mm Selcof (unused)
If you want either to try drop me a PM with your address.

kevin_stephens

Are you sure stem length is the problem? If your back is at approx. 45 degrees with your hands on top of the levers and you cant see the front axle because the bars are in the way then your stem is probably about right.

I used to suffer neck and shoulder pain because by bars were too wide and my arms were splayed. Bar width should be approx. the same as distance between the bottom of each collar bone so your arms are parallel in reaching the bars. When a changed to narrower bars the pain went away

paulbnix

I bought one of these https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/components/handlebars-and-stems/stems/specialized-comp-set-multi-position-stem-review/ and found it fixed my particular problem with just a small rise of the bars.

neilophenia

@Sniper, I’m out in Germany so that would probably make sending stuff ack and forth long winded and expensive but thanks anyway.
@Kevin, Oddly enough my handlebars are narrower than on my more comfortable setup but my arms are pretty parallel.

neilophenia

Thanks Paul. I’ve never seen that with the shims. It’s a good idea.

lesfirth

rwoofer said:

Yes I would also be tempted to try 110mm first. Why don't you order some cheap stems via ebay, till you get the right size.

All my bikes have Kalloy Uno7 stems which cost less than £20 and are surprisingly light. Even got one on my gravel bike, so they seem to be strong as well.

Another recommendation for Uno stems from Ebay. Really nice light stems and cheap.
Edit. Sorry ,just checked they will have to come from China.

johngti

If you wanted to try a little shorter, I think I might have a 100mm stem somewhere. Assuming I did, you could have it for postage costs

yellowv2

A slightly different take on your problem but have you tried any exercises to mitigate the problem?
I practice Yoga daily and have found myself being able to ride with a lower position at 60 than I could years ago. Also cyclists are notoriously weak in the upper back shoulder area, it comes with the position. So strengthening is also a good idea.

neilophenia

@Yellow, I had something called frozen shoulder a couple of years ago and still do the stretching exercises which the physiotherapist showed me for that. She also showed me some for my neck. My job doesn’t help as I often have to spend a lot of time looking up which is basically what you do on a bike. I’ve been doing a little weight training at home, too. Another reason why I have come to the conclusion that it’s the stem. The physiotherapist also told me that the “stretched out” road bike position can cause this problem.

yellowv2

Ok fair enough, were you given any upper back flexibility stretches to do? Do you have a 4” foam roller? There are a number of flexibility exercises that can be done with one. It is also quite a good idea to get flexibility improvements before adding weights to strengthen.

neilophenia

I do some neck and shoulder stretches and use a roller which looks more like 6 inches. I put it lengthways down my spine to open my chest as I have a tendency to hunch my shoulders on the bike. I‘ll look in to other upper back exercises thanks to your tip.

yellowv2

No problem.
I also have a 6” roller but find it a bit too large for this purpose. I use the 4” and likewise use it down the length of my spine to open up the chest, also across my back which is good for separating the individual vertebrae in the upper back.
I have an excellent book called “Ride Strong” Essential conditioning for cyclists, written by Jo McRae. She is a corrective exercise specialist and ex pro cyclist. Well worth a look if you feel inclined.

neilophenia

Here are some photos little Neiletta took just now after my ride. I do seem a little stretched out looking at them:

neilophenia

And no, it’s not because of having to support the weight of my big hooter!

arlowood

Your arms look straight and "locked" in both pictures. Ideally they should be slightly bent at the elbow. That does suggest that you are a bit too stretched and taking more weight through your arms than is ideal. A shorter stem might help with that and also maybe raising the angle of the stem if you can't get a spacer under the stem on the steerer

johngti

I agree with the angle - try flipping the stem first. Looks less “pro” but it’s much more comfy.

neilophenia

arlowood said:

Your arms look straight and "locked" in both pictures. Ideally they should be slightly bent at the elbow. That does suggest that you are a bit too stretched and taking more weight through your arms than is ideal. A shorter stem might help with that and also maybe raising the angle of the stem if you can't get a spacer under the stem on the steerer

Yes, I have to constantly remind myself not to lock my arms which also leads me to the conclusion that I’m having to reach to far forwards.

johngti said:

I agree with the angle - try flipping the stem first. Looks less “pro” but it’s much more comfy.

I’ll try flipping the flipping thing. It looks like it will only provide a couple of extra degrees / mm in height as it’s a shallow angle but I will give it a go and report back to HQ in a day or two.

neilophenia

By the way, I’m skinny and I thought black was slimming. I look pregnant in these photos!

yellowv2

Yes I agree you do look too stretched and should have a slight bend at the elbow, possibly try a 100mm stem?

neilophenia

I was trying not to fall off, balancing myself against the bookcase but you’re right, anyway. I was in pain after 30 minutes today. I’ve had this bike and setup for a few years now but it’s getting worse. Must be the old age setting in.

paulbnix

When I first installed the Specialised multi angle stem it raised the bars by 5mm and back by a very small amount. It was enough to remove the discomfort.
Basically you might not need a big change.

neilophenia

paulbnix said:

When I first installed the Specialised multi angle stem it raised the bars by 5mm and back by a very small amount. It was enough to remove the discomfort.
Basically you might not need a big change.

I’ll try turning the stem around and see if the small height difference makes a difference.

racoonbilly

I changed to a 15mm rise handle bar, worked perfectly for me:

SPECIALIZED HOVER EXPERT ALLOY HANDLEBARS 15MM RISE

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Specialized/Hover-Expert-Alloy-Handlebars-15mm-Rise/ETJT