Mountain Biking - Shoulder pain - is a riser bar the answer?

Hi All-
First Post!

Basically, I'm tired of sore shoulders. I'm getting the sense that my position may be too far forward. My saddle position is ok, but even with my butt all-the-way back, I still feel a bit endo-prone on downhills. In addition, pulling up the handlebars when I roll off small drops seems hard- I always feel too far forward, which brings my front tire down first.

I'm thinking a shorter stem or a riser bar might be the answer. Anyone else have this issue?

I usuallly ride 1-3 x/week on easy to fairly technical (no big drops, though), bumpy XC with short, steep hills. I ride a K2 Razorback Team 2001 (http://www.k2bikes.com/01site/mountain_bikes/razorback_team.html) with lots of new parts, including a DukeXC fork. The stem and straight bar are similar to the pic below. Maybe of note is that I have NO spacers on the stem, so the handlebars sit about .5-1 inch lower than other bikes might.

THANKS!!!

http://www.k2bikes.com/01site/images/products/razorback_team2.gif

I had the same problem and got a longer stem but with a greater angle so the handle bars sit at about the same spot horizonally but an inch and a half higher. So i sit a bit more upright and my shoulders love it :D. Its a bit less of a racing position but i feel alot more comfortable. I went form a 4 inch 20* stem to a 5 inch 40* stem. One thing i need to work on is that on steep uphills i feel the front wheel coming off the ground a bit more then before. But Im sure i can work on that. BTW i got the stem form nashbar.com

My shoulders hurt constantly, even off the bike I couldn't lift my arms over my head without pain until I changed my handlebar postition. My bar position put my grips about 2 inches below my saddle with a longish 130mm stem. Great for climbing but hard on me. I now have a 120mm stem and riser combo which together has my grips the same height as my saddle and a bit closer than before. No more pain. As stated above, you will have to get your chest down lower to keep your tire from lifting on the steep stuff, but it can be done. The postive part of the tradeoff is you will be in a better postion for downhill.

get a shorter stem- this will set your body back, making it easier to lift the front wheel

I would say a stem that will place your bar level with your seat or even higher like someone else had mentioned, as for the reach you will have to take that into consideration when you get a new stem. Generally if you get a stem that is 40 degree rise and a 130mm length that might do it. But the best way to figure that out is to measure how much length you will need for your reach versus where the steeper stem will place you. Having to do with the fact that as the stem goes up the reach will tend to come closer. So some precise thoughts on the measurement must be taken into consideration. A riser bar could do it if your close to where you need to be already, like shy of two inches from level or so. The nicety of a riser bar is that you will have the luxury of moving the bar forward and backward some.

i went 80mm with 8 degee slope and 2"riser bars to solve my problem with my wrist.how about the width of your bars?your hands should be basically same width with your shoulders and your wrists should be straight and not bent forward or back.the new setup has not affected my climbing very much but it sure did stop the pain.

Thanks for the posts, folks!

I decided to go for a modest 1" riser bar. It's a cheap, light (220g) alum bar from Performance. I'll post when I get it to tell how it goes...

iamthetas- my current bars are pretty short- I find my grip wandering to the very edges and beyond. The new bars are not wide, but will give me an extra inch or so on each side. I have a BAD FEELING about riding the tight singletracks of the Buttermilk (not too far from you, eh?) with wider bars, but it should give me better control...

As a side note, my girlfriend took her first substantial spill on the Buttermilk Tues and dislocated her coccyx (tailbone). she's now laying on my couch, hopped up on Vicoden. Ouch.

i thought the same thing(wider is more dangerous)but found it is a matter of getting used to just like you will have to get used to the riser bars.i have not ridden buttermilk yet(that i know of)do they merge together,that is the Exterra run,or are james river,buttermilk,dogwood dell(has that reopened yet) etal.separated.i went to dogwood dell a couple weeks ago and saw huge trees still on the outskirts so i did not try the interior but did some riding on some singletrack near maymont(james river park?)anyhoo i went to 26" approx.wide when i went to riser bars and as i said before only difference for me was climbing.corners are actually a little more controlled now(took some getting used to the width was interesting)if its no tighter than dogwood dell or pocahontas you will be just fine with a wider widthsorry to hear about your girfriend,hope she recovers quickly

risers, smisers are not the answer. They may help but there is a few things that has to change.

You need to shorten your reach.
you need to do more stretches to improve your flexibility
raise the bar height so that your arms can bend more easily.

Now all this can be achieved without riser bars. Personally I don't like risers. i think they're just a fashion statement.

thank you for your opinion.my hands disagree but thank you

risers, smisers are not the answer. They may help but there is a few things that has to change.

You need to shorten your reach.
you need to do more stretches to improve your flexibility
raise the bar height so that your arms can bend more easily.

Now all this can be achieved without riser bars. Personally I don't like risers. i think they're just a fashion statement.

Thanks, Tim.

I found a note on mountianbike.com that gave specs for saddle adjustment- while seated, with lead foot on pedal and in the 3 o'clock position, dangle a string with weight from the underside of your knee- it should be approx above yer pedal. My saddle positioned me considerably back, so I shifted things forward and feel I have improved power. 'Hard to say whether it will improve my riding as much as raising my grip (by using a riser bar or raising the grip height otherwise). I have a riser bar enroute, but think I'll try the saddle adj alone for a while, and see how it goes...

Hey iamthetas,

Thanks for the reply about bar width! The Buttermilk is all over the south side of the river from Belle Island past the Nickel (Boulevard) Bridge and beyond. There's a section off the Buttermilk called Forest Hills Park, which offers some nice steep climbs and decents, though nothing necessarily DH. A great, but short, workout. See the X-Terra site for a good map of the trails!