Road Cycling - Another Neck Pain Thread - with pic.

I am having neck discomfort on my new bike from tilting my head back to see properly. Even while seated at the computer, I can feel it by tilting my head back. While riding, it almost feels as if my shoulders want to lift up (like a shoulder shrug), and my head is pushed back into the pocket between the shoulders. It feels like compression of the vertebrae (?) in the neck. ALL road bikes tilt the upper body forward, so tilting the head back seems unavoidable.

My measurements are:

5'10-1/4 to 5'10-1/2 tall
33"-34" inseam
57.5" sternum notch
25" arm length
170 lbs

The bike has a 56cm frame with a 56cm top tube and a 100cm stem. I am experimenting w/seat position between 74-75". Those measurements are dead-on according to sources like WrenchScience (I realize they are not infallible, but should at least be close). Overall, the bike felt great on most of today's maiden voyage - noticeably better than on my previous 58cm bike - except for this one prob with my neck. All my research indicates this is the proper size bike, so I am confident the neck pain relates to a particular aspect of fitting that still needs to be corrected.

What do you suspect? stem rise? stem length? Is anything obvious from the photo?

http://home.earthlink.net/~alan.bryson/Bike%20Pics/Neck.JPG

It sounds like you are keeping your arms straight so the shock is running up them into your neck. I have a few neck problems that are serious and have a few tricks up my sleeve. First, it takes a little getting used to. Do you always feel it while at the computor or is it just because it's sore? I went through some physical therepy and one of the exercises they taught me was a "chin tuck" thing, where you hold your head straight but move it back, like you are making a double chin. It stretches the back of your neck. It's hard to describe but sitting and looking at a computer makes it worse. Also some flexibility exercises like side tilts and front and back tilts. Move slowly. I also do exercises with therebands to strenghthen the supporting muscles. I've just started going to a chiropractor, don't know how it's going to work out for me but it's helped some people so I figured it's worth a try. I have degenerated disks and a reversal of the curve in my neck. I still manage to ride but I've had to work up slowly. I watch my form on the bike also, keeping my elbows bent. Hope this helps.

Sometimes the issue is that you are bending your back, making it hold you up instead of bending at your waist and flattening your back into a more aero position, as well as taking some of the pressure off your back. Just make sure arms are bent and relaxed and you feel balanced. Takes some getting used to, assuming you are not doing this already. However, if you can picture this, when your back is what is bending, your neck has to bend at a much more severe angle to look forward to see, as opposed to when your back is straight going toward the front of the bike and your neck does not need to angle up as severely.

Hope whatever it is gets solved...good luck!

Do you always feel it while at the computor or is it just because it's sore?

Sorry for the confusion - what I meant was that right now I can duplicate the discomfort by tilting my head back, wherever I am (I just happen to be in front of the computer).

I had this prob with the last bike. When I was trying to make the 58cm work, something they did at the refitting fixed it (although it didn't change the fact that the 58 was too big). I just don't know what the adjustment was, since several things were changed.

Well, since I just bought the bike, the shop expects to see me again anyway, so hopefully they can help determine in person. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try shortening the stem, although I don't know why that would be necessary now that the frame is already 1.5-2.0 cm shorter. I read some other threads suggesting neck pain could be caused by bars too low, but the seat doesn't look too much higher than the bars in the photo. It looks about the same as the last bike.

It's hard to tell, but it looks like your seat might be a back a bit far. Moving it forward may give you the extra little bit necessary to sit more comfortably.

G'day,

any chance you can post a pic of you on the bike?...if so try to have the leg closest to the camera at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Only point i would make without seeing further is the bars should be 'turned' slightly so that the bottom of the 'drops' is parrallel to the ground. The 'hoods' look a little high for my taste, however, if you are happy with them there, & you adjust the bar, you'll need to slide the hoods 'up' the bar to suit. If the neck & shoulder pain is when you are in the 'drops', this will likely help, (although many on another thread will disagree),

cheers,

Hitchy

Bend your elbows while you are riding. It requires a conscious effort.

Other than that, it may well be that your handlebars are too low, and you're stuffed because you have an aheadset that won't let you lift them any higher without some serious tinkering. You even alluded to this as being a problem on the other bike. The seat is *quite* a bit higher than the bars.

FWIW, I don't really trust web fit formulae after some personal experimenting.

G'day,

any chance you can post a pic of you on the bike?...if so try to have the leg closest to the camera at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Only point i would make without seeing further is the bars should be 'turned' slightly so that the bottom of the 'drops' is parrallel to the ground. The 'hoods' look a little high for my taste, however, if you are happy with them there, & you adjust the bar, you'll need to slide the hoods 'up' the bar to suit. If the neck & shoulder pain is when you are in the 'drops', this will likely help, (although many on another thread will disagree),


I'll see if I can rig my tripod (or have my gf take the pic).

Are you comfy on the drops with the bars turned so far down? Even as shown, I feel like I am sliding down into the drops due to the downward tilt of the bars. Honestly, the most comfy position is with the top of the bars parallel, which has the hoods even higher. But I will keep that suggestion in mind as I continue to adjust.



Rowan Bend your elbows while you are riding. It requires a conscious effort.

Hmmm...I remember that the aggregate adjustment on the previous bike that relieved the neck pain happened to give me more bent elbows. Maybe that is it. I can bend them a bit, but also find easy to straighten/lock in this setup. But I don't understand why - shorter top tube, barely longer stem....seems like I would naturally have more bend.

Hmmm...I remember that the aggregate adjustment on the previous bike that relieved the neck pain happened to give me more bent elbows. Maybe that is it. I can bend them a bit, but also find easy to straighten/lock in this setup. But I don't understand why - shorter top tube, barely longer stem....seems like I would naturally have more bend.
It might be that your seat is too close to the handlebars and that, combined with the hoods being tilted a little bit too far forward, is causing you to lock your elbows to maintain the position.

You may:

a. Need to strengthen your core muscles (abs in particular).

b. Move your seat *back* on the rails. The distance from the nose of the seat to the handlebar at the stem should be your forearm + outstretched hand + two or three fingers. If the distance is too short, and you run out of rail adjustment on the seat, you may need a longer stem. However, be aware that moving the seat back will interfere with what is supposed to be a perpendicular drop from the front of your knee to the axle spindle when the crank is in a horizontal, foward position (ie, 3 or 9 o'clock depending on which side you use).

c. The bar ends should point between a horizontal plane and towards the rear axle. If they point towards the rear axle, then you may not need to adjust the hoods, judging by the picture.

A picture of you on the bike would be helpful.

It also is helpful to record the measurements on your most comfortable ride so that if your dispose of it or it is stolen, dialling in a new one doesn't have to be done from scratch ;)

All previous posts have some good info, except I am unsure about moving the seat forward in that the position of the seat should be determined by your knee to pedal relationship.

One possible cause, and it is a bit of a stretch, is your handle bar width. If your bars are too narrow, it can cause you to slump/scrunch your shoulders.

Also, when you ride, look around abit. If you keep your neck in the forward position at all times, that can stress the muscles and vertabrae (sp?).

Since you can have neck pain when you tilt your head back, perhaps your problem has less to do with the bike and mroe to do with your cervical spine. Maybe you should talk to your doctor about it.

...
Are you comfy on the drops with the bars turned so far down? Even as shown, I feel like I am sliding down into the drops due to the downward tilt of the bars. Honestly, the most comfy position is with the top of the bars parallel, which has the hoods even higher. But I will keep that suggestion in mind as I continue to adjust.


CORRECTION: I meant I feel like I am sliding down into the hoods due to the downward tilt of the bars when the tops of the bars are not parallel to ground.

The seat angle looks steep to me, almost like a MTB. Looks like a big rise on the stem angle, may be you could flip it over.

You are stretched out too much, or not enough. The seat seems low for your inseam.

Do you move around on the saddle ?

Micro adjustments.

Hi,
we can't easliy tell without seeing you. It could easily just be a case of getting used to it. Ice it down, rest it a couple days; then do
some easy neck stretching and strengthening exercises for a couple days. If that doesn't work, try adding a spacer, or even a steeper stem. Someone suggested sliding the seat forward; that would be worth trying too.