mannie3moon

Before I got my commuter, I only had my racing bike, which was fun, but gave me mild neck and shoulder aches after long rides due to the posture it had me in. My commuter puts me in a more upright position which is more comfortable.

I also ride my bike to work. I love it, but I can't do it more than two days in a row because it wears me out, even though my route isn't that long. If the wear-and-tear you experience disappears with rest, I wouldn't worry about it. Also, remember to keep yourself hydrated during your rides--even if you don't break a sweat, you are breathing faster, which contributes to fluid loss.

CrankyOne

For IM problems the only things I've seen from bicycling (statistical analysis for corporate healthcare plans) is related to leaning forward or poor saddle choice. What e-bike and saddle do you have? If you are sitting properly upright and have a good saddle then I can't think of anything bicycling related that would cause problems.

Primavera

This.

I'm 31, male, kind of out of shape, and I've never felt any negative physical effects I would trace back specifically to the 45mins-1hour a day I do cycling to and from work.

spare_wheel

Based on the meager literature there is some reason to suspect that urban cycling is associated with increased risk of lung disease, lung cancer, and a small increase in stroke/CV event risk (during or after cycling). Of course, I also believe these risks are hugely outweighed by the putative health benefits of cycling.

tarwheel 

Since the OP did not disclose what his ailments are, it is hard to make any sort of determination about whether they are cycling related. He also apparently is riding an "e-bike," which I assume is a bike with electrical motor assistance, and I don't think that would provide the same health benefits or stresses as a regular bike.

That said, I am 61 and bike commute year-round about 4,500-5,000 miles a year, with total riding topping 9,000 miles a year. I am in great health and I rarely every get sick. I don't take any medications and I weigh about the same as I did in college. I can't think of any way that cycling has harmed my health, but can provide quite a few examples of how it has made me healthier. It's helped me lose 25 lbs, made me much more physically fit, and lowered my pulse and blood pressure.

noglider 

That's outstanding! I hope to be like you when I grow up. I'm only 54 years old.

Daniel4

From my own experience they would be the joints but those aren't anything that can't be fixed.

When I'm riding my 10-speed racer, I get neck aches so I replaced the drop handle bars to flat and raised them higher. And during the winter I rode a mountain bike which had me sitting even more of an upright position.

I've read flat bars may not be so good for the wrists. I re-position my hands every once in a while to avoid carpel tunnel syndrome if that will.

Locking your elbows all the time may not be good. Keep them bent so they act as a shock absorber.

FBinNY 

+1,

We don't have reported symptoms, aren't privy to a medical history, and aren't medical professionals anyway. We can provide anecdotes, and 1st, 2nd 3rd hand information that might point out an avenue of exploration, but that's about the limits of diagnosis and treatment by forum.

The OP needs to discuss his problems with his own doctor who has the tools and info needed to make and test a diagnosis, and to suggest a remedy. However the OP should be advised to make sure his doctor knows something about bicycling and/or sports medicine, or find one who does, otherwise the doctor may miss or ignore what may be important factors.

By analogy, doctors in the USA are slow to recognize various tropical diseases because they fail to ask, or the patient fails to reveal recent travel information. Even patients who don't leave the country have diseases misdiagnosed because a doctor in Indiana may not be looking for a parasite endemic to Eastern Massachusetts.

Likewise, cycling may have subtle "side effects" based or fluid loss, blood sugar depletion, mechanical stress and strain, vibration and so on, that are meaningless to a healthy person, but can be factors to someone with a medical issue.

fietsbob

Depends on the Air Quality .. But I heard that sitting in your car in the same Smog , is worse.

thiocyclist

Hey all. I just had time to read the many replies. Thank you all.

To those suggesting stress is the cause, I have to admit it is likely contributing. I work ~60 hours a week right now and I can really "feel it" sometimes (pressure/anxiety on occasion, and my doc tells me this manifests unconsciously sometimes as well, e.g. possibly what we're talking about). I also moved fairly recently to start this position and my commute is 2x longer than before and probably 2x or 3x hillier. That's where the e-bike came in eventually because I was getting so sweaty and tired. The round-trip commute is just shy of 16 miles a day.

There is probably a good chance I do need to get the e-bike properly fitted so I'll try that -- thanks for the encouragement. Are there any DIY guides? I've honestly never read anything too authoritative on getting fit of the seat just perfect. Even though it is easier to ride the e-bike than a regular bike, I do get the sense that something is not right with the fit "down there".

As to my particular issues, it basically boils down to various points of strain and discomfort in areas I don't normally experience them, without getting any more specific. I don't mind you all asking, I understand your curiosity, but I also don't want to get any more open about the details.

I used to ride on a Brooks seat, so I wonder if switching back to that will help. The e-bike has some kind of rubbery seat that is certainly not painful to ride on but maybe I'm squishing into it over the course of the ride and that's causing some pressure.

The funny/tragic thing is I used to see bike commuting as some of you do. It made my life so much better and made me feel a lot happier. I hope it has not become an enemy of my health now, though I agree with most of you that it most likely hasn't. Still, I don't know how to iron out the problems I'm experiencing.

FBinNY 

Deal with things one thing a a time. Get the saddle height right so you're comfortable. It's no different with an e-bike a any other you pedal. So you want the seat high ehough that your leg is almost, but not straight with the pedal at the bottom. The old school approach is to have your leg straigbt with the heel on the pedal, which gives you some natural flex as you move the foot back to the ball over the pedal axle.

Also, be aware that there's sometimes a perverse side effect to padded saddles. On an unpadded saddle that fits you, your weight is supported by your "sit bones". But on a padded saddle, especially one with plenty of or fluid padding, you're sit bones settle deeper, so the support is spread around to other places. That's why they feel better. But some of those other places may not be suited to bearing weight, so while your rear is better, pressure is higher elsewhere and blood flow to other places may be cut off.

If you're ending the rides numb, tingly or deeply achy in the lower groin, give up the padded saddle, or at least scoop out the padding up front. Ot look for a saddle with raised pads in back, separated by a lower channel between and extending up front.

Here are some examples of the concept. XXX YYY ZZZ. Understand that I'm not suggesting any particular saddle, just giving you something to consider.

TinkerinWstuff

This article tells a different story https://www.immunodiet.com/loveland-...medical-bills/ using cycling to beat bone cancer.

wphamilton

Doesn't that kind of agree with me?

TinkerinWstuff

The way I read it, you read papers saying cycling REDUCES bone density. The article I cited said they used cycling to INCREASE bone density. At least that's how I read it - in addition to P90x in the beginning.

Reynolds 

OP, I don't know, nor I need to, if you're male or female. But maybe you could ask your question at some gender specific bike forum where you could speak more openly about your issues.

walrus1

Pay attention to your body and sore muscles. It's very easy to get an overuse injury if you cycle regularly. So pay attention to your body and take some days off. I'd try switch over to Gatorade and see if that helps you could need some more sugar and electrolytes. I'd also look into a lighter bike. Best of luck!

jade408

I have a Public Bike and found the stock seat very uncomfortable after 20 minutes. I swapped to a brooks seat, problem solved. The stock seat sucks. You likley need to play around more with fit.

CliffordK

Do you have sources?

Everything I read indicates a significant decrease in cardiovascular risk associated with cycling. Some studies indicate a 50% risk reduction even with moderate cycling.
Bike To Work Week And Reduce Heart Disease Risk By Half Medical News Today

I can imagine a slight risk from doing an Iron Man competition cold, but that isn't the same as a short daily bike commute.

Perhaps it also depends on the age group. Teenagers get cardiac events from exercise.
Us older folks get cardioprotective effects from exercise.

wphamilton

I was skeptical of the bone mass conclusion, and your cancer patient bears me out. There were a spate of studies, here is reference to three.

Bone density comparisons in male competitive road cyclists and untrained controls.
BMD decreases over the course of a year in competitive male cyclists.
Lean body mass and weight-bearing activity in the prediction of bone mineral density in physically active men.

The cancer patient probably doesn't fit any test group or control group, and perhaps replacing doing nothing with cycling. As I said however, I am skeptical of the general applicability.

spare_wheel

You need to read my comment again. Moderate exercise generally decreases risk of CV disease, pollution exposure generally increases risk of CV events. The pollution I am exposed to while cycling to work is the single most damaging thing I do to my health. If motorists were held accountable for this, the cost of motoring would be much, much higher.

noglider 

I once read that the benefits of cycling outweigh the detriments of the pollution we encounter. There must be limits, though, I'm sure. Some places are more polluted than others.

Todzilla

I have degenerative spine disease (my vertebrae are slowly dissolving - as are 70% of all us folks over 50).

I find bike commuting helps my back pain.

CliffordK

The USA has made great strides towards reducing our pollution by exporting all of it to China and Mexico.

I would think it would be hard to tease out the differences between riding in smog vs not, although one could compare US cities.

One of the problems with cigarette filters is that they apparently made smokers inhale deeper, and thus didn't reduce cancer as expected. It is possible that driving one's windows down vs riding a bike would be different in that the bike rider might be huffing and puffing more, and get greater exposure to the pollution, as well as spending more time on the road.

Nonetheless, the benefits of exercise remain.

wphamilton

In context of negative health effects of bike commuting, you'd also need to compare the pollution levels inside the car to outside. Most people think of pollution as "outside", yet inside the car may be even worse.

I touched on it earlier, but I think it merits some factual information.

From the executive summary from this technology assessment "In-Car Air Pollution", in-car benzene concentrations sometimes are four times as high as roadside, and carbon monoxide levels are ten times higher inside the car. Fine PM pollutants (carcinogenic) are also significant inside of cars.

So it may well be that the cyclist on the side of the road, even huffing and puffing, is breathing lower levels of pollution than the motorist.

TransitBiker

Again I'll say it. Heat exposure while riding, and long exposures to sunlight can be bad for you. Heat can cause a number of serious immediate issues. Sunlight can give you skin problems & eye problems. Cold can be an issue as well. You can get injured from exposed skin on nose & ears especially. You can also burn your lungs & irritate your respiratory tract. Frequent cold exposure to your hands can cause chronic joint pain. Incorrect clothing in hot or cold can cause immediate health impacts such as hypothermia or heat stroke.

Riding injured is also a great way to cause longer term or secondary issues.

If you ride in traffic a lot, you may be breathing in noxious fumes & have things go into your eyes that could cause injury or reaction. Myself personally, I've started riding with eye protection all times of the day, and I try to give vehicles emitting noxious odours or fumes a good bit of distance to lessen the concentration I end up aspirating.

- Andy