JJakucyk

Overall I'd say I made the transition from a hybrid to a road bike pretty well. There was a little neck soreness the first few times, but no more (actually less) saddle soreness or other problems. However, the one place that I've noticed much more trouble is in my elbows. If I've been riding for 30-60 minutes, and I decide to stretch out my arms, my elbows are so stiff that they actually hurt. It usually goes away after the ride in only a few minutes, but it does concern me a bit. I know I'm not locking my elbows straight, and I had a great fitting done when I got my bike, so this seems like it shouldn't be happening. Any thoughts?

pgoat

couple of things I can think of -

your road bike's fork and head tube are probably steeper (less rake, more upright head tube) which will beat up your arms a bit more.


Also, did you go from one frame material to another? I once went from a cro-mo touring bike to a Cannondale AL criterium Racer......more or less the same size/reach, etc.....but the Aluminum bike (with steeper angles) beat the be-jeezus outta my arms and hands (My butt was surprisingly okay, though my arms hurt so much I never did ride it more than 15-20 mins....)

could also be going from a flat bar to drops?

Finally if the tires are a bit harder & narrower, you'l feel it in the hands and arms.

Put together any or all of these factors and it would explain it - though I will say that my elbow pain has been more from locking the arms (overextending due to a too-long top tube/stem or a stiff back/poor flexibility at the hips); the conditions I mention above hurt my arms but mostly bother my hands.

pgoat

btw, less saddle sores on the road bike makes sense, especially together with the elbow pain - you are generally taking some weight off your butt and displacing it onto your arms.

You may want to experiment with your saddle position, or better yet, your bar height (raise them a hair?); but if you had a fitting I'd recommend you speak with whoever helped you there, and also make sure you are giving your body enough time to adjust to the new bike/position.

JJakucyk

I do have a more upright bar position than what came originally with the bike (swapped the stem for one with more rise). I'm not sure about the head tube position. I don't ride in the drops though, it's just not comfortable, and I have too much of a belly for it.

The old bike was a Trek 7100 hybrid, all aluminum with a steel fork. The new one is a Klein Rêve V which is aluminum with carbon fork and seat stays, as well as the soft-tail.

Yes, the new tires are typical 120psi road tires. On the old bike I had 80psi hybrid tires (for lack of a better term).

I've ridden about 650 miles on this bike since I got it over the winter, so I would think the adjustment phase will be over. I'll ask at the shop when I go to pick it up from being worked on.

johnny99

Try moving your seat back a little (1/4 inch at a time). That will take some pressure off your elbows. Moving your stem upwards is generally a bad idea since it negatively impacts your handling and aerodynamics. You should think about getting a shorter stem before you think about raising your stem.

JJakucyk

I already have my seat pretty far back (long femurs). And I don't go fast enough to really be that much affected by the aerodynamics, especially since I don't/can't ride in the drops.

johnny99

Unless you have a back injury or something, you should be able to ride in the drops for extended periods of time (if your bike fits properly). Maybe your bike is just too small for you?

JJakucyk

No, it's because I'm fat.

pgoat

I too, belong to this "no Drops" club......

dhut

Try raising the nose of your saddle slightly. This will help take presure off your elbows.

JJakucyk

audiojan

Maybe the top tube is too long and you're locking up your elbows... This would put a lot of stress on them... Just a guess..

dhut

Mind you, I am not saying raise the saddle nose a lot, just slightly greater than level. This helps take pressure off the elbows. If it is uncomfortable in other areas, then try something else. I had elbow pain and found that doing this helped (and again, the saddle is only slighty off level with the nose up).

kandnhome

I had elbow pain when I started out, and tried everything from moving the seat to investigating wider bars. In the end, sticking the pain out and riding anyway made it go away. Turns out most of us (especially the less physically fit) aren't used to supporting that much weight at that angle with our arms, and the weak little muscles get tired and achy really quickly. After about a month of regular riding, the pain went away. My best guess is because the muscles got to where they could take it.