bwstewar

i'm new to the forum as well as cycling.. sorry if i'm posting this in the wrong section. i searched the forum for a similar question and found a thread but it was in the 50+ community.. so here it goes.

i go to the university of vermont.
i've been trying to get into shape recently. at 6'5" and 215lbs with flat feet, there aren't a lot of options for exercising.
i've been swimming for a while and enjoy it but it got way too boring staring at the bottom of the pool lap after lap.

so i went to the gym and hopped on a stationary. i started pounding out 20 miles in an hour, six days a week. i fell in love. but then the options of watching dr OZ, some basketball team i've never heard of, or jersey shore started to bore me more than the line of blue tiles at the bottom of the pool. it was time to bring it outside.

i splurged and bought a 900 dollar trek 1.1 and couldn't be happier. its my first road bike and i'm a college student so give me a break on spending less than i should. i crank 15 miles a day so far.. the hilly roads of vermont are a lot different than the stationary in the gym. but i'm getting used to it. i love the scenery and the rush.

back to my question...
is it normal for a 21 yr old to get really bad neck pain after cycling? i've never ridden anything other than a mountain bike since i got my trek last week. could leaning forward in the streamline position and bending my head up to see ahead be whats stressing my neck? i've only put 60 miles on my road bike so far.

any input would be great help

10 Wheels

Are you able to touch the exact spot on your neck where the pain is?

DScott

Position can matter alot, so having someone who knows something about bike fit take a look at you would help the most. Perhaps the guys at the shop you bought your bike at can eyeball your fit. Besides just being out of shape for a road bike, your neck/arm/shoulder/upper body position can cause pain. Hard to sort it out online.

We'd need pics to really enjoy the hell out of this, er, I mean to help you.

bwstewar

no its pain all over the back of my neck.. muscles.
it messed with my sleep last night. and i don't know if this is normal for a first time rider

Campag4life

Hi...cycling is a wonderful activity. You are young and I am old and been cycling a long time and it is a virtual fountain of youth and hope you continue life long.
Some neck pain albeit not major for first time roadies is not unusual at all. Fit is both simple and complex. At 6'5"...I am a bit shorter...you need a very tall bike because you have long legs. A tall frame has a long head tube which helps get your bars up a bit closer to your saddle in terms of height.
Oversimplifying neck pain provided you don't have any skeletal or musculature issues which I presume you don't...and don't suffer pain on your mtb with more upright position...your bars are likely a bit low for your conditioning...OR...your fit and posture aren't quite right on the bike. Cycling is like other sports and I have played most of them. There is technique which includes posture. Poor posture causes you to crane your neck as you mention. Incidentally poor posture or slumping is many times caused by reluctance to rotate your pelvis forward on the saddle because it puts pressure on your balls. As a result many rotate their pelvis back which causes a hump back position which puts a lot more pressure on the base of the neck...the back has to perform a veritable S curve in profile if you can visualize that whereas a straighter back allows the neck to extend more easily...its a chain from angle of upper back into the neck. There are also muscles in the neck which take some conditioning. For the best posture you need to find a saddle where you can rotate your pelvis a bit more forward which won't crush the stuff that matters and will support your sit bones.

Now there is a complete flipside to neck pain which is caused by riding with your bars too high. It is the converse of the dynamic above so there is a sweet spot in other words. The worse your conditioning the smaller this fit window is. It would help to post a pic of your bike for persective. The bars too high issue is totally couterintuitive and took me years really to figure out...some things you learn later in life after doing something for a long time. Each of us has a more or less ideal posture on the bike as we evolve as cyclists. To keep a decent pace...say up with the B group on weekend rides you need to enlist your glutes...can't do it riding bolt upright and just your quads which are natively weaker. The only way to get your butt aka glutes in the game is to stick your butt out and ride with a back angle on the hoods of about 45 degrees. So what happens with a bar too high is your upper body fights your lower body for power which puts compression in your arms and traps which leads to upper back and neck pain for many. This is why so call comfort bikes turn out to be the opposite of comfort if you start riding a road bike like you should which is relatively fast...or competing with your friends. When pushing hard on the pedals there shouldn't be that much weight on your arms if the bar is in the right position which frees up the neck.

Hope that gives you food for thought. Neck pain for those just getting used to a road bike is very common and easy corrected with the proper technique and fit adjustment on the bike.

ericm979

Make sure that there's no reason for you to have to crane your neck more than you have to. I.e a helmet visor or glasses that obscure your upward vision.

You may still have problems even without those mechanical issues. I did when I came back to cycling. I did wrestler's bridges to build up my neck muscles and my neck doesn't get tired any more.

Also, if you are tensing up your arms and shoulders it can make your neck hurt. If you can't flap your elbows then you need to relax.

Carbon Unit

I had the same problem when I started cycling. In my case it was because the bars were to low and I needed to raise them up. My solution was a little on the expensive side, but I sold the frame and bought a frame with a taller head tube. It solved the problem. However, there are cheaper ways of solving the problem.

Look at getting a bike fit. This will tell you if the bike is dialed in for you then follow their advice. If they tell you they tell you the bars are too low, you have a few options. One, change the stem. If the stem will not solve the problem and the fit should tell you. Look at getting a steer tube extender. I have attached a link.

https://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?Item=100040974

msu2001la

You are not alone. Lots of riders have varying degrees of neck and back issues, some of which can be solved with a proper fitting. It can be worse for new riders.

I would start by getting fitted at your local bike shop and see if that makes a difference. You may find that something as simple as a new stem, or adjusting the seat a bit makes a huge difference.

tuxbailey

^^^^

+1

Fitting is important. For the longest time I have a hard time keeping my head upright. it turns out that my bike's TT + bar was too long for me. With a different stem (higher rise) + shorter reach bars I can keep my head upright without straining my neck. it makes a lot of difference.

johnny99

Neck pain is often caused by poor posture on the bike or poor core fitness. You should be supporting most of your upper body weight with your core muscles, not your arms and shoulders.

nycphotography

Exactly this.

My bike is set up aggressively with a lot of drop. When I'm in shape, it's great. When I'm not (like now, early season, little fitness, little core strength) it's killing me. Every ride my neck and upper back hurt... but every ride they hurt less than the last ride, and eventually I'll have my neck strength back where it should be.

If your neck doesn't get strong enough to stop hurting in 6 to 8 weeks, consider that your bike may not be fitted / adjusted appropriately for your level of fitness.

Carbon Unit

That may be true in many cases but not in mine. My chiropractor probably wouldn't want me to ride a bike because of my Scoliosis which will be a problem for the rest of my life. It causes pinched nerves in my neck and back. I need to maintain a good posture on the bike which for me means a straight back and neck. In order to do this, I need the bars at the same level or a little higher than the saddle which means a tall head tube.

hhnngg1

You're a new rider (road riding, at least).

You are EXPECTED to have neck pain if you're pushing yourself, which is what it sounds like what you're doing.

It will go away, but then you'll probably get stronger, ride longer, and get other sorts of pains like back pain, etc. It's an endless cycle.

Don't listen to folks who say you should feel completely fine your first time out and every time after. Even with a perfect bike fit, it's a new position and it'll cause new stress on your neck.

If you're getting persistent pain or worsening pain even with easing up on the volume, it's more worrisome for a poor fit. Even then, you can usually adapt - although I'm not recommending you adapt through a poor fit.

rollin

Some good advice above.

Ok, this may sound dumb but it completely changed riding a road bike for my wife.

Do you wear a helmet? if yes does it have a visor? if yes then please take it off. The extra couple of cm that she had to raise her head to see the road clearly was making her neck sore.

clink83

I might as well point out that flat feet don't mean you can't run or work out. Don't let that stop you. I'm 6'4 and have flat feet, and have very few issues running that aren't self caused.

bwstewar

what kind of shoes do you wear while running? do you have inserts? i've tried running but i stop before i run out of breath because of the pain in my feet

bwstewar

thanks for all the feedback everyone!

P51

Good thread, and timely. I'm new and having neck issues also. I'm old and out of shape, so I'm thinking my posture and neck strength are not what they should be. I'm trying to ride through it for a few more weeks before I worry about bike fit.

clink83

The best thing you can do is go to a good running shop, and have them help you find a shoe thats right for you. I am running in some orthotics right now, but I normally don't. How you run is just as important too, if you're a big clydsdale and slamming your heels into the ground it's going to hurt.

catonec 

HEY, you go to UVM? Im in burlington also, down off north ave. we should hook up if you want a ride partner. evilkingbogart@yahoo.com
chris.

bwstewar

i could definitely use a riding partner. but i gotta say, i'm no pro yet.. i checked out your builds.. pretty intense. i just got into cycling and got a trek 1.1 so i wouldn't want to hold you back. where do you usually ride? spear st bike path?

catonec 

im right on the bike path by leddy beach. im not in school anymore, almost 40 you probably wont hold me back. My longer loop is 32 miles through mallets bay past the spanked puppy up to suzi willson rd and back, I average about 17 solo and take a short break halfway. Only problem is I work a 12 hour overnight shift so I can only ride sun mon tues. the weathers just about ready to break, the path isnt clear and theres alot of grit and crap on the roads still. I havent been out yet but im gonna try tommarow. email me sometime and well try to set something up.