mercedesjb

I am wanting to start riding again, but do suffer from a bad neck when leaning forward.
I have looked at touring type bikes with bars that can pivot upwards to give greater height at front - apollo towna and country. Also Giant sedona which is a mountian bike but with comfort features etc

Does anyone else suffer? and what would they recommend style and perhaps make?

roccobike

Yup! I've had 2 discs fused. My doctor gave me one strict order. He encourages bike riding, but "not in the Lance Armstrong position" as he calls it. That's Ok with me because I prefer to mountain bike. For local riding, I picked up a Trek 720 hybrid and ride upright.
If you want to stay with a road bike, I recommend you see a good Orthopedist, hook up with a good physical therapist, experiment with neck excercise, experiment with pain releif medication (the legal stuff of course) and different cycling positions. As an example, I find when I ride MUPs I have little or no pain providing I do arm rotations about every 2.5 miles. I like Advil if I find I get stiff or have some pain after a ride, and I have neck excercises authorized by a licenced therapist with my MD's approval. Hope this helps.

BlazingPedals

Didn't we just go through this in the "Upright riding position-gimpy necks-backs" thread?

steve13

i have similar problems, blamed all on a racing bike, but found it was mostly bad posture, allowing head to set forward of a straight over spine position, some age and maybe an injury too, went to chiro and then to PT, but a book called Treat you own neck by r mckenzie is very good, best exercise for me is simply one where you lay on the edge a flat surface with head hanging over edge and then look back with head extended as far to the rear as it will safely go...PT included this one and book includes it too, a friend also went to a PT who used this one to solve his major neck probs, i'd suggest you get book and speak to a good PT

i bought a custom bike, much more upright but still a solid road bike experience, $$$ but maybe worth it for me, although i find that my neck is worse after no riding but many hrs in front of pc or in bed watching tv, than it is after a good ride. i read another suggestion that said to be in the riding position and then to set head position as if someone had grabbed your hair at the back of your head and pulled it back, also when i was being fitted for my new bike, the fitter pointed out that i needed to have a flat back vs a humped one, achieved by extending your butt back on the saddle...all this has the desired effect of making it possible to see where you are going without bending your neck upward, which is the killer position for and old, back neck

sorry for rambling, but the point is that you may be ok with a more upright road bike and eiither PT or DIY PT with the book, 50-90% improvement for me

good luck

steve

phoebeisis

mercedesjb-I feel your pain-literally.Here is one solution-high rise bars-swan stem.It looks a bit odd,but works great on my gimpy neck.You can do essentially the same thing with MTB-comfort bikes.
I have had a very bad neck for 35 years,but an upright position has really helped.I also use a home cervical traction device( essentially a neck stretcher)-why 10 minutes helps for the other 23:50**********But it works.Luck,Charlie
PS A frame that is too big-tall will allow a lower seat position relative to handlebar position-a plus.I find that I can work around the downside of the too big-tall frame.
PPS-You get accustomed to the looks pretty quickly;you will get some strange looks!

Trsnrtr

Yes.

C200

I had a neck fusion four years ago that consisted of three levels. I have ridden hybrids until 2005. In the Fall of 2005 I bought a new Cannondale Synapse road bike. My surgeon told me that if I wanted to ride bicycles I had to have the handle bars above the seat. As you can see in the pictures the handle bars are above the seat. I had a carbon fork with an extra long steerer tube installed on the bike. I set on the bike and the lbs cut the tube to fit me. The bike also has a carbon seat post. This bike rides like a dream. Over one hundred miles so far without any neck problems. The handle bar to seat ratio is the same as I had on my hyrbrids. I did test ride an R700 Cannondale which had a stock setup. This was a horrible experience. After the ride my neck hurt and I had a very sharp pain between my shoulder blades. This was a very short ride. No more road bikes with the handle bars lower than the seat. I feel that if you get a bike that has the handle bars well above seat level that you will be on the right track. Look for an lbs that will work with you and try to meet your concerns

bkaapcke

Look at long wheel base recumbents. The upright sitting position eliminates neck problems. Sun EZ sport, EZ!, Rans Stratus of Tour Easy ought to do it. Stop riding in pain, go bent.

roccobike

I like your set up C200. That's a nice alternative to a hybrid.

C200

Thanks roccobike. This bike is really comfortable. I can't believe the difference between the Synapse and the C200. It almost feels like a carbon bike. I ride with a friend that has a Cannondale Sport Road and this friend tells me that I am much faster on the Synapse than the C200. The C200 was set up for the road with a 27 speed drive train and road wheels and tires. I do feel that the Cannondale climbs better than the Raleigh. The longest ride so far on the Cannondale has been just over 24 miles without any problems.