ENEMY

So I've been thinking this would go away the more I ride and my body adjusts but it hasn't.

While riding last night it was the worst, so stiff. I did about 21 miles. Mostly climbing and descending. Well the pain eventually got so bad that I couldn't even look behind me for cars.

What could be the cause. My saddle is the correct height, could it be my bars or stem?

musicmaster

You aren't locking your arms, are you?

My shoulders and neck killed the first few rides. Then someone said that I was locking my arms straight out. Now I'm slightly bent and all pain went away!

JustinHorne

Thanks to my fitter, I found that my stem was too low (when the seat was properly adjusted.) Because of this, my arms were pretty far stretched out, and my neck was tight from having to basically be looking up all the time. Higher stem = looser neck = less pain.

kandyredcoi

i was going to come in here to say..."check your fit"

it sure made a heck of a difference when i got mine done right!

happy riding

dstrong 

I've had a sore neck over the last week which I attribute to two things:

• Raised my saddle 1-2 cm two weeks ago
• Rode a new route as a ride leader and was less relaxed

The result was extreme stiffness the next day and stiff for almost a week afterwards.

I've left my saddle where it is for now and did 45 miles this past Saturday, on a familiar route where I could keep my head down more and look ahead over the tops of my glasses.

While I don't have a problem with locked elbows, I do have to frequently remind myself to relax/drop my shoulders.

Finally, I had a deep tissue massage this past Saturday night that pretty much freed everything back up.

LowCel 

If you are free this evening myself and another member from here are riding from UC at 5:00ish. Come on out and we will have a look and see if anything looks out of whack as far as your fit goes.

coasting 

sounds to me like your handlebars are too low and too short. i had a similar problem when i firt built my bike. the first ride after it was built, i was craning my neck up so much i must have pinched a nerve or something and my jaw was locked. the shoulder pain was resolved when i got a longer stem so my weight wasn't so much over my hands.

experiment a bit with the position and then if it is stem length, then go get a longer one. Your saddle is in the correct position so you shouldn't change the saddle fore aft just to change the reach, but you could do it just for a short while so you can feel if the longer reach makes the shoulder feel better or not. make sure to mark the saddle rail so you can put it back to its current position and if your knee hurts stop the experiment and put it to its original position.

dasgib

I've struggled with this for a while. Some ideas:

1. as has been said, check your bars, height and reach.

2. stretch out your neck and shoulders EARLY in the ride, a couple of times.

3. on harder rides, actively practice shoulder and trap relaxation.

4. Sounds goofy, but - buy glasses with no top frame - this has done wonders for me, not having to crane my head up that extra little bit to see under the frames.

pmt

You could also have handlebars that are too narrow. If you have 42s, you might need 44 or 46cm bars.

TnBama

Timely thread for me- lately my shoulders and triceps have been more achey than my legs. Stretching my shoulders back and down has helped a lot.

DMartinTX

I'm fighting this problem right now. I never had neck problems when I was younger, but since I was about 25 I've been having neck pain on a road bike. I've been wondering if it's from a past motorcycle wreck neck injury. I don't have as much problem on a group ride when I'm keeping an eye on the bike in front of me rather than a solo ride where I'm looking farther down the road.

I bought some Oakley glasses to replace my Ray Bans thinking it was lower top of the frame and this has helped a little but hasn't solved it. My bars are about 6cm lower than my saddle so I'm thinking of changing my 7° stem for 17° stem to raise me up but I don't want it feel to like a cruiser but I may have no choice.

Stretching my neck before a ride helps during the early part of the ride, but later on it comes back. The pain is so bad I can't even stretch while I'm riding. I've got to figure something out or may have to go back to sitting on the couch

DMartinTX

I put a 17° stem on in place of the 7°. It didn't eliminate the neck pain, but it cut it in half.

lpolliard

Can you lift your hands off the bars comfortably while riding? Too much pressure on your hands, shoulders, neck. If not you need to move your seat BACK to balance out your weight more evenly over your seat. Yes, move it back. You may have to adjust your seat height a little to accommodate and you may have to shorten your stem if your reach is to great and/or raise the stem if your core is not sufficiently strong and you lack flexibility.

mvnsnd

In addition to all the advice above, try to relax your shoulders when you ride. A lot of people tense up in the shoulders and have to remember to relax them while riding.