Hey,

Im new to cycling, having stopped XC skiing 1 year ago and I got my new bike (BMC sl01) 10 days ago now. Im in the process of building my base miles up 350 so far and loving every minute:-). I was just starting to get settled on my bike with my position, my initial back pain has gone and the cobwebs from the year off training. But now Im getting neck pain?? is this the norm?? does this go away also after awhile or not?? Does anybody have any advice on this?? should I lay off for a few days or cycle through the pain until it goes.

Thanks
John

Rest when you need too John.

Any neck injuries?

No never had any neck injuries, its a muscular pain, Im stretching afterwards and doing core strength. I don't feel like i need to rest either my resting HR is good/normal and my legs feel fine. The pain is gone in the morning and back after 1 hour on the bike.

John

I started riding at age 65, now 68 with 30,000 miles, never had neck pain.

Did you get fitted to your bike?

Yeah I was fitted:-(

I would see a doctor. Just to make sure you are OK to Ride.

I will give myself a deadline and if it no better then i will. Thanks for the advice

John

I'd check the fit again. Is the neck pain lower inbetween the shoulders or higher?

Yeah I should have mentioned it the lower neck and goes through to my shoulder blades, Im more concerned about the neck. It feels (apart from very sore) like my head is far to heavy, does that make sense?

Thanks

Sometimes fitters think they should tell you how you should ride. Do you have a significant drop between the seat and the handlebars?

Why did you stop XC skiing btw?

Perhaps you need a more upright position to start with on the bike? You can get riser stems that will lift up the bars.

The bike may "fit" you perfectly, but be unsuitable because it is too agressive (ie. you need to bend down to low to the bars, and bend you neck to look forwards). A riser stem would keep the same correct fit on the bike, but lift up your torso, allowing your head to be more on top of your shoulders and not craning upwards.

Are you able to comfortably get into the drops now? If you can't comfortably ride a ways in the drops, then a riser would probably be good.

The peak of the hoods are pretty much level with the top of the seat, I would say a max of 2 inch at the lowest part of the bar(not drop).

I was actually a Biathlete but to keep things simple I say XC. But with your Rossi thing at the end of your post you must know what Biathlon is. I stopped for lots of reasons but mainly because I stopped loving it and then it gets hard to get motivated to train each day, it really takes over your life and I was not able to do it any more. And I always dreamed of cycling lol:-)

I feel good in the drops and get there easy, I don't think its an aggressive fit it certainly doesn't look that way. If i was to raise the stem/bar then would I get used to it and be able to drop again? I have aspirations to race so the comfort fit would not be much good for that.

Thanks Tallmantim

We LOVE XC skiing here in MN, but there is quite a bit of biathlon going on too. We had a couple good prospects come up last season in biathlon. Actually this year one of my clients made the US Olympic team in XC.

It sounds like your neck is tired from holding up the helmet. That'll get better on its own but you can do wrestlers bridges to strengthen the neck muscles.

Yeah its a cool sport just not for me full time anymore, I much prefer it to Alpine. Its great for the lungs too:-). Even after a year away from any training I got on my road bike and felt not great but better than I thought I would. Are you a Rossi rep? The US Biathlon team has come on so much in the past 5-7 years its unreal so Biathlon must be a growing sport. Its the most watched(tv) sport in Germany behind F1(racing) so its massive here.

I have just looked up the wrestling bridge I have never heard of it before, It looks like it could be very useful although risky:-). I will for sure introduce some reps into my core workout.

thanks for the tip

How many hours are you away from home riding your bike and are you married?

If the bike is too bent over, raising the stem would allow you to normally hold yourself up higher with a more straight neck - you could then move down to the drops regularly which would strengthen your neck and get it used to the position. When it no longer bothered you, you could go back to the other stem (or even remove some more spacers as well!) to get a more aggressive riding pose.

Personally, I have found yoga good for building neck strength - I can ride in the drops all day now whereas in the past I could only do it for 10 minutes or so before feeling some pain/strain.

I've always had neck pain while riding. It will not strengthen over time just by riding. In my case it is the muscles between the scapula and the base of the neck that are weak. There is a fancy machine that will work this muscle, but I use a basic cable machine to work the muscles around the scapula. I've gotten no benefit from stretching and passive exercises. The medical pros couldn't get to the bottom of this, but I stumbled on the solution while rehabbing another injury. Good luck!

Many new riders have this issue when they are just starting to build miles. It is very common. Your bike fit and position are probably fine. The neck pain almost always goes away just from riding. If you are getting neck pain after only an hour, I'd say take 3 days off the bike and try it again. Try taking ibuprofen during this rest period, but not while riding. Do you have a light helmet?

I started ridding a road bike about a month ago after being on a mountain bike my whole life. The different posture gave me neck pain for a couple weeks. But after fighting through it and commuting every day to work (only about 10km) I now have no neck pain. I would suggest just to push through the pain unless its excruciating, in which case go see a doctor.