Neck Pain from riding

[I Want Sachs?]

Does anyone else here suffer from neck pain from riding? I find it hard to keep looking ahead in the drop and sometimes even on the brifters. I have tried a lighter helmet which helps a little, but the neck soreness still occurs after about 2 hours of riding. How can I prevent it? Any tips?

[regularguy412]

Try dropping your head forward a few degrees and then looking out the 'top' part of your glasses. This will let the muscles in the back of your neck stretch a bit. Also, make a conscious effort, every few miles, to pull your shoulders down from your ears. Some riders tend to let their shoulders creep up (tense up) the longer they ride. A tense trapezius muscle can contribute to neck pain.

Mike in AR

[Sandy]

Does anyone else here suffer from neck pain from riding? I find it hard to keep looking ahead in the drop and sometimes even on the brifters. I have tried a lighter helmet which helps a little, but the neck soreness still occurs after about 2 hours of riding. How can I prevent it? Any tips?

Yep. Go to a fitter, with your bike and your shoes, dressed as if you are going to ride. I would think that the helmet is almost meaningless in the equation as most are reasonably light. I would bet it has much more to do with fit on the bike. Possibly too much drop from seat to handlebar, too stretched out of a stretched position which places your arms in a locked position transmitting road shock up your arms into your neck or some fit issue of those types. I would guess that perhaps the front end of your bike is too low.

I say the above knowing little about fit, but it makes sense to me.


Somewhat fit, sometimes having a fit, and sometimes getting fit,


Simple Sandy

[Blue Jays]

Elbows should be bent so impacts are not transmitted up the fork and into the upper-body directly.
Bending the elbows will simultaneously provide better aerodynamics by lowering the chest, and will only be comfortable if abdominal muscles are sufficiently conditioned to support the upper-body.

[I Want Sachs?]

The bike is custom fitted Seven which has worked great, without back pain, knee pain etc. Only nagging issues are the neck soreness from Looking up and slight carpal tunnel syndrome on my right wrist, which is more work/computer related than from riding, but riding does contribute to some worsening.

The reason I mentioned helmet is because the soreness increases when I put lights on the helmet for night riding.

My saddle to handlebar drop was about 3cm, but I have raised the stem by adding 9 degrees from 6 up to now 15 rise, and also added a 5mm spacer, but does not have anymore room to add due to the steerer being cut at this length. So now the drop is about 1.5cm. Perhaps I will need a new fork if I need more rise. However, I am wondering how does someone else do it with handlebar drop of greater magnitude than I do. Thanks.

[onekgguy]

Does anyone else here suffer from neck pain from riding? I find it hard to keep looking ahead in the drop and sometimes even on the brifters. I have tried a lighter helmet which helps a little, but the neck soreness still occurs after about 2 hours of riding. How can I prevent it? Any tips?

Has your bike setup changed? Are you riding more than you normally ride? Higher than normal stress in your life?

I occasionally get neck pain after a few hours and I find that by sitting up a bit and dropping my neck forward to stretch every half hour or so helps.

Evaluating your position on the bike sounds like a good place to begin looking.

Kevin g

[Simon Q]

In addition to the very good suggestions above, you could also look at unloading the front end by putting your saddle back a bit. Assuming that you don't have too much reach (you should try a shorter stem if unsure) 1.5 cm is not a very aggressive front end at all so it may be that too much of your weight is forward.

Check out the cyclingnews.com Q&A archives for Steve Hogg's discussion of the balance test. You may even find you can ride comfortably with more drop if you unload the hands.

Good luck.

[Sandy]

In addition to the very good suggestions above, you could also look at unloading the front end by putting your saddle back a bit. Assuming that you don't have too much reach (you should try a shorter stem if unsure) 1.5 cm is not a very aggressive front end at all so it may be that too much of your weight is forward.

Check out the cyclingnews.com Q&A archives for Steve Hogg's discussion of the balance test. You may even find you can ride comfortably with more drop if you unload the hands.

Good luck.

A problem with that is by putting the saddle back you are changing the relationship of your feet to the pedals (KOP) and assumingly the "optimal" KOP was determined at the fitting for the Seven bicycle, ot at least is where it works well. I would think that handlebar and/or stem changes might be a better approach as that would not affect the KOP.

Once again, my comments are based on what makes sense to me, and no real knowledge about fit.


Sandy

[palincss]

Does anyone else here suffer from neck pain from riding? I find it hard to keep looking ahead in the drop and sometimes even on the brifters. I have tried a lighter helmet which helps a little, but the neck soreness still occurs after about 2 hours of riding. How can I prevent it? Any tips?

I found raising the handlebars to saddle height solved those problems for me. Prior to that time, by mile 75 on a century I'd feel as though I had a railroad spike nailed into the back of my neck.

[Ray]

I found raising the handlebars to saddle height solved those problems for me. Prior to that time, by mile 75 on a century I'd feel as though I had a railroad spike nailed into the back of my neck.
Handlebar height is one part of it, but we can't talk about height without talking about reach also. If your handlebars are located somewhere that causes you too stretch too far to reach them, pain can result. That can be from being too low and/or too far forward. Either or both can put your back and neck in a position you can't sustain. I've had bikes with the bars level with the saddle that weren't comfortable and bikes with bars three inches below the saddle that weren't comfortable and bikes with the same amount of drop that were. Based on how much reach.

And, obviously, where your butt is and your overall weight distribution between saddle, pedals, and bars is a huge part of it, but that's getting into a neighborhood that I can only observe from a distance.

-Ray

[toaster]

Another suggestion is to have your posture evaluated by a chiropractor or PT. Many people today have a forward head posture from less than ideal daily lifestyle ergonomics and riding a bicycle may make this condition worse.

What I see most bicycle riders doing is riding with the shoulders elevated (shrugged) and the elbows nearly locked.

You should ride with your shoulder blades back and down, opening up your chest for breathing and this will help get your head positioned better and not craning forward and creating neck stress. It takes concious thought to develop correct posture habits on the bike, on your feet, or any time you are sitting in a chair. Then you can begin to enjoy the benefits of improved posture.

[Simon Q]

A problem with that is by putting the saddle back you are changing the relationship of your feet to the pedals (KOP) and assumingly the "optimal" KOP was determined at the fitting for the Seven bicycle, ot at least is where it works well. I would think that handlebar and/or stem changes might be a better approach as that would not affect the KOP.

Once again, my comments are based on what makes sense to me, and no real knowledge about fit.


Sandy
A very good point about relationship to pedals - any change has to work biodynamically. If a change makes you less comfy or slower then you shouldn't stick with it.

However, you assumes that the position that you are put in by a fitter is perfect. If with a moderate reach and 1.5 cm drop there is too much weight on the bars the saddle very likley isn't in the right position.

At the risk of opening a can of worms, don't assume that the fitter or framemaker can tell how you function on the bike from a short fit session. It is a starting point and if, based on how you feel, you need to try some things with the saddle you should have a go.

With the saddle in the right position you should have even recruitment of quads, hammies and glutes and be nicely balanced, with not too much weight on the legs. For most that will be behind KOPS.

The other very critical and often overlooked aspect of fit is the cleats. Try moving your cleats back a little and see if this gives you more balance. Moving the ball of my size 49 foot 13mm behind the spindle was the best single adjustement I have ever made.

Not saying that I have the answers - there are many fit theories but after being fitted KOPS/ball over spindle and having shoulder/neck pain and poor muscle recruitment fit has become a hobby or maybe even an obsession. I am now comfortable riding all day with an 8.5 cm drop and decent reach and importantly recruit the glutes much better for more power just through shifting the saddle and cleats back.

Can't hurt to try!

[Dave]

I don't think anybody mentioned the possibility of a fitness problem. Neck strengthening exercises may help. I ride with an agressive 9-10cm drop from the saddle to the bars and have enough reach to avoid knee to arm contact when my hands are in the hooks and my upper back is nearly horizontal. In the early season I get pain in my right shoulder - the result of neck muscles that aren't in shape. Neck strengthening exercises cure this problem. I clasp my hands behind my head, bend my neck forward, then apply resistance as I slowly return my neck to an upright position. I do 5-10 repitions, once or twice a day. The pain usualy goes away in a week or so. After that, I'm pain free for the rest of the season.

[Ken Robb]

I had this problem after being fit by a pro. He neglected to consider that I wear pretty strong prescription lenses which require me to look through the center of the lenses not the tops. He thought I looked perfect on the bike but the bars were so low that I had to hold my head all the was back against the "stops" in my neck to see more than 20 feet in front of me. Higher bars cured me.

FWIW, consider: do you want to consider the tops of the bars your "normal" position and the drops a place for occasional sprints or do you want to ride mostly in the drops and use the tops for occasional relaxation?

Which of these you choose will certainly affect where you set your bars.