I am having problems setting up my bike. I read a few articles and used a trainer to try to find the right position but on the road after 30 miles my shoulders and upper arms are killing me. the joints at the top of my shoulders and my triceps are so painful that i have to stop. otherwise everything is fine, back, neck and knee ok. the only way to relieve the pain is to ride in a position where the angle between my forearm and upperarm is around 90 degrees when i have my hand on the brakes. do you what the main problem is? thank you for your help. 🙁
In article <[email hidden]>, la13.1ekxkm@no- mx.forums.cyclingforums.com says...
Quoted message said:
Hi
I am having problems setting up my bike. I read a few articles and used a trainer to try to find the right position but on the road after 30 miles my shoulders and upper arms are killing me. the joints at the top of my shoulders and my triceps are so painful that i have to stop. otherwise everything is fine, back, neck and knee ok. the only way to relieve the pain is to ride in a position where the angle between my forearm and upperarm is around 90 degrees when i have my hand on the brakes. do you what the main problem is? thank you for your help. 🙁
I am having problems setting up my bike. I read a few articles and used a trainer to try to find the right position but on the road after 30 miles my shoulders and upper arms are killing me.
Get someone else to check that your position is what you think it is. Assuming it is, the pain is probably from a combination of 2 things. Firstly you are simply not used to it and need a week or two to adjust. Secondly there may be a lot of tension in your shoulders and neck as you crane your head upwards to see where you're going. Make a conscious effort to relax this area, and ride with a slightly lowered head. Make sure you still have a good forward view of course; I'm not suggesting head down riding.
-- Dave...
Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. - Mark Twain
I am having problems setting up my bike. I read a few articles and used a trainer to try to find the right position but on the road after 30 miles my shoulders and upper arms are killing me.
Are you riding 30 miles with your hands on the hoods? When I rode a road bike I found that I had to keep shifting hand positions every few miles to prevent shoulder stresses.
thank you for your answers. Brian, I am riding with my hands on top of the brakes.. Dave, I think you are probably right. I normally use my mountain bike to commute to work and the position is different. I suppose that when I take the road bike I am just not used to it. I want to train for triathlon, as the bike leg is my weakest point along with the swimming and the run and followed this guy advice there.(ttp://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/bikefit.html). I can do the 26 miles on the aero bars without pain yet with my hands on the drops I can see my front hub which is not good according to cyclists. Shall I just forget all this aerobars nonsense.
thank you for your answers. Brian, I am riding with my hands on top of the brakes..
Yes, that's more or less the default position for riding distances on the flat. But you should definitely think about taking different positions from time to time, going down to the drops, or sitting upright with your hands on the flat parts of the bars. This shifting about helps to prevent a rigid grip, which is certainly what tended to give me sore shoulders.
Plus me arthritis of course, which you as presumably a mere stripling shouldn't have to worry about...;-)
I want to train for triathlon, as the bike leg is my weakest point along with the swimming and the run and followed this guy advice there.(ttp://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/bikefit.html). I can do the 26 miles on the aero bars without pain yet with my hands on the drops I can see my front hub which is not good according to cyclists. Shall I just forget all this aerobars nonsense.
No, for triathlon you need aero bars. However, riding on the aero bars is quite different from riding on the drops. For roadies who are just used to drops aero bars take a bit of getting used to.
Triathletes also set their bikes up a little differently from pure time triallists. They tend to have the saddle further forward. It's not necessarily the most efficient cycling position but is supposed to make it easier for your legs to transition to the run. Have you set your bike up for road or tri?
-- Dave...
Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. - Mark Twain
la13 <[email hidden]> wrote: : the joints at the top of my shoulders and my triceps are so painful : that i have to stop. otherwise everything is fine, back, neck and knee : ok.
At a guess, one or all of:
* bars too low * bars too far away * tense neck * tense shoulders
Arthur
-- Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt "Blogs are neither necessary nor sufficient for evil to triumph. They're just what we call an enabling technology" - Danny O'Brien
I want to train for triathlon, as the bike leg is my weakest point along with the swimming and the run and followed this guy advice there.(ttp://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/bikefit.html). I can do the 26 miles on the aero bars without pain yet with my hands on the drops I can see my front hub which is not good according to cyclists. Shall I just forget all this aerobars nonsense.
'Victories are not solutions.' ;; John Hume, Northern Irish politician, on Radio Scotland 1/2/95 ;; Nobel Peace Prize laureate 1998; few have deserved it so much
Simon Brooke [email hidden] opined the following...
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
No, for triathlon you need aero bars.
Why, please?
Because when you are competing in the confines of the UCI regs, you need _every_ possible advantage you can get. Besides, with aero bars you can make your bike really uncomfortable! ;-)
I think I really need to ride in different positions. I find riding with my hands on the drops very weird but may be it is just a question of getting used to it. I tried to set up the bike for tri as the saddle is quite forward. the nose of the saddle must be 2 cm (if not level) behind the bottom bracket axle. The distance nose of the saddle to bars is the size of my forearm minus an inch that's what I was told. Saddle height, at the 6 oclock position my leg is straight with my heel on the pedal. I think all these things are quite standard unless I was told something wrong. I will try to use a road bike to commute and see if things improve..
On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 16:35:04 GMT, Simon Brooke <[email hidden]>
Quoted message said:
in message <[email hidden]>, Dave Kahn ([email hidden]'😉 wrote:
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
No, for triathlon you need aero bars.
Why, please?
Because you go significantly faster with them than without. This is considered important by most competitors. You could argue that this doesn't justify the word "need". I suppose you don't really need them in the sense that you don't need a racing bike either. You can use a Raleigh Shopper if you want. I meant "need" in the sense of wanting to turn in your best possible time.
-- Dave...
Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. - Mark Twain
I am having problems setting up my bike. I read a few articles and used a trainer to try to find the right position but on the road after 30 miles my shoulders and upper arms are killing me.
Get someone else to check that your position is what you think it is. Assuming it is, the pain is probably from a combination of 2 things. Firstly you are simply not used to it and need a week or two to adjust. Secondly there may be a lot of tension in your shoulders and neck as you crane your head upwards to see where you're going. Make a conscious effort to relax this area, and ride with a slightly lowered head. Make sure you still have a good forward view of course; I'm not suggesting head down riding.
Push the chest out, too. Drops the neck low between the shoulders, rather than keeping the back higher than the shoulderblades, and avoids putting pressure on nerves. Apparently.
Jon Senior <jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
Simon Brooke [email hidden] opined the following...
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
No, for triathlon you need aero bars.
Why, please?
Because when you are competing in the confines of the UCI regs, you need _every_ possible advantage you can get. Besides, with aero bars you can make your bike really uncomfortable! ;-)
Are triathlons run under UCI regs, though, or do they play by their own separate rules given the inter-disciplinary nature of the sport?
: Are triathlons run under UCI regs, though, or do they play by their : own separate rules given the inter-disciplinary nature of the sport?
Strictly, their own regs, which are less restrictive than UCI regs, but still ban recumbents.
Arthur
-- Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt "Blogs are neither necessary nor sufficient for evil to triumph. They're just what we call an enabling technology" - Danny O'Brien
Flick through the letters pages at www.cyclingnews.com for the last few months. Setup questions are very popular and although they aren't talking about Tri in particular, you'll find plenty of things to try out.
la13 <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
I think I really need to ride in different positions. I find riding with my hands on the drops very weird but may be it is just a question of getting used to it. I tried to set up the bike for tri as the saddle is quite forward. the nose of the saddle must be 2 cm (if not level) behind the bottom bracket axle. The distance nose of the saddle to bars is the size of my forearm minus an inch that's what I was told. Saddle height, at the 6 oclock position my leg is straight with my heel on the pedal. I think all these things are quite standard unless I was told something wrong. I will try to use a road bike to commute and see if things improve..
