Neck pain from mountain biking

[breck]

Greetings,
I am a novice mountain biker messing about on snow mobile trails and access roads. Using an entry level Trek Mamba with hard tail, front shocks, large frame. I am 6' 2", 59 years old, 205 lbs, reasonable fitness.
No fit has been done for me and the bike.
My neck has been getting sore like I slept wrong and just has a crick that can hurt pretty badly in various dimensions.
My guess is that the angle of constantly looking up to see down trail from a hunched position is the source of the trouble.
Any pointers on how to reduce this strain? So far I am trying:

• Load the handle bars less
• Keep my back straight instead of hunching

Is this a matter of sorting things out with time? I have been at this for 2 months with periods of daily rides 20 min to 1 hr (10 in a row) with down times of a week or more.

Is it time to go see a doc?

thanks

Breck

 

[skibob]

Greetings,
I am a novice mountain biker messing about on snow mobile trails and access roads. Using an entry level Trek Mamba with hard tail, front shocks, large frame. I am 6' 2", 59 years old, 205 lbs, reasonable fitness.
No fit has been done for me and the bike.
My neck has been getting sore like I slept wrong and just has a crick that can hurt pretty badly in various dimensions.
My guess is that the angle of constantly looking up to see down trail from a hunched position is the source of the trouble.
Any pointers on how to reduce this strain? So far I am trying:

• Load the handle bars less
• Keep my back straight instead of hunching

Is this a matter of sorting things out with time? I have been at this for 2 months with periods of daily rides 20 min to 1 hr (10 in a row) with down times of a week or more.

Is it time to go see a doc?

thanks

Breck

I get this sometimes from riding a road bike if I am looking too far ahead. obviously you have to look ahead. But on a flatbar it might mean the bike is too long for you. Try sliding the seat all the way forward on the rails and see if this helps. maybe loosen the stem and rotate the bars back towards you a bit. That might throw other things out of whack so it might not be a great solution, but it will tell you if that is the problem. If yes, you can look into a shorter stem, a new bike, a professional fit, etc. from there. I always take a 3pt allen wrench with me and on a new bike I'll tweak these things and more on a first few rides.

 

[scott43]

Go see a good bike shop first. In ten seconds they'll be able to tell if your fit is close or not. After getting a decent fit, look at your posture on the bike. Again a shop can get you there pretty quickly. Many people hunch their shoulders when riding. Flatten your back, shoulders back, head up. Fit starts with saddle height, then saddle fore/aft, then stem length, then stem height. Big changes anywhere can trickle down to the others. I'd be willing to bet that some minor fit and posture adjustments will correct your issue.

Back in the day I could set saddle height and fore/aft by eye most of the time. Stem length/height was more feel based. A good shop and fit can't be underestimated.

 

[wooglin]

^ This. Get a fit.

 

[firebanex]

It's more likely that you need to check with someone on the fit of the bike. A slightly shorter stem with a set of bars with some rise to them may be the quick fix to try.

Or you could use this as an excuse to get a new bike. Cause that's a logical way to deal with it

 

[breck]

Thanks all, will get a fit.
As for

Or you could use this as an excuse to get a new bike. Cause that's a logical way to deal with it

that is my entire basis for not getting into mountain biking years ago....My ski habit is out of hand--see

https://www.skitalk.com/threads/yik...nsive-inexpensive-wax-source-requested.28296/

 

[cantunamunch]

Agreed with all the above...

Out of curiosity, do you weight train?

There is a thing where people who weight train need to consciously cue themselves to loosen up on the bike, and it makes everything more painful even with the right fit.

 

[breck]

Agreed with all the above...

Out of curiosity, do you weight train?

There is a thing where people who weight train need to consciously cue themselves to loosen up on the bike, and it makes everything more painful even with the right fit.

No weight training but I'd like to. But thinking about being looser on the bike makes sense.

 

[martyg]

First of all, screwing with seat position is a no-no. Everything radiates from the most efficient seat height, fore / aft position, tilt, and saddle width. Every other aspect of bike fit is built on that "truth".

Second, there are people who fit bikes, and their are bike fitters. Contact Retul in Boulder. The guy who created Retul mans that facility (in partnership with Specialized - that is their innvoation center where much of the research on biomechanics takes place). He has done well over 10,000 bike fits, and fits all the Specialized athletes. Ask him for a recommendation in your area. Or just get on a plane and see Todd Carver in Boulder.

Third, neck issues are endemic to cycling. At this stage of your riding it is probably a matter of building a base and adapting. For pro cyclists, they are plagued with neck issues. Cycling does a lot of wonderful things. However performing for hours in the sagittal plane, with your torso supinated, really wrecks a lot of other functionality.

 

[Rod9301]

I would look into strengthening your neck muscles.

I started getting neck pain a couple of years ago from mountain biking and from doing unsupported crunches.

A couple of weeks of neck strengthening exercises(with rubber bands) and the pain went away completely. Every 6 months it comes back, but it only takes a couple of days of strengthening and it goes away

 

[slow-line-fast]

Training intensity and sequence?

Have you recently discovered this sport, found it awesome, and done it a little too intensively without giving your body a chance to catch up? (Asks someone who has never done this.)

 

[cantunamunch]

Have you recently discovered this sport, found it awesome, and done it a little too intensively without giving your body a chance to catch up? (Asks someone who has never done this.)

I could see that if he was riding for 2 hours+ each day of consecutive days, but rides of 20min - 1hr duration simply shouldn't cause that sort of problem on a fitted bike. No matter how hard he rides.

It's almost a tautology, since at least part of the definition of a well-fitted bike is 'not causing problems that would preclude working to one's aerobic and strength limits'

 

[Wilhelmson]

Can’t rule out other things either. Like you slept wrong, went camping, aerated the lawn, and of course fell on the bike. Then a little tweak I the neck is aggravated by a new activity and muscles that aren’t accustomed to those movements. Like a skier that gets lower back pain in moguls.

 

[breck]

Thanks all for the feedback.

I remain unfitted, and actually antagonisticly fitted with my wife's medium Trek Manta that I have ridden for 3 sessions of increasing intensity over 3 days to an hour ride in the end. My bike was being serviced.

My neck is ok currently, a little sore, I have a history of neck pain I so should go ahead and see a doc, guessing arthritis like everywhere else on me. All nicely handled with movement and exercise so far which I am grateful for.

Third, neck issues are endemic to cycling. At this stage of your riding it is probably a matter of building a base and adapting. For pro cyclists, they are plagued with neck issues. Cycling does a lot of wonderful things. However performing for hours in the sagittal plane, with your torso supinated, really wrecks a lot of other functionality.

This is what I am struck with, the riding position on my bike is just awful from a back/neck perspective. I am wanting ape hangers at this point,

Thoughts?

 

[scott43]

Don't do it. Then you get piles. Too much weight on your ass. Hang in there, do the fit, work on your flexibility and strength in your neck, back and hips, and watch posture.

 

[breck]

Can’t rule out other things either. Like you slept wrong, went camping, aerated the lawn, and of course fell on the bike. Then a little tweak I the neck is aggravated by a new activity and muscles that aren’t accustomed to those movements. Like a skier that gets lower back pain in moguls.

This is hypothesis 1, but I thought it worth annoying the intertubes with my neck crick.

I wouldn't have thought to post except for the just awful basic feel of being on the bike. I am super heavy on my hands which I can dial back with attention and I really love the fact that I can run the heart hard without annoying my knees and the balance and engagement doing so is super good.

It sort of feels like I am wrong on the bike, see ape hanger comments above. I don't need to be fast, aerodynamic and can move center of mass/gravity standing on the pedals.

I understand, get a fit, but I don't think I am really in the ball park of what works on an equipment level. +- 1 inch on any dimension on the bike doesn't seem like it will sort it out.

Shop that is sorting my bike said they were "old school" and they just eyeball it.

Whining off.

The biking has been awesome, just trying to avoid getting hurt which at 59 has consequences that linger.

Again, appreciate the comments.

 

[breck]

Don't do it. Then you get piles. Too much weight on your ass. Hang in there, do the fit, work on your flexibility and strength in your neck, back and hips, and watch posture.

Thanks, that is a good perspective but I warn all that I ski telemark so I am suspect in all endeavors.

I'll certainly get a good fit, just gotta find a source--this is like boot fitters, black art stuff honestly.

Anyone got a good fit shop in New York City or in the Catskills NY?

Again thanks all.

 

[skibob]

Thanks all for the feedback.

I remain unfitted, and actually antagonisticly fitted with my wife's medium Trek Manta that I have ridden for 3 sessions of increasing intensity over 3 days to an hour ride in the end. My bike was being serviced.

My neck is ok currently, a little sore, I have a history of neck pain I so should go ahead and see a doc, guessing arthritis like everywhere else on me. All nicely handled with movement and exercise so far which I am grateful for.



This is what I am struck with, the riding position on my bike is just awful from a back/neck perspective. I am wanting ape hangers at this point,

Thoughts?

I assume you are joking about the ape hangers. But riser bars (much, much less than that) are super cheap on ebay. And flatbars are a breeze to changeover.

 

[cantunamunch]

I understand, get a fit, but I don't think I am really in the ball park of what works on an equipment level. +- 1 inch on any dimension on the bike doesn't seem like it will sort it out.

If it provides any comfort (sorry), a lot of us think +/- 1 inch is huge, positively enormous and positively obsess over changes down to below 1/4"

 

[scott43]

If it provides any comfort (sorry), a lot of us think +/- 1 inch is huge, positively enormous and positively obsess over changes down to below 1/4"

20mm can feel like two completely different bikes.. Especially in top tube.