Bike setup

[Sloggy]

Hi all 

I have both a road bike and a mtb 

On my mtb I am totally comfortable. Long rides no problem. When i ride my road bike my shoulders (esp blades) get so sore

I know bike setup is an option, I have had one on my old bike and and tried to replicate. Here is the question the handlebars on my mtb are 750 wide. My road bike is 400cm should I not try first wider roads road handlebars like 440cm . Anyone fixed there sore shoulders with wider road handlebars 

[bertusras]

Yeah no I can see you'll have real issues with 4m wide handlebars ????

Kidding. It could also be a saddle height to bar height issue?

400mm bars seem quite narrow, but again it should be taken in relation to your actual shoulder width.

Could also just be a fitness issue that you're not used to riding in a more forward and down position.

This is a good resource to get you in the ballpark.

[Barry]

5 minutes ago, bertusras said:

Yeah no I can see you'll have real issues with 4m wide handlebars ????

Kidding. It could also be a saddle height to bar height issue?

400mm bars seem quite narrow, but again it should be taken in relation to your actual shoulder width.

Could also just be a fitness issue that you're not used to riding in a more forward and down position.

This is a good resource to get you in the ballpark.

I have seen debates on other forums with the pro riders who mesure as a 44cm and ride 38cm. Does this cause them discomfort? Do they just ride through the pain? Is width an issue when setting up or personal choice?

[Eldron]

+1 for what Bertus said. Your shoulder problems are more likely caused by drop and length than bar width. As bertus said the bars should be roughly matched to your skeletal shoulder width.

MTB is a more upright & shorter fit than road.

Before spending money work on your flexibility.

If that doesn't help get a bike fit.

 

[Mark James]

6 minutes ago, Eldron said:

MTB is a more upright & shorter fit than road.

Before spending money work on your flexibility.

If that doesn't help get a bike fit.

Totes agree! 

Work on your flexibility, but a bike fit is ALWAYS a good idea 

[100Tours]

From my experience upper back pain between your shoulder blades is just as likely to be reach (i.e. stem) as it is bar width, although I'd also say that 40cm bars are quite narrow and that may obviously be contributing. 

44cm is basically 2 sizes larger on your bars (i.e. if 40cm is 'small', then 42cm is medium and 44cm is large). That may also be too much of a change.

I managed to fix shoulder issues on one bike by going from a 44cm bar to 42cm, and from a 100mm stem to a 70, and then some saddle adjustments too.

Edited June 20, 2021 by 100Tours

[The Ouzo]

A week or 2 back I watched a youtube clip from a bike fitter where he mentioned that most upper back pain (neck and shoulders) comes from putting to much weight on your hands. And most of the time this is not cockpit related but rather saddle position related.

Obviously if your cockpit is way out it will cause issues, but he recommended starting at the back, get the saddle height and fore/aft correct first.

 

My advise, get a bike fit done. Its cheaper than experimenting with new bars and stems etc.

[DieselnDust]

as mentioned previously, sore hands, neck and shoulders s indicative of too much weight on yourhands which means the bars is too low  and or too far away (reach is too long).

easy to solve since you have a baseline with your MTB. Measure the distance from the widest part of the saddle to the centre of the grips where you place your hands most regularly. Take this measurement and compare it to the measurement from the widest part of the saddle on your road bike to the centre of the top of the brake hoods of your road bike. These measurements should be roughly similar i.e. within 1cm of each other.

The point of measurement from the saddle is on the outside of the saddle at the widest point.

If the road bike is similar and within that 1cm tolerance then its likely the saddle to bar drop is too much

 

no bike fit needed at this stage unless you are picking up other anatomical issues and injuries

[Steady Spin]

Now I'm starting to think that 35mm stem is needed. 

Neck and shoulder blades area gets bit sore on harder rides around 30 to 35km where I'm jumping a lot and riding a lot of tight technical. On easier rides at 50km it's a lot better. 

[DieselnDust]

13 minutes ago, Steady Spin said:

Now I'm starting to think that 35mm stem is needed. 

Neck and shoulder blades area gets bit sore on harder rides around 30 to 35km where I'm jumping a lot and riding a lot of tight technical. On easier rides at 50km it's a lot better. 

could be that the stem is too long or too low. sound like a reach issue or just a general core strength problem

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by DieselnDust

[TNT1]

20 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

 

If the road bike is similar and within that 1cm tolerance then its likely the saddle to bar drop is too much

 

 

It's never too much for a road bike.

[Steady Spin]

43 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

could be that the stem is too long or too low. sound like a reach issue or just a general core strength problem

 

I did have the old core go to flab again in the last few months. I must admit that in December the sore neck and blades were ok. 

Then came issues with shoulder pain and numb pinky on my left hand and now the neck again. 

Time to slim down again. 

 

[_David_]

In my experience not all bike setups are equal.

If you decide to get one done I can recommend the guys at https://www.cyclefit.co.za/ worth every penny in my opinion.

[Eldron]

Bottom line in all of this is "get a bike fit".

Much as everyone has given specific advice - the source of your pain could be any of 3 or 4 areas.

A good bike fitter will have a look at your total position and make sure everything works as an integrated unit.

Once you start looking at individual components it becomes a tail chasing exercise...for example I've noticed a trend among my customers to solve hand pain by moving their saddle forward - it kinda makes sense - shortening the reach improves back angle. Problem is that it also shifts your weight forward which increases the weight on your hands....leading to more hand pain ????

Also - the bike fit to bike component price ratio in SA is really good. In most of Europe the ratio is way higher.

In my opinion a bike fit is the best value for money bike upgrade available.

[TNT1]

39 minutes ago, Eldron said:

Bottom line in all of this is "get a bike fit".

Much as everyone has given specific advice - the source of your pain could be any of 3 or 4 areas.

A good bike fitter will have a look at your total position and make sure everything works as an integrated unit.

Once you start looking at individual components it becomes a tail chasing exercise...for example I've noticed a trend among my customers to solve hand pain by moving their saddle forward - it kinda makes sense - shortening the reach improves back angle. Problem is that it also shifts your weight forward which increases the weight on your hands....leading to more hand pain ????

Also - the bike fit to bike component price ratio in SA is really good. In most of Europe the ratio is way higher.

In my opinion a bike fit is the best value for money bike upgrade available.

Seeing as you are more involved in this, would there be a difference in bike setup for a person to generate their most efficient power vs one for them to be optimally comfortable?

[The Ouzo]

5 minutes ago, TNT1 said:

Seeing as you are more involved in this, would there be a difference in bike setup for a person to generate their most efficient power vs one for them to be optimally comfortable?

my guess would be yes, but the average weekend warrior probably cant comfortably hold the "most efficient power" setup for to long and thus "optimal comfort" would trump it on long rides.