Persistent shoulders/neck pain after bike fit

[MongooseMan]

5 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

She will measure your sit-bone width, and then check the saddle .... best case you keep that saddle.  Worst case ... she opens a drawer with LOTS of saddles.

 

Initially I was fine, but once I got past 2 hour rides the saddle just was not "lekka" .... that is when she dug into that drawer.  Talk about a proper double blind test !!!  I did not know what brand of saddle she was fitting ... sit, ride on the station, uhm haa ... try the next one .... 4th one just "felt right" !!!  Turns out my bottom likes the Ryder saddle.

 

Convenient, given the relative cost of Ryder saddles ????

[Andreas_187]

On 9/27/2021 at 1:01 PM, Eldron said:

No. Just no. The only place that should hurt after 5 hours is your legs - and that is only if you go hard enough to make them hurt.

This "cycling IS pain" myth needs to die. There is sufficient knowledge, experience, technology, hardware and software in modern bike fitting to solve the vast majority of problems. Try it - you'll love cycling even more when it doesn't hurt you.

Sorry I'm a bit late to this thread but I've been bike fit a 4 different places, all highly recommended and I still ride in severe pain from the 20 minute point until everything has gone numb during hour 2

[Eldron]

7 minutes ago, Andreas_187 said:

Sorry I'm a bit late to this thread but I've been bike fit a 4 different places, all highly recommended and I still ride in severe pain from the 20 minute point until everything has gone numb during hour 2

Where is the pain? Lower back, knees, hands, shoulder/back?

Have you been measured up?

If 4 bike fit places have tried and failed I would guess you have some kind of unique issue. LLD, Abnormal torso/leg ratio, sever muscle imbalance, poor flexibility etc.

In over 1,000 fittings I have not had a customer in severe pain after 20 mins. Hell - I haven't had a customer in pain after 20mins and this includes people with slipped discs, disc fusions, football knees, mangled ankles etc.  There has to be a unique reasons why you're in pain.

[Andreas_187]

I have severe sit bone pain. I have had pressure mapping fits as well but the pain is ridiculous, has been for the past 5 years. 

BTW, I'm 45, pretty fit, very flexible. Did my first sub 3 last year after 3.5 years riding. 

I'm sure you can also guess that I've tried quite a few saddles. The best one so far being the Bontrager Montrose

Edited October 4, 2021 by Andreas_187

[Furbz]

5 minutes ago, Andreas_187 said:

I have severe sit bone pain. I have had pressure mapping fits as well but the pain is ridiculous, has been for the past 5 years. 

BTW, I'm 45, pretty fit, very flexible. Did my first sub 3 last year after 3.5 years riding. 

I'm sure you can also guess that I've tried quite a few saddles. The best one so far being the Bontrager Montrose

Using a decent pair of bibs?

I have found any on the Ciovita shorts are great for around 6 months, makes no difference between the high end or low end ones, the chamois all last around 6 months. after that i start getting sore sit bones. i have 3 sets in rotation doing +- 8-10hours a week.

love Ciovita tops. but the bibs are a no go.

I since switched to Assos. a year down the line again with 3 bibs in rotation and my ass is still very comfortable.

 

Saddle is also a big part, i used to like the Spez Romin saddle, but after riding a Bontager Aeolus Saddle i swapped everything to Aeolus.

absolutely love that saddle.

[DieselnDust]

sore sit bones would suggest that maybe too much weight on the pelvic craddle and also saddle choice.

I kind of flip flop with saddles but Selle SMP and Fizik seem to be ok. The latter being comfortable is dependent on the thickness of the padding. and bib short pad. There is an interaction between saddle and bib that also needs to be considered

[Andreas_187]

The best bib I have found is the red Castelli  which is quite firm. Ciovita and Assos are too thin and not firm enough. Just the other day I wore the Assos bib and the pain was ridiculous after 10 minutes. 

I actually have a funny feeling my sit bones are very very narrow and may sit too close to the cutouts in the saddle. I would say my sit bone 'points' are approx 65mm apart 

[DieselnDust]

3 minutes ago, Andreas_187 said:

The best bib I have found is the red Castelli  which is quite firm. Ciovita and Assos are too thin and not firm enough. Just the other day I wore the Assos bib and the pain was ridiculous after 10 minutes. 

I actually have a funny feeling my sit bones are very very narrow and may sit too close to the cutouts in the saddle. I would say my sit bone 'points' are approx 65mm apart 

 

 

you would be a freak of nature or very very thin. Has anyone ever asked "where did Andreas go...?" when you turned sideways?

[Martin PJ]

My random advice for older guys who suffer with back and neck pain while riding (besides bike fit which is a great idea) is to get a gaming chair. The last year of working from home I used a gaming chair and it made a big difference to upper back and neck pain.

[Eldron]

31 minutes ago, Andreas_187 said:

The best bib I have found is the red Castelli  which is quite firm. Ciovita and Assos are too thin and not firm enough. Just the other day I wore the Assos bib and the pain was ridiculous after 10 minutes. 

I actually have a funny feeling my sit bones are very very narrow and may sit too close to the cutouts in the saddle. I would say my sit bone 'points' are approx 65mm apart 

Have them measured professionally. 65mm is not possible. 115-135 is the normal range...

[Andreas_187]

I have been doing some heavy training lately and a couple of long flat rides so I can analyse my fit. The inside points of my sit bones which contact the saddle and where the pain originates from are approx 65mm apart

[Eldron]

18 minutes ago, Andreas_187 said:

I have been doing some heavy training lately and a couple of long flat rides so I can analyse my fit. The inside points of my sit bones which contact the saddle and where the pain originates from are approx 65mm apart

Here is a DIY method for measuring pelvic width: 

And some info on the pelvis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelvic_inlet

[Andreas_187]

The inside points of my sit bones stick into the saddle right here. 

[MudLark]

22 hours ago, Paul Ruinaard said:

The crazy thing is now i feel like i can put more power down and therefore it seems like my HR is lower but the most bizarre thing on my training data is that my VO2 max has shot up, coincidentally since July when i had my first vaccine. By a lot. Since mid July from 42 to 48 yesterday and it went from 45 to 48 yesterday and has been consistently increasing. I don't know if its related i.e. i am more efficient in the pedal stroke so HR is lower but i would be interested in the observations of others. My only major change hasnt really been an increase in training (up a little) but why would your VO2 max go up by 20% and then after the vaccine. Given its the highest its been in 10 years i cant really attribute it to much and i cant see what else i changed. Had a vaccine and got a setup. Something is different. So HR at a given power is lower. I suppose i need to do an FTP test to prove it but Gramin told me about a month ago when i started to ramp up training that my FTP was down about 10 watts from 230 to 220.

Interesting about the vaccine and VO2 Max. My Max has also gone up steeply lately. Also now that I think about it, post vaccine. And I have changed nothing. Same bike, same training program.

[Spafsack]

Andreas, i had the same sit bone pain, race after race i entered, after 20min i could feel it. After bike fit, sit bone test, ended up with spez saddle, ciovita bibs, all sorted. Maybe get someone to take a pic of you on your bike, side on pic, maybe the clever guys here can spot something. 

[The Ouzo]

1 hour ago, MudLark said:

Interesting about the vaccine and VO2 Max. My Max has also gone up steeply lately. Also now that I think about it, post vaccine. And I have changed nothing. Same bike, same training program.

*** sitting here waiting for my VO2 max spike. Hopefully will come before sunday **** 

Maybe thats why I need to wait 28 days after vaccine.