Tweaking the bike

[Wasp]

Finally!!!!! Some decent weather. I got the bike out and about an hour into the ride I started to notice the right side of my neck was starting to bother me. At first, it just felt like the muscles were pulling so I stopped and tried to stretch the neck muscles out. But once I started riding again, the pulled muscle feeling turned into out right sharp pain. It's only on the right side of my neck just below the ear lobe and runs towards the collar bone.
Any suggestions what might be causing this issue?

[Sky King]

ugh, early riding neck tweak. Wonder if you had your shoulders in your ears. Was is cold and windy? Maybe you were unconsciously scrunching when you started out and did the right out of the gate neck tweak. Hope it is better today

[Wasp]

Oooooooooooh !!!! You just might be right, I never thought of that! It was below 40f that day and a bit breezy. I was wearing my PI AmFib head to toe, so the only thing that was cold was my face.
Next ride I'll be watching what I'm doing with the shoulders.....thanks.

[emily_in_nc]

Yes, and you should ease into riding again. My neck always gets sore on a road bike if I haven't ridden in awhile. Takes several rides of gradually increasing time/distance to get it back in shape again. I probably wouldn't have tried to go even an hour on a first ride back.

It may take a few days to stop hurting since muscular pain can do that depending on how severe it is.

[velo]

My first thought was scrunching shoulders, too... or locked elbows, which will transfer road chatter up your arms and into your neck... or not keeping your chin tucked in enough. Also, were you consciously changing hand positions regularly? I've ridden my road bike at least a couple of times/week for most of the winter, but had a 3 - 4 week hiatus when we were traveling. After that break I could feel it in my shoulders on my first ride out. During the next ride I made sure to move my hands around more, and a couple of times to sit up tall and do some on-bike stretching mid-ride and it seemed to help. It took a couple of rides to feel back to normal, though.

[Wasp]

Aaaaaaaarg!! Hard to believe but this neck issue is NOT going away. In desperation I've seen a RMT and after each appointment the neck seems worse for 3-4 days then starts getting somewhat better. Back in Feb the neck was so bad I ended up at the DR office getting injections of Toradol which really helped with the pain, but not so much with the underlying issue which so far remains elusive. I changed the handle bars to a smaller one, thinking that my arms were spayed outwards causing the neck issue.....nope! New handlebars didn't help at all. The only thing I can think to do now, is get a bike fitting as I'm running out of ideas.
The hubby wants to adjust my seat forward, but I dont want him fiddling with my bike because that might bring back the knee issue which is currently resolved.

Any suggestions?

[indysteel]

I'm sorry you're still having issues with your neck. What a bummer. I agree with you that a fitting may be in order. I also agree with you about moving the saddle. The fore/aft position of your saddle is a function of your knee position relative to your pedals. If reach is too long or short, then that's better addressed by changing the position of your handlebars, either by changing out the stem, removing or adding spacers and/or changing the type or position of your bars. A trained and experiened fitter will hopefully be able to evaluate you.

Remind me: Is this a new bike that you're riding this spring? If it's an older bike, is there anything you changed relatively recently with the set up on the bike?

[Wasp]

I'm sorry you're still having issues with your neck. What a bummer. I agree with you that a fitting may be in order. I also agree with you about moving the saddle. The fore/aft position of your saddle is a function of your knee position relative to your pedals. If reach is too long or short, then that's better addressed by changing the position of your handlebars, either by changing out the stem, removing or adding spacers and/or changing the type or position of your bars. A trained and experiened fitter will hopefully be able to evaluate you.

Remind me: Is this a new bike that you're riding this spring? If it's an older bike, is there anything you changed relatively recently with the set up on the bike?

I bought a new bike in January. Had a bike fit done at time of purchase. The very first time I took it out on the road, the neck issue started. I took it back to the shop and they looked at it and said "oooooops! The handle bars aren't centered, no wonder your neck hurts". Obviously at that point my blood pressure started to rise. They "fixed" the handlebar issue and sent me on my way. Second time out, same neck issue arose, so back to the LBS and had the handlebars changed out. Since then every time I ride the new bike, the neck issue flairs up. The whole issue with the neck has not gone away since it started back in Feb. The reason why I bought the new bike was I have entered the Valley grand Fondo, soooo I treated myself to a full carbon bike. Huge upgrade from my Specialized dolce, which does not give me neck issues.
If another bike fit (at a different shop) does not solve the problem, sadly I'm starting to think i might end up having to sell the new carbon bike and no doubt loose $$
Sigh...and it's my dream bike

[indysteel]

I bought a new bike in January. Had a bike fit done at time of purchase. The very first time I took it out on the road, the neck issue started. I took it back to the shop and they looked at it and said "oooooops! The handle bars aren't centered, no wonder your neck hurts". Obviously at that point my blood pressure started to rise. They "fixed" the handlebar issue and sent me on my way. Second time out, same neck issue arose, so back to the LBS and had the handlebars changed out. Since then every time I ride the new bike, the neck issue flairs up. The whole issue with the neck has not gone away since it started back in Feb. The reason why I bought the new bike was I have entered the Valley grand Fondo, soooo I treated myself to a full carbon bike. Huge upgrade from my Specialized dolce, which does not give me neck issues.
If another bike fit (at a different shop) does not solve the problem, sadly I'm starting to think i might end up having to sell the new carbon bike and no doubt loose $$
Sigh...and it's my dream bike

Have you ridden your old bike since the neck problems started? Any pain? Are there any obvious geometry differences between the two bikes? If you're able to provide links to both of them for the specific model/size/model year, I can take a look.

I understand your frustration. I went through something similar with what was supposed to be my dream bike.....

[Wasp]

Awesome news that I wanted to share with TE ladies.
I found a new bike shop and they are wonderful. I had a bike fit done. The fitter worked his magic and now my dream bike is an actual dream to ride. This bike is FAST! I'm riding anywhere from 5-7 km faster on this bike.
Best of all no neck, shoulder, back or knee pain......Wooooo-hooooo!
I was so excited last night knowing I would be taking her out this morning, I was awake at 5am feeling like a little kid on Christmas morning. And what a thrill today's ride was. I was smiling and giggling the entire ride. After months of tears, misery and disappointment it just made this mornings ride all the sweeter. I'm still smiling, and yes I'm getting up early tomorrow and taking her out again:)

[OakLeaf]

Hooray for a good fitting! I'm so glad it worked so well for you.

[IBrakeforPastry]

That's great news! Do you know what adjustment made the biggest difference, or was it a little of everything?

[indysteel]

I'm really happy for you, Wasp. That is great news!

[Wasp]

That's great news! Do you know what adjustment made the biggest difference, or was it a little of everything?

My new bike fitter adjusted pretty much everything. He put the original handlebars back on, changed out the stem riser, adjusted the brake hoods, and moved the seat backwards quite a lot.
I was really surprised at how much the seat got moved back, I was thinking moving the seat forward would help solve the neck problem. It was a little aggravating to realize the original bike shop should of done a better job fitting the bike to me and that i didn't need to spend money swapping out handlebars as that didn't solve anything. However I'm really pleased with the way the bike feels now and that's the important thing.