MJH

Had to bow out of a 3 day mini tour on the Katy. First day was 42 from Defiance to McKittrick. By the last 12 miles, I was terribly uncomfortable, especially my neck. We had battled some wind early on the trip & admittedly, I'm not in the shape I should be. I thought my LHT was set up right for me, but maybe needs to be set up for an even more upright position. I've been liking the drops, but just saw a thread mentioning Casey's Crazy Bars. They look pretty interesting. Besides that possible change, any other adjustments that I might try?

manapua_man

Do you happen to have a shorter stem lying around? Tweaked my neck and back a while ago and swapping to a shorter stem for a few weeks seemed to work for me.

Dave Cutter

Not being in good condition.... you should expect some pain. If your bike fits and is setup right.... making changes to the bike won't fix your fitness. Although some cyclists can seem to go for a long period then jump on and ride. I don't think everyone can.

dorkypants

I had to learn to keep my neck in a neutral position; i.e., not chin-up. To go with that, any glasses you wear have to sit high enough so that if you look in the direction of your brow you can still see through them. I haven't tried it myself but I've heard that shooting glasses let you do that more easily.

robow

Besides the shorter stem that Manapua mentioned, you could try an adjustable stem that would allow you to adjust a different angle getting your bars higher and you more erect with head up.

Machka 

Can you post a photo of your bicycle ... or even better, you with your bicycle ... or even better, you on your bicycle?

That'll help us give you fit suggestions.


Otherwise, get in shape. Do core work. Do weights. It helps.


And sit up and look around several times in the middle of the ride.


Oh, also, do you have a light on your helmet?

Inpd

Sorry your ride got ruined. That's a real bummer.

That's good advice. The tendency is to always be looking straight ahead which is inherently chin-up which places some extra tension on your neck. Try to stretch your neck and look down for long periods of time.

MJH

Thanks to all. Great suggestions. I do really need to lose weight & work on core strength.
My stem is short & has a good angle.
It's not an excuse really, but along with being out of shape, I'm 67 years old. I just don't bounce back like I used to.

AdvXtrm

Time to lose the drops and go with a setup that's more comfortable and versatile for actual normal riding instead of racing.

BigAura

+1 on both analyses. Fortunately the first is under your control. I'd do that first, it can't end up being a bad decision.

As far as the bike is concerned you may want to consider raising the handlebars and/or ditching the dropbars, especially if your time in the drops is nil. Here's my LHT with it's North Road bars setup to be a couple of inches higher than my saddle.



I'm 63 now, but decided to do this upright rigging, a few years back, after experiencing some hand numbness when riding high mileage days (>90 miles).

AdvXtrm

That's a great looking setup, and if I ever stray from my trekking bars, that's the one I'll try next.

manapua_man

...is it bad that I kinda want one in pink with glitter mixed in the paint?

BigAura

Like this...



OopS not enough glitter, and not sure it would have made up the Dalton Highway, but who knows?

2manybikes

It's only bad if you don't post photos of you on it.

manapua_man

Also too much white up front. Honestly, if they had tires in that color that weren't total crap I'd run em on my road bike too. The zebra stripes on mine look ridiculous enough as it is, might as well go all out.

shipwreck

I am hoping to have my Schwinn 974 powder coated pink, and do a Hello Kitty sticker/pin-stripping theme on it, with some modern dura ace.
Can't do it until I know that when I show up on a group ride I can be in the front of the pack. Otherwise I would look silly on it.

To the OP, if you raise the bars, be sure that your saddle is good for more upright riding. Luckily the LHT looks fine with almost any kind of bars. Good luck, and sorry about the interrupted ride, but its smarter to fix a problem than to deny it though.

MJH

I didn't ignore your post. Going out of town for a few days, so pictures would be til next week I think it's a good idea to get some of you to look at me on my bike.

fietsbob

See: Shermer's Neck https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/ro...er-s-neck.html

And ... https://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/video...-prevent-treat






'/,

fietsbob

new Un cut LHT Fork , so maximum height is not pre chosen by the length of the steerer tube cut off.

JerrySTL

Too bad about the Katy Trail. One of my favorite places to ride.

I had neck pains. Tried a riser stem. Bought a new bike. No joy.

Went to a doctor who prescribed physical therapy. PT gave me some exercises to do. Pain stays away as long as I occasionally do the exercises.

Squeezebox

That's only 20 spoke wheels on that bicycle. At least it is steel.

MJH

What brand bars are those? VO says their North Roads won't take bar ends. Are those just regular brake levers on that? If so, how comfortable is that for a hand hold?

Bike Hermit

Any suggestions about handlebar position/shape/height etc. are moot if your saddle height and set back and angle are not correct. Make sure of that first and then address the handlebar if needed.

nickw

Barring any sort of physical condition, I'm always surprised with threads like this when people recommend removing drop bars and putting on a higher rise stems. Sometimes it's our bodies that are limiting fit, that may need some work too, not always the other way around.

I've toured with flat / alt bars in the past (jones H bars) and I really disliked them after 4-5 days. Drop bars most certainly are not just for racers. Drop bars with the flats 5" lower than your seat may be, but when flats are about seat height it offers a comfortable balance of aero, handling and comfort, especially in head winds like the OP experienced.

Find a bike fitter, have them asses you and your bike, figure out what is limiting you. Work on yourself and your bike. YMMV of course, but most of the guys I've rode with that have had aches and pains solve it with minor PT and/or stretching, fitness, yoga routine.....nothing extreme.

N

manapua_man

It's fortunate that smaller wheels don't really need a higher spoke count.