Brooky

Hi all,

I love getting out on my bike but suffer terrible sore neck and shoulders. I only have movement in one vertebrae so normal cycling lifting my head up causes significant pain after 5-10 mins. :-(

I am considering a recumbent to improve my posture when cycling. Do you think the ride position will help? I'm gutted as having never been sporty I love cycling but feel I just can't anymore as the pain is too much.

Has anyone had this problem it know anyone who has taken this route as a solution?

Thanks!! :-)

VegasTriker

There are lots of people out there who have switched to recumbent bikes or trikes because the ordinary road or MTB causes way too much discomfort to ride any decent distance. None of us can predict how any particular recumbent will fit you. If you read the posts here answering new riders they almost always recommend trying a variety of recumbent bikes and trikes until you find one that is comfortable and within your price range. If you can find a good used one you can get a better recumbent compared to buying a new one. Log on to www.bentrideronline.com and see if there is anyone located near you in the UK who can either help you make a choice or let you go for a test ride. Good luck on your search.

osco53

Yeah BROL, I second that ! The people over there IMO comprise the bulk of the best and current recumbent knowledge available anywhere.

BTW riding my Tour Easy is more comfortable to my neck, shoulders and back than sitting in my Ford F-150 truck seat, or my office chair, or my couch,,,

Brooky

Thanks for your help guys. Ill check it out. :-)

ncbikers

I have nerve damage in my neck which limits the position I can be in both riding and not riding. Trying bents until you find something that “feels good” is a long way to go as once I have hurt my neck on some bike nothing else that day (or the next few) will feel good. I figured out what positions just from sitting in chairs I could use (or my neck had to be in) and then found bents that put my neck in that position. I eliminated a lot of bents just from pictures on line.


Some people have found that supporting their head with a head rest helps also.


Upright bents work for me. I have an EZ Sport and like it a lot. It also has a very nice seat and back support.


Another option I used before on a DF was to put on a longer stem which raised the handle bars up and allowed me to ride in a more upright position. A new stem/handlebars are a lot cheaper than even a used bent.


Good luck! Hope this helps.

Brooky

Incredibly helpful thanks!

rydabent

I would recommend either a LWB recumbent bike or trike where you can adj the seat to a fairly upright position.

BlazingPedals

A crank-forward such as the RANS offerings is also a possibility. They're more like an upright bike; but they're not exactly sporty.

mickjordan

Absolutely. I switched to a 'bent this year and I can never imagine going back. I rode a lot of long rides on my upright but the bulging disk at my C7 always caused discomfort after a couple of hours. Not to mention the hand numbness, saddle chafing, and general upper body discomfort. I have none of this on my 'bent, a Lightning P38; the only things that get tired are my legs. Beware, however, the seat plays a big part in your overall comfort and, unlike an upright, you can't just switch to a new seat. So test ride plenty before buying (I didn't and it took me three tries to get it right).

Brooky

In the UK a P38 is something you get when you are sacked at work.

Thanks for the info. I'm very keen to get involved with a bent (check me out getting into the lingo) but it's looking like I need to find £1k to do this.

BlazingPedals

We're talking about a Lightning P-38, but then there's also the P-38 Lightning:

osco53

I think,, not positive, but I think lower bottom brackets lend to more upright neck relaxing positions,
the more laid back your seat is the more your neck is curved,, I don't like my chin too close to my chest.


I almost pulled the trigger on an New EZ sport like ncbikers bent, but I got lucky and rescued a Garage queen Tour Easy from a boring life.
I love this bent, I take great care of it and ride it often, not far but often

BlazingPedals

Low bottom brackets are associated with more upright seating, but they don't have the exclusive. Having an upright seat and a high bottom bracket results in a closed hip angle, which doesn't suit some people, but others claim lets them produce more power. Lightnings are pretty upright and have high bottom brackets.

Older RANS models are upright enough to count, too -- Rocket, V-Rex have 'neutral' bottom bracket height (about equal with seat) and their older models of LWB such as Stratus are fairly upright but with lower bottom brackets.

Mr. Markets

I ride one of these -- it's like a Cadillac!

https://longbikes.com/2/Bikes/Slipstream/index.html



had mine done in custom candy apple green flake, the only one around in that color.

osco53

The Long bike looks great, I bet the hand position feels real natural,

The bike looks very heavy to me. Is it ?

10 Wheels

Mr. Markets

its not light by any means, but it is one VERY comfy Cadillac.

The hand position is one of the nicest benefits. Very easy to steer and very natural. It takes some time to get everything set up to the most naturally comfortable position for you, but once you get it set up, you will never ride anything ans nice.

ComicDom1

I have had four back surgeries and I am fused in my neck and lower spine. I also have another herniated disc in my neck that has been there for a while but it has not been bad enough to operate on. I ride a Ti-Rush made by Easy Racers. I also own a Rans Stratus, Rans Gliss, and Rans Tailwind. All of these Recumbents have OSS (over the seat steering) or above the seat steering. The bottom brackets are lower so your feet are not so elevated so they are closer to riding a regular bike similar to the a Diamond Frame design. Many do not realize Rans is responsible for bring the popularity of crank forward bikes to the market place.

All of these Recumbents have similar seats. The backs are Kool Mesh and the bottom of the seats are padded and you sit mostly upright with an adjustable seat back for the slight degree of recline you are comfortable with. I think you will find the LWB (Long Wheel Base) or CWB (compact Wheel Base) bikes I have described with the lower bottom brackets very comfortable to ride and easy to adapt to.

Jason

Garfield Cat

How does one know if its nerve damage or if its must muscles or other temporary things?

BlazingPedals

Doc tells ya? I dunno...

Anybody know if Brooky ever tried a 'bent?

dekindy

I would consult closely with your healthcare providers. I just purchased a Hase Kettwiesel from a guy that was suffering from back or neck problem, cannot remember which. He was involved in a car/bike accident. He was selling the family's entire fleet because they purchased them to do some long distance trips. There was nothing he could do to make himself comfortable on a recumbent bicycle or tricycle.

mickjordan

The symptoms are typically intermittent pain in either the shoulder blade or arm and possibly numbness or tingling, in my case in my left thumb. The pain feels like a mild electric shock as it travels down the entire nerve when it is irritated at the vertebrae. An MRI is only way to get a definitive diagnosis of what is provoking the nerve. It can be temporary. For example cervical traction will often fix the symptoms by widening the gap between the vertebrae (temporarily) as can improving your posture, e.e. neck tuck ('bent style) as opposed to neck lift (DF style).

ncbikers

I haven’t been ignoring you or your question, just trying to figure out the answer. In short you don’t KNOW. The best the doctors seem to do is know of someone else who has had a similar problem that they treated like a nerve problem and it went away.


It is always interesting to me the number of treatments that are preceded with “let’s try this”. I am not always sure if medicine is an art or a science. Maybe a mixture of both.


In general if you have a pain with numbness and they can’t find any reason for it in the area, they will probably ask about automobile accidents and/or whip lash and then “try” treating it like a nerve problem. As long as it goes away I don’t care what its real name is/was.


Hope this helps.

GlassKnees

I suffered from extreme pain in my shoulders and right trapezius, due to inflamed nerves branching from my vertebrae. I have arthritis in my neck and C3/C4 issues as well as C5. I had to resort to cervical injections for dealing with the pain. Riding an upright caused pain in my rt shoulder after only a few minutes. So I bought a recumbent trike - an ICE Vortex. I love it!

The pain has gone away, thanks to drugs - a 3rd injection di the trick. I can ride an upright again, but I prefer the trike - it's a hoot to ride! I sold my Trek Madone and a Trek mountain bike, but kept my custom Waterford. Now, I have the best of both worlds!