The Hansenator

I haven’t biked in several years and would like to start again. I’ve also recently been diagnosed with stenosis in my neck. Between that and getting older, I’m thinking of buying some kind of comfort bike and am looking for suggestions. I’m thinking of something fairly upright that can fit Big Apple tires. Maybe like a rigid 29 inch mountain bike except made for comfy road use? I suppose I just need to go to some bike stores and see what they have but it would be great if you all have any suggestions.

Thanks

CliffordK

Also have a look at some of the recumbents, either 2-wheel or 3-wheel.

frogmorton

I have stenosis and bulging discs. I’ve been getting cortisone injections and get about 4 months of relief. Just had one yesterday. That’s been keeping me on a road bike for the last two years. Just had one yesterday. Eventually I’ll need surgery. Sorry to not really answer your question.

delbiker1 

I have had 4 spinal surgeries, including fusion at C5/C6 and a mechanical replacement at L5/S1. My last being the fusion in 2007. I rode "comfort bikes" and reconfigured road bikes for awhile, but really never got comfortable or satisfied with them. My bikes have been changed back to a more classic set up with some compromises. I do not have very aggressive settings for the saddle or handlebars, but what I would call middle of the road, more neutral. I also change my position on the bike often when riding, and take short breaks. My best advice to you is to do whatever it takes to stay active and take care of yourself.

CAT7RDR

A mountain bike or hybrid makes sense when you consider you will be in an upright position. I think having multiple hand positions to be able to adjust your tilt will also be important.

I enjoy my 29er as a road bike alternative because there is less strain on my shoulders/neck. I have a mild case of cervical stenosis and do not need treatment other than NSAIDS at this time. I will likely add Ergon bullhorn grips in the near future to give me more hand positions.

MikeyMK

If you're not gonna be shaving grams for max calories and split second lap times, why not go for something genuinely comfortable like a proper balloon-tyred cruiser?

canklecat

A more upright ride may not be more comfortable, although that may seem contrary to common sense. Sometimes a bit of a forward lean might provide the more comfortable position.

I have a busted up neck with skewed C1 and C2. It's caused a lot of grief for nearly 20 years since my car was T-boned. Pain management is a daily thing, and on good days I can get by with massage, stretching, hot and cold packs and topical analgesics. Some days are worse.

When I resumed cycling in 2015 after a decade-long rehab process, I started out on an upright comfort hybrid, including fat tires, suspension fork, and thick padded saddle with springs. I still have it but don't ride it often. Later I got a slightly more sporty but still upright hybrid. Then drop bar road bikes -- that took about two years of physical therapy to manage and it's an ongoing process.

Nowadays I mostly prefer the road bikes, although they aren't set up to be particularly aggressive or aero.

The hybrid that I used to prefer for comfort is now giving me problems. Something about the fit isn't quite right anymore. The bike is the same but despite lots of physical therapy the neck is grumpy. So I need to either lower or raise the stem, or shorten or lengthen the reach. Whatever it is, right now it's uncomfortable on my neck after about 20 miles. On the plus side the swept bars I've been using for the past year offer more hand positions and torso position to suit my neck. But it's no longer quite right, although it seemed fine a year ago. I might try a softer saddle (my current saddle has almost no padding) or softer tires.

So I'd suggest trying a bike you'll want to ride for years, but get an adjustable stem. A quill stem makes it easier to adjust height. To adjust reach it's usually necessary to change stems. But there are stems for quill and threadless that can adjust height and reach -- usually with one or two pivot points.

Handlebar design can help. Same with saddles. Adapting a bike to our bodies and bodies to bikes tends to be an ongoing process once we've experienced serious injuries or joint degradation.

The Hansenator

That's a little what I had in mind. I'm a tall person and the cruisers I've seen tend to be too small. I also need gears. While the hills around here aren't terribly impressive, there also isn't very much flat either so it's always going up or down and I'm out of shape. Just going around the block makes my legs burn.

I have a Karate Monkey fitted with Big Apples that I like. Maybe it would make sense to adjust the fit on that as needed. Maybe a different stem to raise the handlebars a little.

The Hansenator

Yeah, perfectly upright might be a bit much. I've always struggled with lower handlebars though. Even at my best I kept the handlebars at about seat height and now my neck hurts when I look up.

MikeyMK

This is based on an old MTB but it's lovely to ride - 26x2.35 Fat Frank's (bit fatter than 700c Big Apples), sprung seat, riser handlebars, 24-speeds...

Frame's a bit small but you find your ideal base bike and adapt accordingly. Some good cross trail stuff out there for this kinda tuning.

canklecat

Yup, very familiar challenge. Besides bike fit I've noticed lots of other little things that contribute to discomfort.

For example, my safety glasses with bifocals, clear and tinted, have frames over the tops of the lenses. Stronger support, but forced me to crane my neck up more than was comfortable while in the drops.

Then it got worse with a new POC helmet I got a couple of months ago, the Omne Air Spin. Good helmet, excellent cooling, but the thicker EPS foam and polycarbonate shell extended the brow into my peripheral vision overhead. And tended to shove the glasses down, making the neck position worse.

So I got some tinted safety glasses/bifocals that don't have a frame over the tops of the lenses. Much better, even with the POC helmet, although my Bell Formula MIPS is "better" in that it doesn't have any overhang visible in my peripheral vision.

But occasionally I wear a video camera on the helmets. Any additional weight can cause neck pain, so I have to balance the weight very carefully. I've found a mounting position on the Bell that doesn't cause additional discomfort. But I'm still trying to find a suitable mounting position on the POC. I may need to switch back to a bike-mounted camera, although it doesn't catch some crucial driver issues. (I was hit by a car last year on one of the few rides in three years when I didn't have a video camera. And it re-injured the old neck injury, setting my recovery way back. So I run video every ride, no matter how inconvenient. My legal case would have been settled by now if I'd had video evidence to support my report to police that the driver was looking down and admitted in her statement that she was "distracted.")

Another issue is road vibration. Chipseal and rough pavement can be brutal on neck injuries. I'm also experiencing a bit more pain in the wrist and thumb joints on some rides on my bike with a lower handlebar. Recently I switched to a fatter handlebar and double wrapped it with foam tape. Helped a lot, both hand and neck pain. Looks goofy -- the handlebar appears almost as wide as a baseball bat on the tops -- but it's comfy.

My steel road bike is more traditional fit, with the bar only a couple inches below saddle height. I use a single layer of foam "cork" wrap on the old school bars. And the more flexible frame helps with bad roads. It's generally more comfortable on long rides.

MoAlpha

If it’s neck pain and not pain in the distribution of a cervical nerve root or roots (arm or hand) it’s likely not directly related to the stenosis and can probably be fixed with a program of physical therapy or some time in the gym with a knowledgeable trainer, strengthening the deep neck and upper back muscles.

I have bad multi-level cervical and lumbar degeneration in my 63 yo spine and am status-post a C5-6 fusion with prosthetic discs at the levels above and below. I have permanent tingling in the hands and feet from spinal cord damage. However, I ride a ~ 4” saddle-bars drop, thanks to a good neurosurgeon and lots of time in the gym.

J.Higgins 

My dear wife had cervical spine surgery last year - day after Christmas, in fact. Her C3 and C4 had to be fused and she had bone grafts as well. She refuses to ride a recumbent, which would be my first recommendation. I had a Catrike Villager for a bit, which I purchased to flip anyway, but I made her ride is a little and she didn't like being that low to the ground and getting in and out of it. In the months leading up to her surgery, we both got a decent education of what was needed for her after she healed. I bought a Marin San Anselmo frame, and outfitted it with a carbon fork, and 700x45C Schwalbe Marathons on it. I put a Thudbuster on it, and a Jones Loop 2.5 bar on it. She loves this bike, because our local roads are cracked, potholed, and bumpy. Her saddle is a SQ Labs, of which she has on her other bikes as well.

The Hansenator

I've been through physical therapy and that actually helped quite a bit. But I still get tingling down my arm if I move wrong. There's degeneration between c3-c4 and one other which is contributing to the stenosis.

MoAlpha

Yeah, the root impingements can be due to pretty stubborn anatomical factors. Pain in the neck muscles themselves is not and responds well to stretching and strengthening exercises. Neck degeneration certainly sucks. I hope there's a good fix for you.

PDKL45

Have a look at the stems and handlebars available from Ergotec. They can be used to change an aggressive position to one that's better for your neck.

BlazingPedals

There are also crank-forwards. Electra is low-end, RANS is high-end.

Patriot1

We really like our Specialized Rolls....