Redbullet

Thanks!

I took some of the advises and started to play with exercising for upper back and general body strength. It is amazing how low I had to start, compared with the status from a few years ago. I assume that long working hours spent on a chair during the last years play a big role here. It looks that road cycling does not help at all with that, on the contrary. It only helps to cardio and a little bit with feet "maintenance".

One word about rotating the pelvis forward for further flattening the back: doing that would increase saddle pressure on groin area; to alleviate that, the saddle should be reset a few degrees down, but that would create other issues with high pressure on the hands. Not sure how this works.

MoAlpha

Road cycling is a great way to lose core and upper body strength.

Your point about the saddle angle is right, but I’ve found the adjustment to be small and the solution being to strengthen the hip extensors to cantilever the back and unload the hands a little. The glutes are another important muscle group for which cycling does almost nothing.

terrymorse 

Hmm. I’ve always noticed my glutes get bigger as the season progresses. They must be getting a workout on the bike.

genejockey 

It depends on the saddle. That's why I mentioned "wave" saddles, where the middle is lower than the ends. One example would be the Fizik Aliante series. I have a couple Aliante VSX saddles, which I set up using a small board, which sits on the tip and the tail of the saddle. I set the saddle up so the board is level.

I've tried saddles that are flat in profile and they're torture for me, cutout or no, because the pressure focuses too far forward. With a wave saddle most of the pressure is still on the sit bones, even when I'm riding either drops or aero hoods.

MoAlpha

I can’t really see mine easily, but I know they were weak before I started working them in the gym. I did a few sessions with my wife’s trainer and he castigated me for my weak butt and said it was generic with cyclists. I’m also a puny little **** with no sprint, so maybe that’s part of it.

terrymorse 

It could be genetics--or have something to do with the style of pedaling you do.

According to Training Peaks, the glutes are engaged through most of the pedal downstroke:



Source: trainingpeaks.com

rsbob 

Some good info presented in this article. Unfortunately there may be no ‘quick fix’ or ‘magic bullet’ but adopting one or more of these strategies should help. You can easily look up the recommended exercises. Neck Pain

I do planks and push-ups and free weights targeting the traps and upper back. Also do many core exercises. Good luck

Edit: I suffered from lower neck and scapular pain for a year and by adopting many of the tips in the article, I now have been pain free for over a year.

MaxKatt

I stretch and have proper fit, but have learned to live with low level chronic neck pain. I pop 2 Alleve 20 minutes before every ride.

cyclezen

All other things considered...
Try this
while on your bike, and riding along at an easy pace. You're in your most common posture/position.
allow your arms to straighten, and allow the shoulders to shrug up towards your ears.
Bring your head/face up so you clearly see the road and everything in front of you
Note the feeling in your neck and bottom/back of your skull.

Now, bend the elbows lightly, bring the elbows to a comfortable position closer to the torso/side.
Drop your shoulders 'down', doing this actively by drawing/pulling your shoulder blades down the back.
Now, again, bring your head/face up so you clearly see the road and everything ahead.
Note that feeling...
Which is more comfortable for the neck and neck/skull connection?
strive to remember to use that whenever riding... until it becomes second nature.

Ride On
Yuri
This can also be 'tried' just sitting anywhere. Using the same methods; roll your head backward until you can't roll any further.
use each method - which method allows the head to roll the furthest up and back? without discomfort.
usually always the same result/answer...

Iride01 

That's interesting, but still the hamstring does more. On the bike, my glutes waste away. Never had much there anyway according to my wife. I seem to get much more workout in my glutes from just a few miles walking than I do for the many more miles I ride.

Perhaps those of us with no butt have a excuse for how lousy our stats are!

cyclezen

Totally ! I have a hard time with waist packs for hiking (and backpacks with hip belts). I have to tighten the waist strap so tight it hurts, so the pack doesn't slip down past by butt...
I still believe that muscle engagement graphic, just doesn't seem to make a difference in muscle size, for me. Hiking definitely seems to work them more... for me
Ride On
Yuri

streetsurfer

I've just begun these stretches. Working on the speed bag for recovery of a shoulder after a clavicle break, is aggravating the neck injury sustained during the same fall.

Champlaincycler

I like all the positioning suggestions you've been given, good stuff. Having adjusted to life with a bad neck myself, I'll add a few simple things. First is to get the lightest helmet you can afford. Next , if you ride with glasses or goggles, find a pair with no top frame to block the view when you're looking up. No visors or cycling caps. I also ride my gravel bike as a road bike a lot , a Diverge, it has 38's for tires and just a little shock absorber in the stem called futureshock. It is a smooth ride. Many riders here hate futureshock, but not me. For me, riding more helps. Bothers me early in the cycling season but pain eases up as my core gets stronger. Good luck, you'll find a way.

sir_crash_alot

I do something similar, but I try not to look down at the road for long at all, and then only when I'm alone and have space, i.e. not in or near a peloton.

I like to do this when I'm in the "aero hoods" position (like this, but, you know, worse when I do it):


And then I'll time my "nods" with my breathing. Breathe in through the nose + look-up, breathe out through the mouth + look-down. I've found this rhythm works well for me to keep my neck moving during long flat stretches.

But again, only when I'm alone on long flat stretches. Also very important to have a visual guide when you look down to keep yourself on a line, typically the white line that denotes the shoulder of a road.

Addendum: I'm actually hesitant to recommend this though as I think about it, as really we shouldn't be looking down at the road almost at all like this. I'm pretty sure this is a bad habit on my end that I should work on moving away from...

genejockey 

That is exactly NOT what I was talking about above

See how curved his back is? And notice how his shoulders are lower than his back? That means to hold his head up, he has to bend his neck WAY back. Compare with the picture below. Notice how, with a flatter back, he doesn't have to bend his neck back nearly as far to look up the road.

sir_crash_alot

Alright, alright, point taken.

Technical deficiencies in the first guy's aero position aside (I agree with you that this may not be the best aero hoods form I could have picked), the point was that I do the breathe-nod rhythm from the aero-hoods position. Perhaps if my posture in that position were more proper, then I wouldn't have to do the breathe-nod rhythm at all.

I need to do some video analysis on my aero-hoods position!

sir_crash_alot

p.s. Remco Evenepoel's aero hoods position is IMO the pinnacle of the position, but out of reach for most riders (myself included).

wheelreason

Leaving the "Can't adjust the bike" thing aside (for now) Step one is identifying what is hurting and when. Only then can one begin to diagnose the cause(s). Could be a bunch of things, and while trial and error will eventually get you some relief, it may take more time and effort than otherwise possible. Is it a new bike? Are you a new rider? Have you made recent changes to your fit? How old are you? Health history and flexibility? Been off the bike lately? Have you increased your milage significantly lately? Does it occur after a certain milage or time on the bike? Are you happy with life? etc, etc.