riding position

(Libuser)

wrote:

Hello,

I am wondering if the crouching ridingh position on a pro-like road
bike is necessary for an amateur.
I am new to riding road bikes,
and my neck was in pain while test riding. I was told I would
eventually strength my neck and get used to it.

---snip---

Do you mean muscle pain like you get from fatigue? If so then yes, riding will
build up your neck muscles and the pain will go away. While discomfort on a
bike is often due to poor fit you say you're new to road bikes so I wouldn't
dismiss out of hand what the LBS told you. There really isn't any other
activity most of us do routinely that works the neck muscles in quite the same
way that riding a road bike does. Do 50 or so situps as rapidly as you can and
I'll bet tomorrow you'll feel it. Same thing. g

I am just interested in getting some exercise, and am not after speed
itself that much. Do I have to force my head that low? Or will a
different frame geometry that allows a more upright position be better?

Thanks.

It sounds like a comfort or hybrid might be a better choice for you but only
you can really decide. Shop around before you buy and get a bike you like. If
you buy a hybrid and later decide you want a road bike you can always have two
bikes. A bike's not a spouse after all. You can have as many at one time as you
can afford.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

They did raise the handlebars, trying to make it work for me. If I
insisted, I think they would make more changes. I was not sure if
neck pain was part of the deal :-)

Dan Daniel wrote in message . ..
On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 16:45:23 -0400, "Rich Clark"
wrote:


"Libuser" wrote in message
. com...
Hello,

I am wondering if the crouching ridingh position on a pro-like road
bike is necessary for an amateur. I am new to riding road bikes,
and my neck was in pain while test riding. I was told I would
eventually strength my neck and get used to it.

Lazy bike shop.

Part of the expected service of selling you the bike is making you
comfortable on it. It's common for road bikes to be sold with the handlebars
set too low, in an attempt to make it look more racer-like. This is stupid
and unnecessary.

Go back to the shop.

As I read the OP, he was test riding and hadn't bought yet. So I would
say that he should NOT go back to that shop. Find another one.

They did raise the handlebars, trying to make it work for me. If I
insisted, I think they would make more changes. I was not sure if
neck pain was part of the deal :-)

Dan Daniel wrote in message . ..
On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 16:45:23 -0400, "Rich Clark"
wrote:


"Libuser" wrote in message
. com...
Hello,

I am wondering if the crouching ridingh position on a pro-like road
bike is necessary for an amateur. I am new to riding road bikes,
and my neck was in pain while test riding. I was told I would
eventually strength my neck and get used to it.

Lazy bike shop.

Part of the expected service of selling you the bike is making you
comfortable on it. It's common for road bikes to be sold with the handlebars
set too low, in an attempt to make it look more racer-like. This is stupid
and unnecessary.

Go back to the shop.

As I read the OP, he was test riding and hadn't bought yet. So I would
say that he should NOT go back to that shop. Find another one.

"Libuser" wrote in message
om...
They did raise the handlebars, trying to make it work for me. If I
insisted, I think they would make more changes. I was not sure if
neck pain was part of the deal :-)

I recently got a Trek 7700 hybrid and I had the LBS add a stem riser to
give me a more upright riding position. I do not want a road bike
with drop bars because I never intend to ride in a position that low.

I also have a Trek 1200 road bike and it is equipped with a
horizontal bar for the same reason.

"Libuser" wrote in message
om...
They did raise the handlebars, trying to make it work for me. If I
insisted, I think they would make more changes. I was not sure if
neck pain was part of the deal :-)

I recently got a Trek 7700 hybrid and I had the LBS add a stem riser to
give me a more upright riding position. I do not want a road bike
with drop bars because I never intend to ride in a position that low.

I also have a Trek 1200 road bike and it is equipped with a
horizontal bar for the same reason.

Hunrobe wrote:
||| (Libuser)
||
|| wrote:
|||
||| Hello,
|||
||| I am wondering if the crouching ridingh position on a pro-like road
||| bike is necessary for an amateur.
|| I am new to riding road bikes,
||| and my neck was in pain while test riding. I was told I would
||| eventually strength my neck and get used to it.
||
|| ---snip---
||
|| Do you mean muscle pain like you get from fatigue? If so then yes,
|| riding will build up your neck muscles and the pain will go away.
|| While discomfort on a bike is often due to poor fit you say you're
|| new to road bikes so I wouldn't dismiss out of hand what the LBS
|| told you. There really isn't any other activity most of us do
|| routinely that works the neck muscles in quite the same way that
|| riding a road bike does. Do 50 or so situps as rapidly as you can
|| and I'll bet tomorrow you'll feel it. Same thing. g
||
||| I am just interested in getting some exercise, and am not after
||| speed
||| itself that much. Do I have to force my head that low? Or will a
||| different frame geometry that allows a more upright position be
||| better?
|||
||| Thanks.
||
|| It sounds like a comfort or hybrid might be a better choice for you
|| but only you can really decide. Shop around before you buy and get a
|| bike you like. If you buy a hybrid and later decide you want a road
|| bike you can always have two bikes. A bike's not a spouse after all.
|| You can have as many at one time as you can afford.
||

Or you can sell one.

Hunrobe wrote:
||| (Libuser)
||
|| wrote:
|||
||| Hello,
|||
||| I am wondering if the crouching ridingh position on a pro-like road
||| bike is necessary for an amateur.
|| I am new to riding road bikes,
||| and my neck was in pain while test riding. I was told I would
||| eventually strength my neck and get used to it.
||
|| ---snip---
||
|| Do you mean muscle pain like you get from fatigue? If so then yes,
|| riding will build up your neck muscles and the pain will go away.
|| While discomfort on a bike is often due to poor fit you say you're
|| new to road bikes so I wouldn't dismiss out of hand what the LBS
|| told you. There really isn't any other activity most of us do
|| routinely that works the neck muscles in quite the same way that
|| riding a road bike does. Do 50 or so situps as rapidly as you can
|| and I'll bet tomorrow you'll feel it. Same thing. g
||
||| I am just interested in getting some exercise, and am not after
||| speed
||| itself that much. Do I have to force my head that low? Or will a
||| different frame geometry that allows a more upright position be
||| better?
|||
||| Thanks.
||
|| It sounds like a comfort or hybrid might be a better choice for you
|| but only you can really decide. Shop around before you buy and get a
|| bike you like. If you buy a hybrid and later decide you want a road
|| bike you can always have two bikes. A bike's not a spouse after all.
|| You can have as many at one time as you can afford.
||

Or you can sell one.

Libuser wrote:

Hello,

I am wondering if the crouching ridingh position on a pro-like road
bike is necessary for an amateur. I am new to riding road bikes,
and my neck was in pain while test riding. I was told I would
eventually strength my neck and get used to it.

I am just interested in getting some exercise, and am not after speed
itself that much. Do I have to force my head that low? Or will a
different frame geometry that allows a more upright position be better?

Thanks.

I ride a road bike (touring) and it was set up with the bars too low,
resulting in neck pain. The solution was to raise the bars to be level
with the seat, when the seat was set to my proper position. The shop
did this for me and it took care of pain in my neck and simply gave
better comfort all round. I'm not interested in racing style either!
Check out the comments he
http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/htm...eopinions.html
Scroll down to "fit and sizing". What they say makes sense. These guys
are excellent, imho.
Also keep in mind you will likely ride with your hands on the brake
hoods more than anywhere else, so you won't be stooped over so much.
It's worth a look, anyway.
Happy riding!
Bernie

Libuser wrote:

Hello,

I am wondering if the crouching ridingh position on a pro-like road
bike is necessary for an amateur. I am new to riding road bikes,
and my neck was in pain while test riding. I was told I would
eventually strength my neck and get used to it.

I am just interested in getting some exercise, and am not after speed
itself that much. Do I have to force my head that low? Or will a
different frame geometry that allows a more upright position be better?

Thanks.

I ride a road bike (touring) and it was set up with the bars too low,
resulting in neck pain. The solution was to raise the bars to be level
with the seat, when the seat was set to my proper position. The shop
did this for me and it took care of pain in my neck and simply gave
better comfort all round. I'm not interested in racing style either!
Check out the comments he
http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/htm...eopinions.html
Scroll down to "fit and sizing". What they say makes sense. These guys
are excellent, imho.
Also keep in mind you will likely ride with your hands on the brake
hoods more than anywhere else, so you won't be stooped over so much.
It's worth a look, anyway.
Happy riding!
Bernie

On Sun, 29 Aug 2004 00:18:43 -0700, Bernie
wrote:

Libuser wrote:

Hello,

I am wondering if the crouching ridingh position on a pro-like road
bike is necessary for an amateur. I am new to riding road bikes,
and my neck was in pain while test riding. I was told I would
eventually strength my neck and get used to it.

I am just interested in getting some exercise, and am not after speed
itself that much. Do I have to force my head that low? Or will a
different frame geometry that allows a more upright position be better?

Thanks.

I ride a road bike (touring) and it was set up with the bars too low,
resulting in neck pain. The solution was to raise the bars to be level
with the seat, when the seat was set to my proper position. The shop
did this for me and it took care of pain in my neck and simply gave
better comfort all round. I'm not interested in racing style either!
Check out the comments he
http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/htm...eopinions.html
Scroll down to "fit and sizing". What they say makes sense. These guys
are excellent, imho.
Also keep in mind you will likely ride with your hands on the brake
hoods more than anywhere else, so you won't be stooped over so much.
It's worth a look, anyway.
Happy riding!
Bernie
Call Rivendell and talk to them about them Rambouillet, the most
comfortable bike I've ridden. Rivendell is the best company I've
worked with--ever, no contest.
Dave