[Closed] Road bike aches and pains.

I spent ages, and lots of money on physio etc, before I just got a retul bike fit (ideally with the saddle pressure mapping).

It showed that I was sitting twisted in the saddle, and my right arm was reaching further than my left, causing the same pain you described between/below your shoulders.

Focussed strengthening on the shoulders can help too, and some massage to loosen off the shoulder/upper back muscles.

Second the Retul fit. Only a few tweaks made in stem length, lever position and saddle position but they made so much difference not only in comfort but in power delivery.

I seem to remember there being some youtube vids of stretces you can do pre ride to loosen up the neck and shoulders. I do a few before a long ride and again at cafe stop. Works for me.

If the fit is good, it'll just take you a while to get used to the different positioning.

Regarding the sore thumbs, how far around the bars are your hoods?

When I first got my road bike, my thumbs were very sore and someone on here mentioned that the hoods were probably a bit too far forwards, based on a pic, I posted.

I adjusted the position and the discomfort went immediately.

It seems to fit well although I suspect I could go slightly shorter in the stem

or pop a spacer or two under it - my money's on that as a fix until you become more used to the stretch

Thanks for the replies.

I have the max spacers under the stem and the stem itself is angled up . Freely admit I'm not the flexiest chap though.

Hoods are in the position they come in from Giant . The bit that is getting sore is the bit between my thumb and fingers if that makes sense . Just feels like my hands aren't big enough so are getting stretched .

I have ligament damage in that area so relieve the discomfort by switching to gripping  the tops of the brake levers and resting my forearms on the forward facing bit of the bars. Gets you lower on the bike , so moar aero.  Not  the solution to your problem long term, but will work instantly.

Just don't grip the hoods so much. You only need to have a light hold of them as long as you wrap some fingers around underneath. Once you've stopped the death grip a lot of the other pains will go away.

Bike Fit by Phil Burt helped me when I had a few bike related niggles. Highly recommended.

Happy viewing

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCr43Lgwqryq_QM00L1xJb4A

It will be a simple matter of fit, not adaptation. How far back is your saddle? How high?  Set this first, forgetting about the bars. You want to be nicely balanced taking weight through the legs.

Then think about bars. My bet is that your saddle is a little too far back, forcing you over too much and putting excess weight through your hands.

Online fits are hard, but saddle first. Bars after. You may find with correct saddle position, your stem is fine and the bars too high.

Many pictures?

TiRed......

I feel that my seat is in a good position if I'm honest. If I try it slightly further forward then I start getting a bit of pain and discomfort in my legs just above my knees.

Road bike positioning buts your back under all sorts of strain flattening your lumbar curve and hyperflexing your cervical curve.  Your body will adapt but this adaptation can cause issues elsewhere. this is exacerbated by the very low bar position used on many road bikes.

My answer to issues like the OPs is "raise the bars"  20 years ago no one but pro racers rode with bars below the seat.  Now you see folk with bars  a long way below the seat all the time.  Yes its better for aero but its horrendous for your back

Cheers .

My bars are definitely above my saddle 😂

Pain between your thumb and finger would suggest too much weight through your hands, this could be a position issue, or to do with the shape of the curve of the bars not providing enough support for the palm of your hand (with ideal position of bars and levers the weight when on the hoods should be spread evenly in a straight line from the heel of your hand to just behind the joint of your first finger).

If the curve of your bars is falling away from you before it gets to the hoods then you may have too much weight where you describe without enough support. You could try tilting the bars back a bit and then moving the hoods down the bars to compensate.  Accepted norms here these days are that the tops of the bars where they curve towards the hoods should form a straight, flat line, parallel to the ground right to the hook of the hoods.  It's difficult to describe, can you post a pic side-on of your bars.?

If your bars are already above your saddle then I certainly wouldn't be moving things any higher,

agreed about not going any higher on the bars.