Sore Arms/Lats I must be doing it wrong...

[TonyMax]

Hi,

I come home from 80+km rides often with sore triceps/lats/shoulders. I would have thought my legs should be the bits that hurt.

Other than somehow consciously trying to hold my upper body up with my core/abs how can I prevent this?

Cheers,


Tony

[g-boaf]

I reckon this is a bike fit issue - maybe stem length, angle of the hoods on the drop bars.

I've had the sore arms a bit too. Have you tried sitting up and pedaling without your hands on the bars for a while? Do you have your shoulders tensed up, or relaxed? Do you get down on the drop section of the bars and keep your arms bent a little bit when doing it. Also try standing and pedaling for a little while.

I can't pin-point exactly the cause, but those things are what I'd try if I were you. Changing your position on the bike occasionally might reduce the soreness temporarily until you can get the bike fit checked.

[TonyMax]

I reckon this is a bike fit issue - maybe stem length, angle of the hoods on the drop bars.

I've had the sore arms a bit too. Have you tried sitting up and pedaling without your hands on the bars for a while? Do you have your shoulders tensed up, or relaxed? Do you get down on the drop section of the bars and keep your arms bent a little bit when doing it. Also try standing and pedaling for a little while.

I can't pin-point exactly the cause, but those things are what I'd try if I were you. Changing your position on the bike occasionally might reduce the soreness temporarily until you can get the bike fit checked.

I've played with the bars and rotated them downwards, but I still have the issue. Pedalling while sitting up no handed relieves things. I do tend to lean on my arms, and have them straight making bumps not very pleasant.

The only thing I can think of is maybe bring my seat forward in the rails a little? See if that helps?

I very rarely use the drops.

[brentono]

TonyMax(just got your update)
You should be riding mainly on the tops. You weight should be evenly distributed between
your hands and your r's. Maybe you need to drop your seat a cm to try, or raise your head-stem a cm,
to balance it all out. Give it a try.
Cheers

[g-boaf]

Brentono seems to be on the money.

[TheBikeShed]

If your lats are getting sore, it's also possible that you're also pulling on your bars a lot while you're riding—I find that I start doing this near the end of a ride when I'm tired and going uphill. If your fit is a bit off, that could be contributing, too. But next time you go out, pay attention to how much you're pulling back.

[foo on patrol]

To me, it sounds like you are placing to much weight on your upper body, so as Brenton suggested try dropping the seat and play with a slightly longer stem or lift it up a bit.

Foo

[kenwstr]

If you don't do core upper body work, it could just be that. A little fixed it for me anyway but I had already recognised a lack in this.

Ken