Aching arm!

[ads677]

Having recently taken delivery of a spanking new Thorn Raven, my first bike for many years, and undertaken a couple of rides I have been surprised to find that the only 'bit' that hurts is my right elbow and upper forearm!  What is worse is that my elbow/forearm continue to ache a week after each ride.

My Raven has flat track bars with Ergon GP5 (Biocork) grips and I'm wondering whether these might be the problem - I've never experienced this before by the way, but I last rode in anger at least 10 to 15 years ago.  Or might it be the 'new' method of changing gear?

Any thoughts or advice?

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[energyman]

Personally I should give yourself a few more rides and before you start hacking bits off the bike.

[Danneaux]

Hi Ads!

Everyone is different, but I've found I develop the same sort of pain in the same area of my arms when I try to ride straight handlebars instead of my usual drops. I just seem to be one of those people whose hands have to generally face each other when riding in order to be comfortable.

Another data point: I found similar pain when I developed tennis elbow. It hurt in the same area when riding regardless of my hand orientation. Avoiding the sort of off-bike repetitive motion that caused the problem helped, as did wearing a brace while riding.

Pain of any sort is a general indicator of something wrong, and if you can correlate it with an activity, it is easier to address the root cause. Perhaps looking at the totality of bike fit will help. My father has one arm slightly shorter than the other after a shattering bone-break in his youth. He rode in pain till we figured the way to address it was to rotate the (quill) stem in the steerer so the handlebars didn't point straight ahead. The handlebars no longer point straight ahead...but the bike does, and he no longer hurts.

The "little things" sometimes make a very big difference indeed.

Best,

Dan.

[Rockymountain]

Congrats on the bike. I'm sure it's a set up thing. Before doing anything radical, try moving the saddle (forwards or down a tad) raising or lowering the handlebars, slightly rotating the bars. I hope this helps.

Let us know how you get on.

Fraser

[jags]

yes defo set up wrong,sounds like your saddle is to high  bars to low  to much pressure on your arms.if you could get a bike fit i reckon your problem will be sorted.

best of luck with the new bike.
happy christmas.

jags.

[ads677]

Thanks all - I've already made some tweaks, but I guess I'll have to try more.  Unfortunately, I can't get to Somerset for a fitting, although whether that might be available elsewhere I'm not sure.

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[JimK]

Those GP5 also give you some choices on grip, right? Plus I should think the bar ends are adjustable.

I have GP1 grips but even with those I took a couple months of fiddling to get them rotated just so.

Really, though, a week of pain? How far/long are you riding? If you haven't been riding in years, you certainly don't want to be diving in too terribly fast... depending on your age, of course. I wouldn't push much past an hour until body and bike have figured out how to get along!

[FrogPrince]

I found my right arm and wrist were very sore for the first few weeks after getting my New Raven ....I soon realised that it was mostly caused by the over enthusiastic and unfamiliar action of using the twist shift ........It's OK now .....well thats my story and I'm sticking to it  

[leftpoole]

Having recently taken delivery of a spanking new Thorn Raven, my first bike for many years, and undertaken a couple of rides I have been surprised to find that the only 'bit' that hurts is my right elbow and upper forearm!  What is worse is that my elbow/forearm continue to ache a week after each ride.

My Raven has flat track bars with Ergon GP5 (Biocork) grips and I'm wondering whether these might be the problem - I've never experienced this before by the way, but I last rode in anger at least 10 to 15 years ago.  Or might it be the 'new' method of changing gear?

Any thoughts or advice?

Ads

Flat bars! Ride drops as a cure............
John

[ads677]

Those GP5 also give you some choices on grip, right? Plus I should think the bar ends are adjustable.

I have GP1 grips but even with those I took a couple months of fiddling to get them rotated just so.

Really, though, a week of pain? How far/long are you riding? If you haven't been riding in years, you certainly don't want to be diving in too terribly fast... depending on your age, of course. I wouldn't push much past an hour until body and bike have figured out how to get along!

You are right, the GP5s are quite adjustable and I'm sure I haven't got them right yet.

My rides have been fairly leisurely, the first 'proper' one about 20 miles with two stops and then a shorter 12 mile with a modest stop.  The ache in my arm becomes particularly noticeable as I extend my arm, possibly something like tennis elbow, although I've never had that!

As for age, I'm 55, in reasonable nick (or so I thought) and average height and weight.

[geocycle]

I think you need some time to get used to a new bike but if the problem persists some sort of bike-fit is the best option.  Are you over-reaching with your arm locking out?  Maybe try a shorter stem?

[jags]

theres millions of people riding straight bars without any problems ,mind you i'm not one of them    so  dont go changing them yet.
can you post a photo of you sitting on the bike we will sort you out before your christmas day spin.

[in4]

With the caveat that I have no medical knowledge whatsoever: Have you considered the possibility that the pain you refer to might be evidencing in your elbow/lower arm but originate in your shoulder-area? You might get someone to take a photo of your riding position and see if anything  reveals itself.

[Andre Jute]

Have you considered the possibility that the pain you refer to might be evidencing in your elbow/lower arm but originate in your shoulder-area? You might get someone to take a photo of your riding position and see if anything  reveals itself.

I'm no anatomist either, but when I rode a badly fitted bike, the pain of weight wrongly distributed to my shoulders and upper arms went to the small of my back, where all these muscles are finally attached. The physio reckoned even the pain in my wrists was not necessarily from the handlebar being straight but from hanging elbows (wrong forearm inclination). I experimented with North Road bars, which enforced a more upright position and eventually the pain went away and hasn't returned for more than a decade. I swear by North Road bars and well above saddle level too. They are visibly ergonomically sound.

But I'm not suggesting my solution; there's no single magic bullet. The good suggestion in this thread is to take a photograph of you on the bike, so the overall bike fit can first be assessed.

[StuntPilot]

With a new set of Ergon GP1 BioKorks I had the same problem. I made at least ten adjustments, sometimes only a fraction of a millimetre, until the problem was solved. I never had any arm or hand pain or numbness on the last three month tour.

Keep in mind too that the each grip should be individually adjusted. It could be that there is a slight difference between you left and right hand/wrist/arm anatomy.

I agree that if you are over reaching, it could also cause this problem.

I found too that it is best not to 'grip' the Ergons as much as resting the hands on them.