Injuries

I'm a rookie fixie...and a girl...any of you guys have advice on shoulder injuries? my left one's killin me and i know it's from riding. i've changed my seat height and distance from the bars. any thoughts would be cool.

are you sure the fame is the right size for you?

ummmm...it's actually a bit on the big size. i love it though...

do you ride with drop bars or flats or risers or bullhorns? if you only have 1 riding position this may be exacerbating the problem. Also when do you experience the pain? Is it constant or after riding a certain distance or what?

asm exacerbating

ohh look at you with your big words...the biggest word i said was 'right'.

i ride with bullhorns and have tried to widen my grip a bit as well as riding underhand at times. it's worse after long distances (45 mins) or if i ride fast. maybe i should get risers?

I apologise profusely for the thoughtlessness of my choice of grammar. Please accept this caviare in lieu of a written apology:

apology excepted....

What kind of bag do you use? Also, a change from a normal mountain bike (where you sit up) to a bike with drops and a higher saddle may mean you end up leaning forward more, so your weight is on your arms/shoulders as opposed to your bum. It may just be your body using muscles you've never had to use before in such a way.

Hmm risers might make the problem worse rather than better. Do you often switch positions or do your ride mainly on the horns of the bullhorns? I got hell nasty shoulder pain from riding on the tops of track drops, which curved forwards. Hurt my hands too!

Could be that you're riding in a too far forward position putting more strain on your arms & shoulders, but i know fcuck all about that really.

Best thing to do is to make friends with someone with a large handlebar collection. (?!)

Also, i'd imagine that pain after 45 mins solid is pretty much expected! I had NASTY lower back pain when i rode to cambridge last sunday.

Hope this helps.

thanks guys. i think i need to buy another bike with a totally different set up and just alternate between the two...that's the plan! i think i'm obsessed with these bikes now:-)
before i had a bmx which is practically the opposite! couldn't do tricks though- i'm such a wannabe! can't skid yet either. lol.

Come down to polo on a sunday, always a few girls around, could try one of their bikes (or all of them!) and get some tips on skidding. Better yet for that check the trixie chix thread!

or you could just use a brake....

you dont.

fixgrrrl ummmm...it's actually a bit on the big size. i love it though...

Hard to tell with limited info but if it's too long for you, your arms will tend to lock out straight. This = pain.
Because you lose the natural shock absorbing from slightly bent arms and also have to force your arms out to reach the bars you will ache after a while.
Can you flip your stem over to lift the bars? Install shorter stem? Get new bike? Etc?

just checked the trixie chix thread. i'm so there. chrz.
i just saw some vids of those san fran nutters yesterday. very inspiring.

asm you dont.

i do

do you take it off for polo? or am i just blind

hippy [quote]fixgrrrl ummmm...it's actually a bit on the big size. i love it though...

Hard to tell with limited info but if it's too long for you, your arms will tend to lock out straight. This = pain.
Because you lose the natural shock absorbing from slightly bent arms and also have to force your arms out to reach the bars you will ache after a while.
Can you flip your stem over to lift the bars? Install shorter stem? Get new bike? Etc?[/quote]

i was totally locking out my arms before i did some adjusting. i think i still do it sometimes and this is defo part of the prob. would love another bike but spent a grip on this one! arghhhh!

shorter stem/new bars before new bike!

yeah. i'm just trying to find a reason to get santa claus to put a new cinelli under the tree for me!

asm do you take it off for polo? or am i just blind

the second of the two.

Jake What kind of bag do you use?

See, I was inclined to think that this could be the cause of the problem too. Partly because the pain is only in one shoulder, but also because I've had twinges in my left shoulder since I switched from rucksack to courier bag. My bikes are all the same, the riding positions haven't changed, only the bag is different. So...what sort of bag are you using? :-)

i've been using a rucksack for the past 5 months and just bought a courier bag yesterday and used it today- it made my shoulder worse! so annoying. i'm booking a massage tomorrow. Neal's Yard Remedies rocks.

Have you seen those moustache bars they seem to like over the pond? Not keen on them myself but it may help to bring your hands further back if you have them pointing rearwards.