Sore shoulder on a ride???

My first guess is you are riding with your elbows locked and your arms completely straight.

All road vibration will get transfered to your shoulders that way.

And are your hands on the hoods or near the center of the bike with your palms facing away from each other? This leads to sore hands.

Bent elbows and your hands on the brake hoods should help your problems.

Or I could be wrong about what you are doing and its some other problem completely.


Edited by Cashmason 2007-03-18 12:29 AM

Are you riding on the aero bars?

My left shoulder used toget sore riding on the aero bars until I moved them a half inch wider.

Usually everyone gets sore to some degree when new to the aero position.

Culprits include:

Too low on your aero bars. raise them until comfortable for longer rides...
Bars too narrow..if you're a big guy with wide shoulders, experiment and widen the bars
You're forearms are not level and slightly forward causing more pressure...

Have you had a proper bike fit? New pain? or has it always been there after a long ride?

Yes, I also have been having shoulder issues, and yes, it sometimes causes sensations in my arm and hand: an indication that a nerve is involved. The doctor gave me some stretching exercises for the shoulder, but I find that some Yoga stretches for the neck seem to bring good relief. While riding, I try to change hand positions often to give the shoulders some movement. Ice helps, too. A swimmer friend advised me to begin doing some shoulder strengthening with stretch bands. All of these things seem to be helping the shoulder to recover.

Good luck.