Like many, I have turned to cycling during the pandemic and come to love it dearly. I (48yrs; 1.95m/6’4) own a steel bike for daily commuting/groceries in the city (10 years old; custom build) and a gravel bike for fun (Specialized Diverge, biggest frame size, all stock components, 4 years old).
I the past I was able to ride for 5 hours on my gravel bike without developing major sores. That has changed this year. My left shoulder starts hurting after ca. 1 hour into the ride. It will get increasingly bad to a point where I can barely signal a left turn.
I have come to realize that this may well be because of my (lacking) bike fit. On both bikes my streched out position tilts/pulls my shoulders & shoulderblades far forward. It has been working just fine; but despite regular swimming excercises my ageing body seems to suddenly dislike this position very much. (before, I hadn’t even realized I was pulling my shoulders forward. It just felt natural to sit this way).
I am now planning a trip to my LBS, hoping to find solutions to shorten the long reach I once so loved. And I’m slightly worried that it may not work as well: because if I simulate a good shoulder position (pulling the shoulder blades back to a neutral position), my hands ar ca. 5 cm behind the brake hoods. Shortening the stem by this much surely would impact the bike geometry/handling a great deal?!?
I’d love to hear if anybody has had similar issues and how they have been able to solve a shoulder problem. Thank you in advance!
So you have a 64 cm Diverge? That’s quite large. I had a 58cm Diverge a few years ago and found it huge at 6’2”. I’d definitely recommend a professional bike fit.
How long is your stem,how much drop do you have between your saddle and bars… lots of questions. So it’s best to take the bike to the bike shop with you and they can give you a better idea.
Captain obvious reporting for duty: the other thing to consider is your core. The more endurance and body awareness you have there, the better capacity to unweight your hands (or at least notice faster when and how you are carrying your upper body on the bike). Maybe not your because swimming, but worth a thought.
We do change with age. I’m more upright than I was when I was yunger. On the positive side, I found that I was more comfortable with a longer reach when I started a simple upper body/core routine at home.
Youre right that simply shortening the stem 50mm will change the handling – it’ll be much quicker. Are you using a straight or layback seatpost? If a layback, would you consider moving your seat forward?
That Diverge frame does sound big for you .
thanks everyone for good thoughts and advice. Haven’t had the time for the bike fit just yet but I grabbed a tool on the way to work and tinkered with the saddle position on my steel bike for commuting. And by this I learned: moving the saddle forward by 1.5 cm can shorten the “felt reach” by 5 cm 
This bike feels actually quite good again, shoulders pulled back and still comfy holding on to the bars. It made me think if the saddle accidently moved prior, but there are clear markings on the stem that show it’s been sitting like this for many years unchanged. I think it’s my old bones that have shifted…
So, gravel bike is up next.
I really hope you sort this out and would be interested to hear how it turns out. Don’t want to put a downer on it, but this is EXACTLY what I’ve been suffering with.
I’ve ridden for years with no real issues. Over the past few I’ve occasionally had this issue, and a rest of about a week has seen it go away. However, I’m now in to over six months with it this time and can barely ride a bike at all, with pain being constant, not just on the bike. Usual physio type interventions have yielded no improvements, and I’m waiting on an appointment with the musco-skeletal specialists to try and figure it out.
Fingers crossed for you.
ouch 
I’m crossing my fingers for YOU! All the best!
A professional bike fit was the most helpful thing I’ve ever done. I’m trying to race so I went to an expensive place known for that, but you might have better luck using a good local bike shops cheaper studio.
I highly recommend checking the saddle position using the standard rule of thumb (saddle height = inseam length x 0.885). I also had problems with my shoulders and wrists for a long time and tried out lots of different cockpit configurations. In the end, it was the saddle height that made the difference. It makes sense, as it puts less pressure on your hands and arms. Apparently, 90% of cyclists have their saddles too high (according to some bike fitters).
That said, your bike still sounds a bit too long. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Two things that have made a huge difference for me are:
- Find a physio that is also a bike fitter. Our bodies have all kind of weaknesses and move in strange ways. Start with the good and bads of your body and adjust the bike to that.
- Go to Youtube and watch Neill Stanburys videos on Road Cycling Academy. A truly bodycentric approach to bike fitting.
Thanks, I’ll check out those videos!
The local bike fitter is booked out over the next weeks. So I’ve followed a recommendation of my LBS to try a self-bike fitting with the help of a “Fitting box” by Ergon. It’s not as good as a real bike fit but it gave me some hints that on my gravel bike my saddle indeed is a bit too high and and also too far back; after corrections, now the reach feels only about 1-2 cm too short and on a test ride the simptoms in the shoulder seemed better (not gone). So I now ordered a new stem that’s 100mm (instead of 110mm) and probably I will also order a slightly narrower handle bar.
I have the impression that the bar that came with the bike (44 cm) is a bit too wide for my narrow body.
Meanwhile my sister, a former physiotherapeut, explained to me that shoulders & their muscles are very intricate & complex and problems rarely fully understood. I’ll likely have to keep working and training and fitting …. I assume it’s not really something that happened purely because of cycling but more the result of 40 years neglection (office job).
Maybe a bit late to the party but I had this issue after about 30 years of riding. The trouble with cyclists (did triathlon as well for about 20 years) is that we take our bodies for granted until we can’t. I could barely lift my left arm and shoulder above waist height. Did a few things. Saw an excellent osteopath who explained that my tendons had seized due to overuse. Two extremely painful sessions of massage freed them up. He gave me some very specific exercises, which I still do and recommended some strength exercises and yoga.I also got a 1cm shorter stem. Im 66 now and still going - I was getting some twinges about 3 years ago so followed advice from my LBS and swapped my old school 44 bars for 40’s on all my drop bar bikes. Still trouble free so fingers crossed.