Has Anybody Had a Neck Injury Riding Their 'Bent?

Mine is an ICE Adventure with so-called suspension, but it's only a token SUS - very little travel and zero shock dampening.

I have the seat angle as upright as it will go, but it's not enough by about 15-20 degrees.

My experience is that, unless I sit more upright before hitting any bump more than about a quarter-inch, my neck gets torqued and eventual injury seems tb a possibility.

FWIW, I am shopping for something with a "Real" SUS and Steintrike's 4" of travel is starting to call out to me.

 

Doesn't the ICE use an elastomer shock? If so have you tried an elastomer of softer durometer? Also, have you tried experimenting with a lower tire pressure? It seems these things might help a bit with types of surface irregularities normally encountered on paved and gravel roads and trails. If your adventures take you on more rugged surfaces, you may indeed need more suspension. Full fat, maybe?

 

I've been riding bents for 25 years, and none of my bents have had suspension. No neck problems at all; in fact my neck is in better shape now than when I was craning my neck on my uprights.

 

I use a headrest on my bents. No neck pain and my shoulders stay relaxed.

 

I did start using neckrests on my reclined recumbents, after doing the Wolverine 200 and having my neck get pretty tired by the end.

 

Not exactly...Long ago I had an impact injury to the crown of my head, which I believe compressed my neck. Also had a concussion headache for about 2 weeks, and frequent headaches since. It happened when I was 15 years old. Anyway, the connection here is that I've noticed several problems with specific features of recumbent that cause my neck to stiffen and eventually get a migraine. First off, any Tadpole trike I ride needs to have suspension in the rear at the least. I have ridden an Ice Sprint with full-suspension that seemed adequate. Previously I had ridden a rear suspension model Ice like yours that was not quite ok, but close. HP Velotechnik Scorpion FS was great. The other difficulty has to do with seat shape and seat back angle. Many trikes have a seat that has a bend at the shoulders to tilt one's upper body more upright. When this bend is severe, I get very bad headaches. The seats I speak of are used on Greenspeed, Windcheetah , Azub, various Chinese built trikes, etc. The bend irritates my spine at the juncture of the cervical and thoracic. In addition, extremely laid back seat angles are just as bad for my neck as riding a road bike with drop bars. One last thing I will mention is Cattrike, only because the models that have no seat tilt adjustment have the rear frame triangulation built in such a way as to transfer road shocks directly to the seat. I haven't ridden any of the suspension models, so I will not assume it is all Cattrikes. A trike with the seat frame part of the main frame won't allow for extra flex, in my opinion, resulting in a rougher ride. Bigger softer tires are often touted as a "replacement" for suspension, which i think is incorrect. A bouncier ride is often the result. Too many factors to predict reliably.

 

Of the several trikes I've owned none has had suspension till I got my used 2011 ICE Sprint 2 Special Edition. Never had neck problems and never had a neckrest till I bought the used ICE trike. My uncomfortable spot is in my tailbone area, I've NEVER found a seat or have been able to adjust the straps, etc. to where I don't feel pressure on that area!! This ICE is so far the most comfortable but after 20 miles "I know my tailbone is there"! Which is better than being very uncomfortable in that area which both of the older Terra Trike Tour trikes (Tour, Tour II), that was very normal at 20 miles! LOL, I admit I'm having a bit of a struggle getting this "neckrest" to reach where I can use it full time, right now it's only useful for going uphill! Hope you find what's bothering your neck, that's why I went to recumbents as DF bikes were truely a "Pain in the NECK"!!

 

Thanks, I've already found the bother, and spelled out the specific attributes that make it worse. A small spinal lesion and arthritis refer pain from C7-T1 up to my C1 and adjacent muscles, and then the trouble starts. I too, switched to recumbents exclusively in 1999. Then about 10 years later, after wrestling with getting the right seat and right seat angle, I started riding fewer miles, and then oddly, switched back to my very upright "wedgie" ( a gift from my wife) as my go to bike for rides less than 10 miles. Less than 10 miles with very little uphill pumping and I usually have no discomfort, except crotch ! I'd like to mention the Hase Kettwiesel has an almost perfect seat for me, and is a very well built machine. The downside is no NuVinci hub, of which I am a convert. All my bikes have Nuvinci CVT.

 

Late to the party, but here's my two cents: I've had several head and neck injuries, some considered "severe" - which is one of the reasons I switched to recumbents. No problems since, with these insights:

1. I've found that I do not need suspension for long wheels recumbents, regardless of the posture or seat length. The passive suspension designed into LWBs is plenty to minimize most prior injuries. I own a RANS Stratus, Tailwind, Vision and Canto, all LWB, and they all have Cadillac rides in that config. Interestingly, Tadpole trikes are closer to an SWB configuration so they may present as a bit stiffer...

2. *** LOSE THE STUPID SKINNY TIRES!!! *** Essentially everything "regular cyclists" will tell you about tires is WRONG. Heck, they are only now beginning to recognize the "Joys of the 28mm" - Hah! If you aren't riding on fat tires, or are pressurizing over 70psi (unless you are suspended), you are doing it wrong. RIGHT NOW , go out and buy a set of Schwalbe Fat Apples for your rig, and run then at 35-40psi, and you will See The Light. You can thank me later.

3. If you do have a suspension shock, UPGRADE IT. Factories save money with crap parts and usually the first place they cut is suspension. Guaranteed your factory recumbent suspension shock sucks. You can find wonderful upgrades on eBay for practically nothing. Just Do It. Ex. My Rans Vivo came with a garbage rear shock. I replaced it with a Cane Creek air unit and went from a Pinto Ride to a Cadillac, with improved performance. Same with from suspension - if yours is a Target bike front suspension, an upgrade to a Capa or Ballistic will simply alter your experience forever. For the BETTER.

4. LOSE THE HARD RACING SEAT. I never understood why any recumbent or trike riders would go for the hard scoop skinny racing seats when the most comfortable cushion riding seats on the planet are available for recumbents and trikes! The seat generates more rider discomfort than any other part of a bike, in any form. Upgrade the seat, lose the pain.

There! And it's worth exactly what you paid for it