Bicycle riding and concertina playing re: Pain

[richard]

Hello

 

Does anyone have any experience with riding a bicycle causing pain or discomfort which affects your concertina playing mechanisms. I'm just getting a bike to ride around a bit but nothing too aggressive. I'm trying to set it up so as to be comfortable for me regarding the seat and handlebars height, and also the angle and position of my wrists. I can get a sense that with the wrong "set up" of the bike one could create or exacerbate pain issues with perhaps your lower and upper back, neck, arms and wrists.

 

Anyone with experience with this and suggestions?

Thanks,

Richard

Edited April 25 by richard

[Dimble]

No first hand experience, but have you considered a recumbent bike? 

[Ken_Coles]

My own experience is I have no use for the straight across handlebars that are so fashionable that they are all you can get on many models of bikes. They cock my wrist and bring back the inflammation in my carpal tunnels (originally aggravated by concertina playing). They were designed for kids mountain biking up and down staircases, not the rest of us. I'm not interested in leaning way over to use racing handlebars. For me best are the sort that were common 50 or 60 years ago - they bend toward the rear of the bike and can be adjusted so my wrists and forearms are in a fairly neutral position.

 

Ever since losing concertina playing during all of 1999 (which included my only trip to Ireland to date) to carpal tunnel inflammation, I have no patience with non-ergonomic equipment and refuse to use it. Ask my employer, who has provided one new desk and one new desk chair so far.

 

Ken

[adrian brown]

 

The Netherlands has a relaxed attitude to bicycle riding, you should try one that we call an Omafiets over here, they are very comfortable to ride and put no pressure on your hands.

 

Of course it is possible to do both at the same time...

 

Adrian

 

 

[AndyNT]

Richard, if you get your bike sized and set up for you then you should have no problems.

 

I mainly ride a touring bike with drop handle bars, however my riding position is relaxed and reasonably upright, not hunched over like a racer. However I also ride a straight bar mountain bike from time to time.

 

One important thing to watch is your wrist position when riding, they should be straight and relaxed, not twisted, sideways or upwards. If they are, then you need to change something. It could be the angle of the brake levers on straight bars,  or the angle of the drop bars, or .......  

 

Just make sure you are comfortable on your bike, then you will enjoy it. Take the time to get the saddle and handlebar heights just right - 1cm can make a big difference to your comfort 😀

 

[Stephen DOUGLASS]

Bike riding, like playing concertina can start off as a 'dabble'. Pretty soon you could be looking for your upgrade, and spending many hours in the saddle, which can be rewarding in many ways, but eats into your practice time on your chosen instrument/s. I have experience of this. I certainly got aches, but I never got debilitating pain, but I do think that spending plenty time riding, may have caused my hands to be slightly less dexterous, especially after a long ride. Is it long term? TBH the jury is out on that, might be other factors too. But the benefits possibly outweigh the downside. Bike riding can mitigate diabetes and the accompanying neuropathic symptoms allowing some of us to continue playing for many years.  

[Don Taylor]

I get numbness in my hands when playing the concertina and when riding my bike. 

 

This is alleviated by avoiding craning or bending my neck as much as possible. 

 

This meant learning not to look at the buttons when playing the concertina and raising the handlebars on my bike as high as possible.  I use a handlebar stem extension to further elevate the handlebars.

[Cathasach]

I've had this problem and it can be alleviated with the right bike and right set up. I had to switch to a recumbent due to shoulder pain on a regular bike before I even started playing concertina, and generally a semi-upright recumbent is my preference. I've got 20+ years in the bike industry so feel free to ask me anything you need to know.

[richard]

Thanks for the input.

 

For now I plan on replacing the straight handlebars with ones with a back sweep. My impression is that the back sweep bars would put ones wrists in a more neutral and natural position. I will make sure the saddle height and handlebar height work to have me sitting so I have less leaning over. And I got a softer seat. I will try that and see how I feel.  

[Tiposx]

I play and I ride. I don’t find that there are any conflicts, but I agree with previous comments about making the bike comfortable. It took me over a year and 2000 miles to make my first bike fit me really well. I have heard other cyclists say that it took them two years!

My fit involved changing almost every part that would unbolt, one by one and evaluating the effect. My subsequent bikes were much easier to fit, as I knew what measurements I needed.

in particular I would avoid too low a handlebar, and too long a stretch to achieve comfort. The two vital measurements for a good fit are known as “stack” and “reach”. I use the same measurements on all my bikes, regardless of their design (mtb, gravel, folding and hybrid) It is quite an involved subject.

Tiposx

[Parker135]

I switched to a two wheeled recumbent a couple of years ago (age 74) due to neck problems.....too many years on drop bars, and bad posture involving bifocals and computer screens. The recumbent totally eliminated all those issues while riding.  Now I sit relatively upright, look around easily, and still keep up with my riding buddies.  I'm riding a Lightning P-38, but there are many good choices.  Two wheeled recumbents are a bargain now.  Most folks are going from their diamond frame bicycles to trikes.  I'll probably do that someday but for now the P38 is a blast.

[Anglo-Irishman]

I've been cycling since my primary-school days, and playing the concertina since my student days. I've never had pains anywhere from the concertina, and the only pains I get from cycling are in the ... part of my anatomy that has nothing to do with music. (I haven't found the perfect saddle yet!)

In short, I've never found cycling to affect concertina (or banjo or mandolin) playing, or vice versa. But hey, I'm only 77 - maybe I'll get problems in my old age!😎

Cheers,

John

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

As a hardy long distance cyclist of many years [ on a huge heavy bike - not a racer!] I have no problems affecting my hands with exception of having to use breaks to slow down [with heavy frame] going down gradients!  I do not like bikes which require one to bend forward or hunch over too much [like racer type low handlebars] as they are not good for your posture over long distances! Upright posture will be less pressure to your wrists.. and recommend nice comfy bike seat  - or it will not only be your wrists and hands that could ache!!!!!

[Luke Hillman]

I'm constantly on the search for a bicycle with the correct geometry for my body (apparently I have an extra long torso), but one thing I found that helped with wrist pain early on are ergonomic handlebar grips. Probably not as applicable if you're using back-swept handlebars, but I use these grips on my commuter bike. When I was doing more long-distance riding and needed more wrist positions, I used these bar-ended ones. Relatively cheap upgrade, and quick to install.