What does good biking posture look like?
Since I began performing bike fits, there has been one common issue that I have noticed across riders of all different experience levels--most people’s biking posture could use some serious work!
Neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, hand pain, wrist pain and saddle numbness while cycling can often be attributed to poor posture. These ailments can often be easily remedied with some basic posture corrections.
We’ve created this blogpost as a resource for all you bikers out there! Let’s get to work and fix up our cycling posture with this quick and easy checklist!
Hands relaxed on bars with wrist in neutral position.
It should feel like your hands are just gently resting on your bars, and like your back is holding you up right. If it feels like there is a lot of weight on your hands then you might be relying too much on your arms for staying upright and not enough on your back.
Elbows unlocked. Elbows should never be locked out while biking! This can lead to hand and wrist pain, elbow pain, shoulder pain and even neck pain. Try keeping your elbows at a slight bend while riding.
Shoulder blades drawn down away from your ears.
It should feel like the muscles between your shoulder blades are gently working and active. This ensures that there won’t be excessive loads or stress going through your hands, shoulders, neck and back.
Knees aligned with your hips and toes. As you pedal, make sure you are keeping your knees aligned with your hips and toes vertically. This will ensure even loading through your legs and minimize chance for knee pain while biking.
Try this out!
If you are unable to get into this posture on your bike comfortably, this may indicate that your bike does not fit properly and that you could potentially benefit from a bike fit or a physical therapy consultation. Please message us with any questions you might have about biking posture and physical therapy bike fit!
