Bike riding is an outstanding low-impact form of exercise with proven cardiovascular benefits. Unfortunately, a lot of people each year have to stop experiencing those benefits as they quit riding because of annoying aches and pains in the neck, shoulders, wrists, back, and groin. With increasing age comes decreasing ability to handle stresses from which our younger bodies rebounded relatively easily. Accumulated wear and tear can cause tissues to develop adhesions which can pull on sensitive tissues. It can also cause thinning of joint cartilage diminishing the ability to withstand normal compression. It’s clear that the very design of the upright bicycle design, especially road bikes, asks normally non-weight bearing joints in our bodies to become weight bearing, putting the rider at an increased risk of injury in several ways. On an upright bike, we don’t ride on the “sits bones”, the wide bones of the pelvis. Rather, because of the forward lean, we tend to bear weight on the narrow pubic bones at the front of the pelvis and the soft tissue immediately behind it called the “perineum”.

     The other main point of contact are the small bones in the hands and wrists. The strong forward lean can create significant stress to the low back discs and potentially over-stretch the ligaments and muscles in the low back area. It’s not uncommon to get off a bike after a long ride and have take a few minutes to get comfortable standing upright again. On the other hand, recumbent bikes allow the rider to sit on the bones s/he’s meant to sit on and the wrists and hands don’t have to bear any weight. The low back is also usually supported by a reclined seat back. Disc pressure is significantly reduced in this posture. Perhaps the worst “wear and tear” problem from riding an upright occurs to nerves and arteries in the perineum. Researchers have found that the pressure caused by the saddle can diminish blood flow through the arteries and compress the nerves there. These arteries and nerves go to the genital areas and there are consequences to the repeated trauma here. Genital numbness is quite common, anywhere from 50-90% of male cyclists have experienced it. Now if it occurs every once in a while, its long term effect is unlikely to be an issue, but if repeated day after day, year after year, the genitals will begin to malfunction. Erectile dysfunction is thought to occur in 1 of every 4 to 8 serious cyclists. Reports of both impotence and loss of interest in sex rise with mileage ridden. Other difficulties arise from the standard biking position. The most common is undoubtedly neck pain. The forward lean force the head to look down towards the road. The only way to look ahead is to strongly contract the neck muscles on the back of the neck. This contraction leads to significant compression of the small joints of the neck and it doesn’t take very long for these joints to become uncomfortable under that load. Additionally, the muscles easily tire in this position. Pain from either one or both of these structures will eventually force the rider to look down to stretch out the tissues. This of course means taking your eyes off the road, not necessarily the wisest thing to do. On an upright bike, the center of gravity is higher than on a recumbent so broken bones are more likely from falls. In particular, during rapid stops the natural tendency of the upright is for the back of the bike to rise and throw the rider forward over the top of the handlebars onto the road leading to head and hand injuries can also occur. (Not surprisingly, head injuries are the most common cause of serious injury and death in bicycle accidents.) Collar bone breaks are also common. On the other hand, it’s almost impossible for a long wheel base recumbent to flip forward. Short wheel base recumbents with their relatively high center of gravity can also flip, but since the feet are forward to start with, the rider will usually land on his/her feet. In rapid stops, the back ends of long wheel base recumbents tend to rotate so that the fall is actually a sideways fall. Since the center of gravity is lower, bones breaking are unlikely unless it’s at a higher speed. It’s certainly possible to land badly on an outstretched arm which can lead to a dislocated shoulder, but usually it’s just a lot of bruises and scrapes. The main concern in recumbents about stops and even slowing down is “leg suck”, something that most recumbent riders quickly learn not to do. Leg suck occurs as the rider tries to put her foot down as the bike is slowing, a natural reaction. However, given the seated position, the lower leg is essentially dragged beneath the bike and is unable to get out of the way. This can result in ankle injuries, though rarely breaking it. Should you consider a recumbent. There are certainly advantages, particularly from a health perspective. Of course, that’s not the only thing we consider when choosing bikes, but if there’s one guarantee in life, it’s that as you get older, the health perspective becomes more and more persuasive. Happy riding!

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