Shoulder and neck muscles

for a relaxed and close to the body posture of the elbows.

When sitting upright on a trekking or city bike, it is important to relax the shoulder and neck muscles to avoid discomfort. If the handlebars do not have enough downward curve (downsweep), this forces the hands to rotate inwards, causing the elbows to move outwards and the shoulders to be pulled towards the head. This unnatural position can cause the shoulder and neck muscles to become severely tense and painful. To avoid these problems and relax the muscle chain, the aim should be to keep the “shoulders away from the ears”.

A handlebar with more “downsweep” can help to achieve this. The downsweep in combination with the backsweep (bend towards the back) ensures a natural hand position and an elbow position close to the body. This natural posture lowers the shoulders and the muscles in the neck are better supplied with blood and relaxed in a loose position.