So, I've got tennis elbow that won't go away. Therapy, shots, iontopheresis, oral steroids, grasston, and so on. I've eliminated all activity but road cycling, but that still seems to bother it. I was wondering if the Shockstop would help eat up the low level vibration from bad roads. I ride a lot of chip seal and generally rough roads. I'm running 30 mm tires up front with ~65psi and a carbon frame and fork. Just looking for options to keep riding. Any opinions would be appreciated.
I find that I don't really put any weight on my arms with the proper bike fit. If you stand up, then crouch down relatively low - that is the position you should have on your bike. You can do all kinds of things with your arms with no pressure on them in this position. I have a pretty stiff front end, but I don't really notice it as there is no pressure on my arms.
chas wrote:I find that I don't really put any weight on my arms with the proper bike fit. If you stand up, then crouch down relatively low - that is the position you should have on your bike. You can do all kinds of things with your arms with no pressure on them in this position. I have a pretty stiff front end, but I don't really notice it as there is no pressure on my arms.
Food for though...
Thanks. I am pretty well set up, not too much pressure on my arms. But, from what my doc and PT say, it's the vibration that causes a problem not the force on the arms per se. Hence my desire to get something else to dampen vibration. I could also go with a wider tire, but I figured I might use this stem on a gravel bike once I get my elbow under control.
I swapped on one of the Redshift stems this year. I can’t quantify the difference because I’m also using lower tire pressures, but I do think it helps. I’ve got the 90 mm stem, 155lbs, using the stock elastomers. I can feel and see bar movement when I pedal standing but it’s not a problem.
I have Redshift stem shocks on 3 of my and my wife's gravel bikes. Where I really feel the benefit becomes clear is with lite to mod road chatter such as on gravel roads with small rocks or small to mod ruts. I dont feel alot of gain on rougher gravel or dirt roads or rocky jeep roads since the bump will be felt in your arms and shoulders no matter what. I doubt that you will notice much on pavement or smooth roads tho there is likely some benefit with road buzz no mater what the surface. Wider tires and lower pressures will help alot too. Also, I think seat position in a more upright position can be of help.
Dan wrote:So, I've got tennis elbow that won't go away. Therapy, shots, iontopheresis, oral steroids, grasston, and so on. I've eliminated all activity but road cycling, but that still seems to bother it. I was wondering if the Shockstop would help eat up the low level vibration from bad roads. I ride a lot of chip seal and generally rough roads. I'm running 30 mm tires up front with ~65psi and a carbon frame and fork. Just looking for options to keep riding. Any opinions would be appreciated.
Yes, the stem will help.
The carbon fork I had rattled me more than a cheap steel MTB fork. The custom steel fork I made is even smoother.
Maybe its just my bikes, but chatter got a LOT worse once we went with disk brakes and replaced those elegant j bend forks with really stiff straight forks that could absorb all of that torque coming from near the hub.
chas wrote:Maybe its just my bikes, but chatter got a LOT worse once we went with disk brakes and replaced those elegant j bend forks with really stiff straight forks that could absorb all of that torque coming from near the hub.
You and Shiggy make a good point. I've been riding my disk brake bike. Perhaps I'll switch back to the curved fork canti bike for the time being.
I'm probably going to forego the fork, I had an ultrasound on both my elbows and it was suggested I have surgery on the right one, which is the one giving me the majority of the problems. They said the tendon is messed up (technical term) enough that it's not going to get better. Perhaps if they could have done that 4 months ago I wouldn't have wasted time and money with all the treatment.
I’m sorry to hear about your tennis elbow. That can be very frustrating.
The Redshift stem is really nice. I put it on and couldn’t tell if it helped until I went back to my old stem. It’s quite noticeable. It will make a difference on rough pavement. That being said, it’s not going to solve your elbow pain. It might help, but it won’t be enough to keep you away from surgery.
I'd really recommend bigger and supple tires. E.g. switch to 650x48 (or 700x48 if you can). The redshift stem probably will help, but not as much as bigger tires. I used the redshift for awhile; for me, riding mostly pavement, I'd notice it softening small bumps, but I didn't really find a lot of value and switched back to a regular stem; I never got used to the added movement of the frontend when standing on the pedals, etc. I run big & supple (44mm Rene Herse) tires, which make a huge difference in how the road feels.
I'm a little unique in that I have two identical frames built up slightly different than each other for gravel with the same handlebar and same length of stem. One has a Shockstop stem. My n=1 is that my upper body is much less beat up when using the Shockstop stem. I don't know how that relates to tendinitis, but I'm pretty confident that a Shockstop stem helps your upper body get rattled less (in general terms).
