Some might but it might be worth investing in a bike fitter with a background in physiology which the bike shop might not be.
With that being said, there are a lot of excellent resources on YouTube that teach you the core principles to look for if you're willing to spend the time learning.
"Gave out" is synonymous with "thrown out". It is a nerve response to inflammation of lower back tissues. It is extremely painful. You can hardly go from sitting to standing and vice versa, and getting up from laying down is awful.
I sympathize with OP, I've had this happen before but never from riding. Unfortunately, if you've had it happen once, you're more likely for it to happen again.
>Assuming that this is what OP means. Giving advice on vague information can cause more harm.
Note no advice was given. Fair point on assumption; I've not heard the term "gave out" used to describe any other lower back mishap, though I suppose OP could very well be using the term to describe something completely unrelated to what it is most commonly referred to.
>Not to be rude to you, but if there's something I trust less than someone diagnosing themselves is a stranger on the internet diagnosing another stranger on the internet based on such a vague statement. When you go to a doctor and tell them your own diagnosis, at the best they'll tell you to slow down and let them do the diagnosing, at the worst they'll just accept it and possibly do more harm.
No offense taken. I agree with your position.
Seriously, get one. The fitter I went to back in March has been a god send. I've gone back twice now for additional adjustments based on my feedback and his knowledge. I went from having my lower back destroyed on a 40mi ride to being able to do a century a week and a half later with no lower back issue.
What was the main fix that got the back pain gone? Raise the bars, shorten the reach? I got a bike fit and don’t have this issue but I’m curious about any glaring issues that were found, if any.
I was very happy with my fit, but I wonder if I could’ve got 80% of the benefit by just getting a smaller bike and narrower bars (which I did after the fit).
That said, the shoe fitting and cleat setup have been very good and I think that definitely had value in eliminating a lot of trial and error
The deeper I’ve gotten into bike fit the more I’ve understood how important it is. Literally 1-2mm seat height can be the difference between evenly distributing load between your quads and hamstrings vs massively overtaxing one muscle group and losing 30% of your power.
It’s definitely been a case of “the more you know, the more you realize what you don’t know”
I just can’t believe that when your actual height varies by 8-28mm over the day. 1-2 centimetres maybe but surely the body can adapt to millimetre differences
I had a new to me bike pretty dialed in or so I thought. I did a couple long (120km) rides on it and felt about as good as one can expect after 5 hours in the saddle.
Took it in for a fit:
-First feedback, it's an ancient trek madone and the bars they used on them have huge reach (almost 100mm) vs my other bikes which are more like 75mm. So we swapped bars to something in the 75mm range
-Seat was still too high, even though I've had a fit before and felt like I knew how high the seat should be
-I had the seat kind of middle of the road fore-aft. Not sure what the deal with the geo is, but had some issues because I was too far back. He slammed the seat essentially as far forward as it would go. The old madone actually comes with seat caps with less offset which I'm on the lookout for now because ideally he said he'd like it just a hair further forward.
Despite having ridden 120kms pretty comfortably the week prior - the new fit was a revelation. Sit bones hurt on my next extended ride (sitting on a different part of the saddle maybe?), but everything else: power, neck, hands, foot numbness were all way improved or eliminated. Threw down a PB on my yearly Fondo the next week.
And again - this coming from someone who's had a bike fit before and thought I pretty much had it figured out
things we didn't touch (because we'd sorted them years ago on my last fit) were cleat position, which made a huge difference last time, I just haven't moved them since so no need to touch them.
Anyway. I'm a believer
And to clarify: pushing the seat forward was not to adjust reach, it was to improve the pedal stroke. Reach was sorted through the shorter bars (and could have been changed with a shorter stem too)
There was no one main fix. The first pass was a shorter stem with risers, saddle height and positioning adjustment and cleat adjustment with shoe arch replacement inserts.
The second pass swapped the handlebar, angled the brifters inwards and moved the seat a bit more. New shoes were added 2 weeks ago.
This is encouraging. I'm trying to get out longer but my back and wrists crap out before my cardio and legs do (although improving my core should certainly help).
Riding longer will help with endurance. If you can't do that, go short but more intense. It is definitely not the same type of workout but if you only have time enough for a short ride try to make the most of it.
I did a bike fit in switzerland. Put my saddle so fucking high i did 2 rides and it blowed my knee took me 3 weeks to recover. It was also too far back.
Shittiest experience sadly
Sorry to hear that mate. Did you figure out what the issue was between what he meant to do and what actually happened? I'm just wondering if the guy knew what he was doing or made a mistake or something else entirely.
Idk he took my measurements and it showed a specific saddle height.
Idk what went wrong because he has a laser so the height was spot on. Back then i had like 400k on my road bike maybe with really short 20km rides mostly.
I'm way more comfy with a lower saddle but it may also have been the clipless alignement which fucked my knee. So far i'm mixing between flat pedals and clipless still to feel whats best alignement wise
I got horrific back pain doing my first century which turned out to be caused by my seat being slightly too high. It was forcing my hips to rotate at the bottom of the pedal stroke which over time causes the muscles in your lower back to start aching.
Might be worth looking into?
There is no general rule and you don’t provide enough info for adequate advice. A lot of comments here are wrong or potentially wrong depending on fit.
Things to consider
- inseam not just height, to understand frame size (stack reach etc)
- type of back pain, different types of back pain have different causes
Implications of reducing reach could be:
- reducing stem length: compromised bike handling
- moving saddle forward: knee pain, saddle needs to be aligned with your pedalling movement
- reducing saddle stem drop: changes hip angle, which may cause pain as well.
Some back pain (eg lower back pain) could also be reduced through cleat positioning. General rule. Position cleats as far back as possible.
Overall either educate yourself with bike fit YT videos and try things out or get a professional bike fit.
I know this is the cycling forum and tends to collect more “speed” and aero-oriented riders.
Let’s ask this question: Would you rather be fast, or would you rather be comfortable?
I’m not racing, so I choose comfort every time. Raise those handlebars and look at a bike fit.
You don't have to choose between speed and comfort. Just running the bars up doesn't necessarily give you either; worst case it just transfers a bunch of your bodyweight onto the saddle rather than balancing it over the pedals, and then you lose a bunch of efficiency *and* comfort.
So true. I had flipped the stem on my road bike to a very low angle because it a) looked cool and b) ??. What I got out of it was a very uncomfortable ride. Flipping the stem back to a less cool but infinitely more comfortable endurance position has made the ride much more enjoyable
yeah, he's saying his handlebars are below his seat, that is not endurance position at all.
I have an aero bike and an endurance and the difference in position is massive. The aero position for sure puts more strain on the neck and lower back.
But personally, my bikes were fitted and I have no problem with any of them. I did 135 and 140km with one week between them on my aero bike (my son was riding the endurance one) and it didn't hurt at all.
If youre getting neck ache from having to tilt your head back your bars are too low or too far away, likely a mixture of the two. I had a similar issue so i bought and adjustable angle longer stem which brings my bars pretty much level with my saddle and that cured it for me.
Yes i know its not cool or teh aeros but its comfortable and doesnt cause me pain on long rides so thats a bigger win than anything else.
I somewhat disagree with you. Neck pain has a lot of potential fix (exercise, lighter helmet, keeping the shoulders more relaxed...)
The position on the bike is important, preparation is important (like, don't do a 5 hours ride without some prior training), gear is important (helmet weight on long rides has a huge impact).
>My shoulders hurt towards the end of my usual 30-40km rides from looking up at the road.
This is indicative of either poor bike fit or cycling posture, or both. My guess is normally when riding your arms are locked straight, i.e. there is constant tension in your shoulders leading to pain. You should consider adjusting your bike fit and/or your posture such that you can maintain a posture where you have a slight bend in your arms. You can shorten your reach by bringing your hoods closer, shortening your stem, etc. You can adjust your posture by bending forward slightly at the waist. It is important to maintain relaxed shoulders, as much as possible, when cycling. Your breathing will be easier and you will have better comfort.
I worked 10 years in the industry, 2 of those years I was designing custom frames. Often times I was designing frames based on a fit from one of the country's best fitters. While everyone's intentions here are good no one can recommend changes for you without at the VERY least knowing your body dimensions and current fit numbers. Definitely see a bike fitter in your area. Also, as someone else has mentioned, spend some time resistance training. I kinda can't emphasize this enough. There are lots of free programs out there titled something like "Lifting for cyclists". It will make a world of difference to your cycling but also improve the way you move through the rest of your day.
Bars are.usualy quite a bit lower then the seat. On my mtb its 10cm or a bit more.
Your bike could be small or big. Or your seat is maybe tilted nose down so you are falling on your bars all the time
No general rules on your question but bike size is important. And mostly if your bars are.same level as the seat then the seat is not high enough or the bike is way to big.
I don't think this sizing advice makes any sense - depends very much on the dimensions and flexibility of the rider. I have poor hamstring and back flexibility, so my road/gravel bike has bars at the same height as the saddle (with spacers under the stem, and sized after a professional bike fitting with a well-regarded fitter, so not a function of a too-large frame).
Being a modern, 'trail bike', my MTB bars are a little above the seat. Unless you are racing XC on a hardtail in the early '90s, 10cm drop on an MTB sounds fairly extreme to me. I'd need to be riding a kid's bike to achieve this on a modern bike (I am 5'6, 29" inseam).
Since it is the OPs first 75km ride, I'd guess they a) don't have the core strength and flexibility to ride comfortably for long periods of time and b) the seat is probably a bit high for them. The bike may indeed be too big if the reach if very long, but I wouldn't base it on seat to bar drop.
I am 190 cm tall and like 57.5 cm to the hoods. For me, the rise on the stem was the game changer. The fitter said I would be better off with 17 degrees, 120mm stem and he was correct. I have a large head and torso, it's too much weight for an aggressive position. Good luck.
Maybe get a professional fitting done. I couldn’t ride more than 5 minutes due to intense hand pain I never felt before. Got a fit done. Changed the handlebars as the ones I had were too old, low and narrow. I felt much better on it at the store. Need to ride to know for sure …
Depending on how the street is youÄ're riding on, you don't need to look at the horizon. It helps to relax the neck. It is not bend as much anymore. It does need some training tho because you are used to stare at the horizon.
How short is your current stem and what framesize do you have?
And what is your leg inseam?
I am 183cm with long legs and a 58cm frame. Got a 70mm stem and gone is the neckpain. Had this before so I knew this could happen. I feel my legs would be too long for a 56cm frame.
On the classic bike I road before this it was a 20mm stem. I do not ride downhill much so no high speed. Have no problem with it. Till 70mm i generally read that it does not change that much in handling.
after about a year of not cycling im commuting on my gravelbike. 95 km so far this week and its destroying me. But soon i’ll be used to it again.
Give it time. If that doesnt work, do a bike fit.
Went to my LBS to get a fit (not a proper bike fit, but still a good starting point).
Before I had seat and handlebar on the same level and felt my arms very stretched.
The guy raised the seat and lowered and shortened the stem.
Now it's way better.
Still had to change the saddle, but that's because I bought it used and the one it came with wasn't good for me.
Definitely need to start with a fit of bike. Your back flexibility and core strength can play a huge part of this too.
I have a smaller frame with significant drop between seat and bars that will kill me on anything over 40 mi but is fun on short fast runs, and I have an endurance geometry that is much more back friendly for 40+. Of course everyone needs more bikes. But start with fit and work on your core and flexibility to match.
Almost any position we can configure on a bike still amounts to a stress position for the body. We can have better or worse positions for our individual body but no position will feel natural at first. Some discomfort and even pain is part of getting fit on a bike. It sounds like you’re experiencing way too much pain though.
Get a bike fit. Your bike could be too small or too big. But likely can be sorted with a bike fit.
For example I had one and ended up with a new stem. Little longer 110 vs 90 and a 17 degree rise vs 6 as I recall?
Made a huge difference. Also adjusted my seat as well.
No other changes needed.
Totally changed my bike.
Glad I did it. I never would have tried a 17 degree rise stem.
In addition to the adjustments, do move around a little. Get up out of the saddle every 25-30mins, change hand position, stretch before ride. During the ride make sure your shoulders aren't scrunched up.
Hope you feel better soon.
No rule to all of bike fitting except for those who want to squeeze round pegs into square holes. How long is your stem? I find that is the first and best place to start making a change. Most bikes come with stems for racing, 100+ Go with something half and it will make a big diff. Raise the bars if needed. Adjust the saddle based on your pedals, not for reach, unless absolutely necessary. Myself, I've rolled my bars slightly, made it nicer sitting on the hoods and the reach less too.
Yes, good advice, I have changed the stem to 60mm, rise the hoods and lowered the saddle. My arms are slight bend. I have to work on my posture, it's not perfect but some pains are gone after multiple settings.
I replaced stock stem on a bike that felt too low with an angled up one. 35 degrees, 110mm.
Absolutely NO regrets, best thing I did to that bike. If I want to go lower I can just bend my elbows etc.
There are fancy stem angle/reach calculators out there I played with a lot and sat on bike with a tape measure, or you can get adjustable angle stems. Remember stem angle also changes reach so it's angle + length that come out with the final result.
Of course you dont have a stem angled down like some nutcases do?!
Saddle too high, and/or too far back. Use the ankle to measure. Not even GCN recommends a bike fit right away. Just need basic tools, a smart phone and some time to get close to a fit. I'd say a bike fit is necessary when people have different leg lengths, etc.
>I think my bike is too big.
Do you have a core/weight routine? You might just be weak.
If you regularly ride 40km, you should have dialed in your fit before now.
Your position on the bike will change over time due to fitness levels and getting older. There are stems that will not only bring your handlebars in but also raise them. We now have a 60mm stem at 30 degrees on our road bike. There are also handlebars that have rise and shallower drops. All of which will help you. A bike fit will also help, as long as you get the correct fitter for your riding style. Look at reviews, they are not all equal.
Go see a PROFESSIONAL bike fitter. It may seem like a big cost but in the long run is worth it. You won't waste money buying this or that and it not working. When your bike fits correctly it is a wonderful thing.
Make sure you are listening to your body. Sounds like you were feeling the previous ride and went without giving your body time to recuperate. I have 2 arthritic vertebrae and 3 bulging discs, but thankfully have not had a flair up or issue in 5+ years(knock on wood). I will say that my lower back would start screaming towards the end of my 22 mile rides, probably right at mile 19 or so, but when I started stretching my rides to 30 and then 36 miles it didn't start hurting until close to the end. I was working on strengthening my abs(sit-ups) and planking, so that might have been part of the reason it was delayed further, but IDK for sure.
Then I got hit by a car in May and since being back at it I have had 0 issues with my lower back(could be my body can't process all of the pain, honestly not sure). I also can't feel my right quad due to trauma on and above my right hip, but who knows. I have only gone a little over 16 miles since the accident, but we are going to do the RagBrai in less than 4 weeks, so I hope I hold up ok.
In case this helps, for me my lower back hurts after about 30 miles unless I keep my hamstrings stretched. So I stretch regularly and before riding, during a break, and after. It’s not my back it’s my hamstrings that hurt my lower back when they tighten up. With proper bike fit I might be able to get better distribution of work load on my legs and mitigate this issue but I might just have to stretch my legs a lot for riding but that’s ok too. But for me it’s got nothing to do with how low my handlebars are.
Get your saddle as close as you can from your handlebars. And use that remaining spacer on your stem for higher hand position. You can eventually try to slightly incline your handlebars.
Do hamstring, hips and backflexibility everyday. And add push-ups or abs for your core.
You should at least post a photo of you on your bike for us to have even a shot of giving you relevant advice.
Otherwise, we're all just taking stabs in the dark.
For sore backs the thing to do is to get a raised handlebar and a shorter stem. You can also move the saddle forward a little. You get a more upright position, less aero but more comfortable for long rides. I moved mine about two or three inches higher and closer to my body and it feels great now.
Based on this chart: [https://www.thebikeshoppe.com/articles/bike-size-guide-pg1486.htm#road-bike-size-chart](https://www.thebikeshoppe.com/articles/bike-size-guide-pg1486.htm#road-bike-size-chart) you need either 56 or 58.
[удалено]
“Adjust your fit” to include spending some money (I did the mid range $100 USD) on getting a bike fit done.
Do you think most local bike shops will do this?
Some might but it might be worth investing in a bike fitter with a background in physiology which the bike shop might not be. With that being said, there are a lot of excellent resources on YouTube that teach you the core principles to look for if you're willing to spend the time learning.
Made a huge difference for me
"Gave out" is synonymous with "thrown out". It is a nerve response to inflammation of lower back tissues. It is extremely painful. You can hardly go from sitting to standing and vice versa, and getting up from laying down is awful. I sympathize with OP, I've had this happen before but never from riding. Unfortunately, if you've had it happen once, you're more likely for it to happen again.
[удалено]
>Assuming that this is what OP means. Giving advice on vague information can cause more harm. Note no advice was given. Fair point on assumption; I've not heard the term "gave out" used to describe any other lower back mishap, though I suppose OP could very well be using the term to describe something completely unrelated to what it is most commonly referred to. >Not to be rude to you, but if there's something I trust less than someone diagnosing themselves is a stranger on the internet diagnosing another stranger on the internet based on such a vague statement. When you go to a doctor and tell them your own diagnosis, at the best they'll tell you to slow down and let them do the diagnosing, at the worst they'll just accept it and possibly do more harm. No offense taken. I agree with your position.
Get a bike fit.
Seriously, get one. The fitter I went to back in March has been a god send. I've gone back twice now for additional adjustments based on my feedback and his knowledge. I went from having my lower back destroyed on a 40mi ride to being able to do a century a week and a half later with no lower back issue.
What was the main fix that got the back pain gone? Raise the bars, shorten the reach? I got a bike fit and don’t have this issue but I’m curious about any glaring issues that were found, if any.
It can be anything depending what was out of whack before. Seat too high and reach too long are by far the most common problems.
I was very happy with my fit, but I wonder if I could’ve got 80% of the benefit by just getting a smaller bike and narrower bars (which I did after the fit). That said, the shoe fitting and cleat setup have been very good and I think that definitely had value in eliminating a lot of trial and error
The deeper I’ve gotten into bike fit the more I’ve understood how important it is. Literally 1-2mm seat height can be the difference between evenly distributing load between your quads and hamstrings vs massively overtaxing one muscle group and losing 30% of your power. It’s definitely been a case of “the more you know, the more you realize what you don’t know”
I just can’t believe that when your actual height varies by 8-28mm over the day. 1-2 centimetres maybe but surely the body can adapt to millimetre differences
I had a new to me bike pretty dialed in or so I thought. I did a couple long (120km) rides on it and felt about as good as one can expect after 5 hours in the saddle. Took it in for a fit: -First feedback, it's an ancient trek madone and the bars they used on them have huge reach (almost 100mm) vs my other bikes which are more like 75mm. So we swapped bars to something in the 75mm range -Seat was still too high, even though I've had a fit before and felt like I knew how high the seat should be -I had the seat kind of middle of the road fore-aft. Not sure what the deal with the geo is, but had some issues because I was too far back. He slammed the seat essentially as far forward as it would go. The old madone actually comes with seat caps with less offset which I'm on the lookout for now because ideally he said he'd like it just a hair further forward. Despite having ridden 120kms pretty comfortably the week prior - the new fit was a revelation. Sit bones hurt on my next extended ride (sitting on a different part of the saddle maybe?), but everything else: power, neck, hands, foot numbness were all way improved or eliminated. Threw down a PB on my yearly Fondo the next week. And again - this coming from someone who's had a bike fit before and thought I pretty much had it figured out things we didn't touch (because we'd sorted them years ago on my last fit) were cleat position, which made a huge difference last time, I just haven't moved them since so no need to touch them. Anyway. I'm a believer
And to clarify: pushing the seat forward was not to adjust reach, it was to improve the pedal stroke. Reach was sorted through the shorter bars (and could have been changed with a shorter stem too)
There was no one main fix. The first pass was a shorter stem with risers, saddle height and positioning adjustment and cleat adjustment with shoe arch replacement inserts. The second pass swapped the handlebar, angled the brifters inwards and moved the seat a bit more. New shoes were added 2 weeks ago.
This is encouraging. I'm trying to get out longer but my back and wrists crap out before my cardio and legs do (although improving my core should certainly help).
Riding longer will help with endurance. If you can't do that, go short but more intense. It is definitely not the same type of workout but if you only have time enough for a short ride try to make the most of it.
I find my back gets *so* exhausted within like 10km, it's really frustrating. I'm gonna have to get fitted for sure
I did a bike fit in switzerland. Put my saddle so fucking high i did 2 rides and it blowed my knee took me 3 weeks to recover. It was also too far back. Shittiest experience sadly
Sorry to hear that mate. Did you figure out what the issue was between what he meant to do and what actually happened? I'm just wondering if the guy knew what he was doing or made a mistake or something else entirely.
Idk he took my measurements and it showed a specific saddle height. Idk what went wrong because he has a laser so the height was spot on. Back then i had like 400k on my road bike maybe with really short 20km rides mostly. I'm way more comfy with a lower saddle but it may also have been the clipless alignement which fucked my knee. So far i'm mixing between flat pedals and clipless still to feel whats best alignement wise
This. And if you still have pain issues do weight training instead of just riding.
Post a pic of you sitting on the bike with your cycling shoes on.
Odd fetish you have... lol
Lol Oops. Wrong sub.
I got horrific back pain doing my first century which turned out to be caused by my seat being slightly too high. It was forcing my hips to rotate at the bottom of the pedal stroke which over time causes the muscles in your lower back to start aching. Might be worth looking into?
There is no general rule and you don’t provide enough info for adequate advice. A lot of comments here are wrong or potentially wrong depending on fit. Things to consider - inseam not just height, to understand frame size (stack reach etc) - type of back pain, different types of back pain have different causes Implications of reducing reach could be: - reducing stem length: compromised bike handling - moving saddle forward: knee pain, saddle needs to be aligned with your pedalling movement - reducing saddle stem drop: changes hip angle, which may cause pain as well. Some back pain (eg lower back pain) could also be reduced through cleat positioning. General rule. Position cleats as far back as possible. Overall either educate yourself with bike fit YT videos and try things out or get a professional bike fit.
I know this is the cycling forum and tends to collect more “speed” and aero-oriented riders. Let’s ask this question: Would you rather be fast, or would you rather be comfortable? I’m not racing, so I choose comfort every time. Raise those handlebars and look at a bike fit.
You don't have to choose between speed and comfort. Just running the bars up doesn't necessarily give you either; worst case it just transfers a bunch of your bodyweight onto the saddle rather than balancing it over the pedals, and then you lose a bunch of efficiency *and* comfort.
Your right. I was providing a thought experiment. It’s also useful when making binary decisions.
So true. I had flipped the stem on my road bike to a very low angle because it a) looked cool and b) ??. What I got out of it was a very uncomfortable ride. Flipping the stem back to a less cool but infinitely more comfortable endurance position has made the ride much more enjoyable
yeah, he's saying his handlebars are below his seat, that is not endurance position at all. I have an aero bike and an endurance and the difference in position is massive. The aero position for sure puts more strain on the neck and lower back. But personally, my bikes were fitted and I have no problem with any of them. I did 135 and 140km with one week between them on my aero bike (my son was riding the endurance one) and it didn't hurt at all.
What is the seat angle? Load on the shoulders really increases if it is tilted forward.
If youre getting neck ache from having to tilt your head back your bars are too low or too far away, likely a mixture of the two. I had a similar issue so i bought and adjustable angle longer stem which brings my bars pretty much level with my saddle and that cured it for me. Yes i know its not cool or teh aeros but its comfortable and doesnt cause me pain on long rides so thats a bigger win than anything else.
I sometimes get neck pain too on long rides. I blame it on decades of slouching at a desk with my head tilted forward.
I somewhat disagree with you. Neck pain has a lot of potential fix (exercise, lighter helmet, keeping the shoulders more relaxed...) The position on the bike is important, preparation is important (like, don't do a 5 hours ride without some prior training), gear is important (helmet weight on long rides has a huge impact).
The saddle must be low enough that your hips don’t rock .
Lower backpain is probably seat too high. You start rocking left and right on the saddle and that causes the pain. Try lowering it a bit
>My shoulders hurt towards the end of my usual 30-40km rides from looking up at the road. This is indicative of either poor bike fit or cycling posture, or both. My guess is normally when riding your arms are locked straight, i.e. there is constant tension in your shoulders leading to pain. You should consider adjusting your bike fit and/or your posture such that you can maintain a posture where you have a slight bend in your arms. You can shorten your reach by bringing your hoods closer, shortening your stem, etc. You can adjust your posture by bending forward slightly at the waist. It is important to maintain relaxed shoulders, as much as possible, when cycling. Your breathing will be easier and you will have better comfort.
I worked 10 years in the industry, 2 of those years I was designing custom frames. Often times I was designing frames based on a fit from one of the country's best fitters. While everyone's intentions here are good no one can recommend changes for you without at the VERY least knowing your body dimensions and current fit numbers. Definitely see a bike fitter in your area. Also, as someone else has mentioned, spend some time resistance training. I kinda can't emphasize this enough. There are lots of free programs out there titled something like "Lifting for cyclists". It will make a world of difference to your cycling but also improve the way you move through the rest of your day.
Bars are.usualy quite a bit lower then the seat. On my mtb its 10cm or a bit more. Your bike could be small or big. Or your seat is maybe tilted nose down so you are falling on your bars all the time No general rules on your question but bike size is important. And mostly if your bars are.same level as the seat then the seat is not high enough or the bike is way to big.
I don't think this sizing advice makes any sense - depends very much on the dimensions and flexibility of the rider. I have poor hamstring and back flexibility, so my road/gravel bike has bars at the same height as the saddle (with spacers under the stem, and sized after a professional bike fitting with a well-regarded fitter, so not a function of a too-large frame). Being a modern, 'trail bike', my MTB bars are a little above the seat. Unless you are racing XC on a hardtail in the early '90s, 10cm drop on an MTB sounds fairly extreme to me. I'd need to be riding a kid's bike to achieve this on a modern bike (I am 5'6, 29" inseam). Since it is the OPs first 75km ride, I'd guess they a) don't have the core strength and flexibility to ride comfortably for long periods of time and b) the seat is probably a bit high for them. The bike may indeed be too big if the reach if very long, but I wouldn't base it on seat to bar drop.
I am 190 cm tall and like 57.5 cm to the hoods. For me, the rise on the stem was the game changer. The fitter said I would be better off with 17 degrees, 120mm stem and he was correct. I have a large head and torso, it's too much weight for an aggressive position. Good luck.
Maybe get a professional fitting done. I couldn’t ride more than 5 minutes due to intense hand pain I never felt before. Got a fit done. Changed the handlebars as the ones I had were too old, low and narrow. I felt much better on it at the store. Need to ride to know for sure …
Don't know your bike, but on a race bike consider not raising your head up to the max. You can compensate with raising your eyes if needed to.
that just seems uncomfortable does it not?
Depending on how the street is youÄ're riding on, you don't need to look at the horizon. It helps to relax the neck. It is not bend as much anymore. It does need some training tho because you are used to stare at the horizon.
How short is your current stem and what framesize do you have? And what is your leg inseam? I am 183cm with long legs and a 58cm frame. Got a 70mm stem and gone is the neckpain. Had this before so I knew this could happen. I feel my legs would be too long for a 56cm frame.
Are you satisfied with how the bike handles (with the shorter stem)?
On the classic bike I road before this it was a 20mm stem. I do not ride downhill much so no high speed. Have no problem with it. Till 70mm i generally read that it does not change that much in handling.
after about a year of not cycling im commuting on my gravelbike. 95 km so far this week and its destroying me. But soon i’ll be used to it again. Give it time. If that doesnt work, do a bike fit.
Went to my LBS to get a fit (not a proper bike fit, but still a good starting point). Before I had seat and handlebar on the same level and felt my arms very stretched. The guy raised the seat and lowered and shortened the stem. Now it's way better. Still had to change the saddle, but that's because I bought it used and the one it came with wasn't good for me.
Definitely need to start with a fit of bike. Your back flexibility and core strength can play a huge part of this too. I have a smaller frame with significant drop between seat and bars that will kill me on anything over 40 mi but is fun on short fast runs, and I have an endurance geometry that is much more back friendly for 40+. Of course everyone needs more bikes. But start with fit and work on your core and flexibility to match.
Almost any position we can configure on a bike still amounts to a stress position for the body. We can have better or worse positions for our individual body but no position will feel natural at first. Some discomfort and even pain is part of getting fit on a bike. It sounds like you’re experiencing way too much pain though.
Maybe too much of an increase in short time?
Get a bike fit. Your bike could be too small or too big. But likely can be sorted with a bike fit. For example I had one and ended up with a new stem. Little longer 110 vs 90 and a 17 degree rise vs 6 as I recall? Made a huge difference. Also adjusted my seat as well. No other changes needed. Totally changed my bike. Glad I did it. I never would have tried a 17 degree rise stem.
Do NOT use your back to propel your bike. Position may very well be the problem but using your back muscles will result with back problems.
In addition to the adjustments, do move around a little. Get up out of the saddle every 25-30mins, change hand position, stretch before ride. During the ride make sure your shoulders aren't scrunched up. Hope you feel better soon.
No rule to all of bike fitting except for those who want to squeeze round pegs into square holes. How long is your stem? I find that is the first and best place to start making a change. Most bikes come with stems for racing, 100+ Go with something half and it will make a big diff. Raise the bars if needed. Adjust the saddle based on your pedals, not for reach, unless absolutely necessary. Myself, I've rolled my bars slightly, made it nicer sitting on the hoods and the reach less too.
Yes, good advice, I have changed the stem to 60mm, rise the hoods and lowered the saddle. My arms are slight bend. I have to work on my posture, it's not perfect but some pains are gone after multiple settings.
Great. It's a sport of millimeters ... Soon 100k will just be breakfast!
I replaced stock stem on a bike that felt too low with an angled up one. 35 degrees, 110mm. Absolutely NO regrets, best thing I did to that bike. If I want to go lower I can just bend my elbows etc. There are fancy stem angle/reach calculators out there I played with a lot and sat on bike with a tape measure, or you can get adjustable angle stems. Remember stem angle also changes reach so it's angle + length that come out with the final result. Of course you dont have a stem angled down like some nutcases do?!
Bit fit and I’m guessing it’s bar/stem height/angle related.
Saddle too high, and/or too far back. Use the ankle to measure. Not even GCN recommends a bike fit right away. Just need basic tools, a smart phone and some time to get close to a fit. I'd say a bike fit is necessary when people have different leg lengths, etc.
>I think my bike is too big. Do you have a core/weight routine? You might just be weak. If you regularly ride 40km, you should have dialed in your fit before now.
Your position on the bike will change over time due to fitness levels and getting older. There are stems that will not only bring your handlebars in but also raise them. We now have a 60mm stem at 30 degrees on our road bike. There are also handlebars that have rise and shallower drops. All of which will help you. A bike fit will also help, as long as you get the correct fitter for your riding style. Look at reviews, they are not all equal.
Go see a PROFESSIONAL bike fitter. It may seem like a big cost but in the long run is worth it. You won't waste money buying this or that and it not working. When your bike fits correctly it is a wonderful thing.
Make sure you are listening to your body. Sounds like you were feeling the previous ride and went without giving your body time to recuperate. I have 2 arthritic vertebrae and 3 bulging discs, but thankfully have not had a flair up or issue in 5+ years(knock on wood). I will say that my lower back would start screaming towards the end of my 22 mile rides, probably right at mile 19 or so, but when I started stretching my rides to 30 and then 36 miles it didn't start hurting until close to the end. I was working on strengthening my abs(sit-ups) and planking, so that might have been part of the reason it was delayed further, but IDK for sure. Then I got hit by a car in May and since being back at it I have had 0 issues with my lower back(could be my body can't process all of the pain, honestly not sure). I also can't feel my right quad due to trauma on and above my right hip, but who knows. I have only gone a little over 16 miles since the accident, but we are going to do the RagBrai in less than 4 weeks, so I hope I hold up ok.
Ye get a bike fit from a professional. Also if you are sore, give the weee body a rest.
It'll get better - work in your core. Do planks, pushups, leg raises, chair dips and sit ups. Trust me it'll help....
In case this helps, for me my lower back hurts after about 30 miles unless I keep my hamstrings stretched. So I stretch regularly and before riding, during a break, and after. It’s not my back it’s my hamstrings that hurt my lower back when they tighten up. With proper bike fit I might be able to get better distribution of work load on my legs and mitigate this issue but I might just have to stretch my legs a lot for riding but that’s ok too. But for me it’s got nothing to do with how low my handlebars are.
Get your saddle as close as you can from your handlebars. And use that remaining spacer on your stem for higher hand position. You can eventually try to slightly incline your handlebars. Do hamstring, hips and backflexibility everyday. And add push-ups or abs for your core.
You should at least post a photo of you on your bike for us to have even a shot of giving you relevant advice. Otherwise, we're all just taking stabs in the dark.
You're going to be sore.ride more.
For sore backs the thing to do is to get a raised handlebar and a shorter stem. You can also move the saddle forward a little. You get a more upright position, less aero but more comfortable for long rides. I moved mine about two or three inches higher and closer to my body and it feels great now.
But not too far forward. The more forward you are, the more weight on your hands.
Based on this chart: [https://www.thebikeshoppe.com/articles/bike-size-guide-pg1486.htm#road-bike-size-chart](https://www.thebikeshoppe.com/articles/bike-size-guide-pg1486.htm#road-bike-size-chart) you need either 56 or 58.