Prodigy4299

I purchased a new Cannondale Topstone and after more than a decade of strictly road cycling am thrilled at the prospect of going on to gravel roads and off the tarmac. For the most part I love the new ride…except that I get persistent mid-back pains, even after just a few kilometers. Even though my body is used to a more aggressive road biking position, something about the more laidback geometry doesn’t quite agree with my back.

After the first few rides I measured seat-to-stem and learned that the medium Topstone was 3cm longer than what I have set up on my 54 cm CAAD road bike. I switched out the default 100mm stem for a 80mm. This helped somewhat, but the back pain persists.

I have a few theories, but wanted to get some more opinions from people on here:

1) Go down to a 70 mm stem, bringing the seat-to-stem to exactly the same as on the road bike. The bike shop warned against going for a stem shorter than 80mm, saying that it’d make the bike too twitchy…?

2) Focus on switching / improving climbing technique. The biggest difference I notice between road and gravel is trying to climb on loose ground, and having to really focus on lowering my chin / front and keeping my weight on my back wheel. As a result, I find myself yanking on the hoods to compensate for the pedaling motion. I think this may be a contributing factor. I base this theory on this thread from a couple of years ago.

Any insight is appreciated.

dsaul

The bike shop is just quoting a theory that keeps getting repeated about shorter stems causing "twitchy" handling. There is nothing wrong with running a 70mm stem on that bike. I use a 50mm stem on my bike (roughly a 54cm frame)and I built the frame with the intention of using that size. It handles just fine with a short stem.

bonsai171

Hello, sorry to hear you are having back pain. Congrats on the new bike though! One thing you may want to consider is that your pain may be not entirely related to fit. My riding is a lot of road as well, but gravel can be a completely different animal. The tires are typically wider, and the riding surfaces uneven. Not only are you pushing a larger, possibly knobby tire, but are also getting jarred around a lot and that can take a physical toll (and you are working harder to maintain the same speed as a normal road bike!) Definitely look at your stem length (and maybe angle too), but if you have recently started gravel and jumped into the deep end, this may be a large contributing factor.

Dave

Chi_Z

the reach of 56 Topstone is only 1cm longer than 54 CAAD 39.4 vs 38.3, sounds more like your saddle is too far back

trailangel

If I road an alloy frame in the dirt with 37mm tires, my back would hurt too.
I would get bigger tires and/or Brooks sprung saddle. I use a Brooks Conquest.

Metieval

the chart on Cannondale site says stack/reach numbers are the same between AL, and carbon Topstones. But in LIFE there is a huge difference between the two.

enough so that, any interest I had in a carbon Topstone went away as soon as I got on it.

wheelsmcgee

FYI: My size L Specialized AWOL came stock with a 70mm stem, I still use it, and it handles fine on gravel as far as I’m concerned.

Prodigy4299

Yeah, I've got 40mm tires, but you bring up a good point. My back just isn't used to the terrain.

Prodigy4299

Yeah, I've ordered the 70mm stem and I'll see how it feels. Worst case, I can always switch back.

Prodigy4299

Thanks for the words of encouragement! Appreciate it.

gregf83 

First I would try setting the two bikes as close as possible. Check the bottom bracket to seat horizontal distance to ensure your saddle is in the same position relative to your pedals. Then match the bottom bracket to handlebar vert distance.

Once everything is setup the same try riding the same routes you do on your road bike. My guess is you’re not riding your road bike on hills where you have to yank on the handlebars. If the pain only occurs when riding on gravel you may just need a period of adaptation. Riding singletrack beats my upper body up a lot more than riding on the road.

jfranci3

I had the same issue when playing with different saddles. The one-position saddles gave me the same issue. Moving the saddle didn't fix the problem. Looks like they are specing Fabric Scoop Radius saddles. which is the one I was trying. Maybe demo something flatter at your LBS or from a buddy.

Prodigy4299

Interesting. Perhaps I'll try that too, swapping the saddle with the one from my road bike... Thanks for the suggestion.

Caliper

What pressures? If you're coming from straight road cycling maybe you're still fairly high pressure?

Prodigy4299

The tire says 35-65 psa, so I run it at 35 for most grip.

KraneXL

Get used to it. Could be your body's just out of shape -- in the region -- since its not used to that posture. In that case, you might also try exercises which is what I did to relive the pain in my lower back. You left out a database of information (i.e. the pain type?) so this is only a best guess