TJtheWrecker

I'm new to drop bars, I'm 23, 6"4', 200lbs and in decent shape. Apparently not for cycling though, I find my lower back hurts and shoulders are hunched on the bike, in the hoods especially, and on climbs. Additionally, my quads are the most dominant muscle for pedalling, not feeling much hamstring and glutes.

I am aiming to get better and do longer rides faster -- I don't want to injure myself and sideline the cycling. Can you guys give me some suggestions? I would appreciate it a lot.

DrIsotope

Question 1: is the bike the right size for you?
Question 2: has the bike been fitted to you?
Question 3: when you say "hurts," do you mean discomfort, or pain?

TJtheWrecker

Thanks for the response. To your questions,
1. Yes i think the bike is a good size for me, 61cm Specialized Diverge Carbon
2. No I have not had the bike personally fitted to me, should I be doing that?
3. Well my quads are just muscle soreness, but my lower back has pain while cycling post 10 miles or so. Not sure what's causing it.

Phil_gretz

We'd really have to see a broadside photo of you while on the bike riding. Maybe while connected to a stationary trainer?

You're young, which is an advantage. Fit may be an issue, particularly if you're unable to slide back in the saddle to engage your glutes. Hamstring is a technique thing. Do you have any foot retention on the pedals?

Your discomfort is likely lack "bike conditioning" combined with posture issues. It could be core instability or tightness in the hips/hamstrings that are causing you to overwork your lower back. Shoulders should be natural and not "hunched" or tight in any way. Arms relaxed and bent slightly. Head not too upright - vision is beneath the brow. If you can find footage of pro riders, look at how relaxed they are. Their saddle-to-bar drop is more than yours, but you'll get the idea.

Good luck.

DrIsotope

I trial-and-errored my way to my current fit, and don't claim (at all) that to be the best way to do it. A professional fitting can often sort out 90% of problems on the first trip, and then it's just refining from there.

Much of the discomfort comes from just being new at it. When I first started, my neck was constantly sore, unused to the head position of riding dropbars, which I had never done before.

I ride bikes to help alleviate chronic back pain, so I'm no help there-- but at least for me, sore quads are just a daily thing.

TJtheWrecker

I will try to get a photo/video like that for you guys in a day or so. The thighs and neck I can deal with. My main issue that bothers me is the lower back, I have to sometimes stop just because my back is in pain.

Leinster

Do core exercises, yoga etc. Stability in the trunk will help you maintain your torso position for longer with less pain.

It's also possible you're too stretched out/too hunched up, resulting in the back pain.

Ironfish653

There's a lot of little subtle things that can make a difference. Bike fit is a game of millimetres, as it was famously said.

First off. Change Gears. Lots of beginning riders, especially ones who already have some degree of fitness, try to mash the biggest gear as hard as they can. Simply shifting up one or two gears and turning the pedals just a little faster can take a lot of the load off supporting structures, like your lower back.
Turning a lower gear can also make it easier to work on the technique of 'spinning' rather than 'mashing' the pedals. Try to focus on moving your feet forward and backward, rather than up and down. This works best with toe-clip or SPD pedals, but also if you have a grippy shoe / pedal combination. This is where you start feeling the effects in the hamstrings and glutes. *Your quads are much stronger than hams/glutes, so don't be surprised if you can't do it for as long as you expect at first. (lower peak effort, but higher sustained effort)

Upper body techniques can also have an effect too; On steep climbs, an MTB technique is to drop your elbows and roll your wrists down, like twisting a throttle, it does subtly lift your shoulders, and shift your weight forward.

Now, it might take some conditoning to really benifit, as a strong core is helpful, especially on a more agressive road bike. I find that basic yoga is good, both for core conditioning, and to learn to manage the little weight shifts that make you a more effective cyclist.

Litespud

I found that even a few weeks of yoga significantly improved my comfort in the drops

Hikebikerun

As a fellow newbie, I can attest to the fact that I initially felt mainly quad dominant when pedaling but in the past 6 weeks or so I have really started feeling more engagement of the hams and glutes. I think this is mostly down to practice/adaptation, but also partially a side effect of raising my seat. With the seat higher up, it feels much easier to engage the posterior chain.

I would try raising the seat if possible. The best rule of thumb that helped me is to put your HEELS on the pedals and set your seat so that you can just barely turn the pedals, but with discomfort and/or requiring your pelvis to tilt side to side. At that seat height, with the balls of your feet on the pedals it should be just about right.

I also experienced some lower bank pain initially, and I think it was mostly down to posture. If you have tight hams/glutes or a weak core, your pelvis will naturally go into a posterior pelvic tilt which can aggravate the lower back. If you’re on the bike and you concentrate on flexing your core to stabilize the trunk and pelvis, I bet you will feel more engagement in the glutes and hams.

I would second the above recommendations for stretching the glutes/hams and strengthening the core to correct posture.

*obligatory “not a doctor, not medical advice” disclaimer*

tbiscuit360

Are you doing stretches to help with your flexibility?

Working on your core? Situps? Pilates?

Wildwood 

If you have the right style of saddle, one can learn to 'roll the hips'' to minimize the bend on the back.

Let me look for photo examples of what I mean.

And credits to any above comment that emphasizes flexibility, core strength, stretching on the bike.



I use cut-out saddles on most vintage bikes, Selle SMP also works for me.

rosefarts

I think it's semi appropriate to work yourself into a fit you want. Usually for a more aero or racer type fit. It tends to take strength training, stretching, and tons of miles. It can make enough of a difference that a professional fit done as a beginner isn't going to work a year and 4000 miles later. I'd go the diy route until you're in good cycling shape.

The low back can be a few sources. For me, my low back gets muscle fatigue and pain when I'm weaker, especially up hill. This gets better the fitter I get. Nothing a bike fit will change, just out of shape. I also find less pain/fatigue when I'm doing regular crunches, planks, back extensions, and burpees.

At 23, assuming you don't have a history of scoliosis, I bet it's just muscles telling you to get stronger.

Put in those miles.

Wildwood 

I looked at the Diverge Carbon models on Specialized.s site. The middle range model i checked showed this is a bike with 38mm tires and slack (71.5°) headtube angle. More in the adventure category than road bike. Typically with the wide (44cm) handlebars, and big tires and FutureShock (if current model year) - riders want a heads-up position not a lower, road (aero) position.


As to the 61cm frame with - 60.5cm TT, 10cm stem, and 18+cm HT - it would be a perfect fit for me in a road bike application.
I'm 6'1", and when I measure my wingspan, it is about 6'2". Leg length about avg for my height.
I ride a 60cm road frame, ideally with 58cm TT and stem of 12.5. = same reach as 61 Diverge.
You said you feel 'hunched', which is how I feel when the 'Reach' is too short.

If your wingspan is equal to your height, then I think your cockpit is too small and a longer stem would achieve a better aero road position. However, you are not riding a bike optimized for paved roads. A longer stem (especially with FutureShock) may affect handling and not be a recommended solution from the manufacturer.

TJtheWrecker

Thank you all for the suggestions. Addressing some of the points,

1. I definitely feel the posterior tilt someone mentioned. Seems like I should try to move into more of an anterior position with my hips. Hopefully this will improve with practice.

2. I am doing core workouts twice a week, any suggestions here welcome too. I usually do deadbugs, sit-ups and planks.

3. The bike feels really comfortable in the drops, maybe that means it’s currently too short reach at the hoods? Not sure. But I think it’s valuable getting a bike fit so I don’t injure anything major as I plan to ride a lot this year!

Rides4Beer

Agree with a lot of the comments, I'd say it's a combination of bike fit, and fitness. I had a Retul fitting when I first started riding, and then after a year of riding noticed that was able to easily get lower, so it will change as you gain fitness. My lower back is still my problem area, on long rides it will give out before my legs do. Core work will help with that, have to get your back and shoulders as strong as your legs. My back and shoulders will always let me know when I've been slacking on my planks/pushups/pullups.

rousslang

FWIW, after more than 100,000 miles of riding, I finally decided to have a professonal fit. I'm 72, 6'2" (on a good day), and 205 lbs. I have been buying a new bike every 20K miles, whether I need it or not. Very recently, I bought a Calfee Dragonfly 44 Pro for my 71st birthday gift to myself, with full Campagnolo H11 11-speed EPS, a quasi Record/Super Record gruppo. The bike shop recommended a professional fit. My flexibility has decreased over the years, and the LBS owner thought I could benefit from a fit. I've purchased my last two bikes from this same shop.

The bikes I had been riding were all XL frames, such as a 61 cm Klein Quantum Pro Carbon, and a LOOK 586 with XL frame. I have a 35" inseam, and a 74" wingspan, so Craig Calfee decided I needed a custom frame after getting the fit recommendation from the pro. I'm a bit unusual in the dimensions, but not exactly a freak. I also have suffered from chronic low back pain for 30 years that always feels better immediately after a ride, though not necessarily the next day!

To sum it up, I went from a 44" bar, to a 42" bar, and 175mm cranks to 170 mm cranks, at the pro's recommendation. I changed from a Terry Fly, to a SpeciaIized Power saddle. I also changed the saddle height from 84.5" to 82" from center-of-crank to top of saddle, measured along the axis of the seat tube. Mind you, I never had what I would call "bad fit related" issues, except perhaps extra muscle soreness after a century, or our local club ride RAMROD, Ride-Around-Mt.-Rainier-One-Day, a 125 mile, 10,000+ ft day. But, I feel more relaxed overall, in the saddle. The pro fit took a couple hours, and cost $275, but includes ongoing tweaking suggestions from the pro. As I get older, I'll take all the help I can get as far as comfort is concerned.

For a 23 year old to have back pain during cycling, a professional fit might help. I wish I had been professionally fit 50 years ago, but at the time, a starving grad student, I thought I couldn't afford it. After all, my first multi-speed bike, a Motobecane steel bike with Huret derailleurs only cost me $99!! My recommendation is, do not, I repeat, do not develop chronic back pain if you can avoid it, and take preventive steps if you think they'll make a difference.

Champlaincycler

" I also changed the saddle height from 84.5" to 82" from center-of-crank to top of saddle, measured along the axis of the seat tube"

Wow, are you saying that you dropped your seat 2.5 inches? I have to be reading this wrong.

Oneder

The typical posture you see is not for comfort it's for racing. Works OK if you are 140 lbs and have a short torso and don't need to see more than 10 feet in front of your wheel as you ride but if you are 200+ lbs and have a long torso and live somewhere with human obstacles everywhere then it's just awful. First I got some aero bars to give a bit more rise then later I replaced those and I got some 9 inch rising bars and that was just perfect, no more groin or back adjustment every 2 seconds just comfortable riding from then on out.

rousslang

84.5 cm to 82 cm. And I taught science for 40 years. Sheesh. Sorry about the English Units - I am metric, but not in this case!!!