seabiscut88

Not sure what information would be best so let me just start:

I got a Fuji SST last year for my road bike and it seems during hard efforts/rides my lower back gets tense. I also get tense/tight back behind my left shoulder in the middle/upper of my back after the ride is done and I am sitting at home. The pain seems to be around only during hard works out which may lead me to believe my posture and riding technique may be the problem? Maybe to much hip rotation?

I did get fit to my bike when I purchased it but not sure about the whole fit... I do not have any pain in my legs, saddle height seems fine (I think).

Someone had suggested sliding my saddle back which I did last night on my ride and I didn't notice much lower back pain during the ride (although it was an easy recovery ride) but my middle/upper back hurt afterwards.

Any suggestions?

I stretch every night which I believe should help in the long run. I am pretty young and never had any injuries or problems with my back before or on any other bike.

Any help is appreciated thank you!

berner

Riding a bike is repetitious. Even a mild activity such as typing can lead to stiffness when done continuously. My guess is that your position on the bike is not the best. It could be you need someone experienced to help with fitting the bike, such as someone at a bike shop. Then again, you may just need to learn how to sit and be relaxed on the bike. One observation I would offer is that experienced athletes, whatever the sport, always look calm, relaxed and unhurried.

If you watch videos of pro cyclists, you will see that even during hard efforts, they are very smooth. There are many videos on YouTube showing the fitting process and instructions on setting seat height and position of the saddle and distance to the handlebar. Even when you find the perfect position and ride longer distances, the best position will change as your body adapts. So the best position is a moving target that over several seasons will change. Good luck and find that relaxed position.

fietsbob

Ibuprofen

RISKDR1

Yea. All of us old farts consume a lot of vitamin "I".

fietsbob

& My B vitamin ..

headset

I get lower back muscle pain if my seat is a little high - I think my hips tend to rock during hard efforts. Lowering the saddle 3-5mm usually solves it, assuming the saddle height was relatively close to begin with. Something to try as well.

Carbonfiberboy 

My experience over many decades leads me to believe that core strength is more important than details of bike fit. IOW, if your core is strong, you can ride anything on which you can reach the pedals. Every time a pedal comes down, some stress from that is transmitted all the way up your back and down your arms to the bars. Being really smooth and pedaling a high cadence mitigates that somewhat, but it's just a matter of degree, and going hard of course makes it worse.

Try starting a program to strengthen your back. Buy a copy of Core Advantage, start at the beginning and over the course of a year, work your way through it. Give yourself a whole year and keep at it, even though your back will start getting better in a month.

Alternatively, you could work on a program of core and upper body work at a gym. Or do both.

seabiscut88

Thanks for the replies!

I rode again last night with the saddle slide back just a bit and noticed an improvement in comfort. I also am thinking of slightly raising my seat. I think I am feeling my back is over stretched a tad. I also spoke with the shop I got my fit at and he thought that would help as well.

I couldn't agree more about core strength. I am surprised how weak cyclists can be besides their legs... I always try and do a push up/pull up/sit up pyramid 3-4 times per week and feel my core is pretty strong.

jyl

Take opportunities to change position and stretch during the ride. Flex your back (alternate arch and hollow), sit up, ride handsfree, ride out of the saddle, etc. Being locked in one position for a long time is tough even if the bike fits well.

Wilfred Laurier

The most high mileage rider I ever knew would do the first ~100km without too many breaks, then take a break to stretch ever 20-30 minutes after that.

fietsbob

Suspension seat posts ... Cane Creek's can be rider weight tailored.

seabiscut88

The bike I am talking about is a Fuji SST which has a seat post mast which I wouldn't be able to use the Cane Creek tudbusters. I rode a bike in the past with one of these post and it was nice but I would say would be a little excessive even for these rough spring Missouri paved roads.

I think its more an issue of fit and not equipment. I probably should just play around with saddle adjustment up/down and forwards/backwards. I just wanted to see if any of my ideas seemed outlandish or crazy or maybe there was something I was overlooking....

rando_couche

Yet another thing to consider: your saddle. If, like me, you have limited core flexiblity it helps to use a saddle that allows your pelvis to tilt forward so you don't have to bend your lower back so much. Think Fizik Aliante. I rode a Fizik Arione for several months because it fits my "contact points" quite well. Problem was its extremely flat profile forced my lower back into a very upright position, forcing me to bend my lower back and eventually causing almost nonstop pain. I went to a cycling-specific PT for a fit and he observed that I'm nowhere near as flexible as I thought. Tilting the Arione down helped relieve the pressure on my lower back, but what really did it was switching to the Aliante. Seems that Fizik is onto something with their "Spine Concept". Sure there's more to saddle fit than that, but nobody else is talking about that angle (pun intended).

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