bp2k8

I have been told that I use my arms too much for weight bearing as well as I tend to prefer to mash rather than spin, however lately I have seem to find a sweet spot to spin with 42 up front and 18 in back. My question is since my core is not terrible... Could it be a spinal thing? Are there any tricks to engage the core or more or less control the bike with the mid section rather than putting weight on my shoulders and upper arms? I can steer/pedal my bike blindfolded with no hands if that helps...however I have a tough time reaching the hoods or drops without feeling like my spine has pressure or my arms have to bear it.

I have played with fore and aft and seat height as well as noseless saddles, tri sadles etc

I think its just me

My road bikes range form tt bar setups to standard road bar drops with plenty of anatomic shape and bike sizes I have range from 54 - 56 and they feel as if my arms bear the weight regardless of size.

I have the stems at a decent height but I am asking all the veterans here who seem to be able to ride with barely any pressure on their arms for advice

Thanks

FBOATSB

mini crunches

bp2k8

I have tried. Could it be because I have long arms but not a super light guy I weigh 180lb

FBOATSB

Keep trying until you can. I weigh lots more than you.

99Klein 

I"m 6'1" 200lbs. Can you ride without putting weight on the bars? Keep your hands hovering or even on the bars without any weight on them? Core strength will help cycling so much. I don't do any exercises, but work on keeping my upper body "light."

79pmooney

I don't get the "no weight on the hands". I've always had real weight on my hands. I do have to look carefully at the handlebars and levers; it is as important as seat position for me and more work to get right. For me, the seat not very far back, big forward lean and bars fairly low and well forward gives me a position with good power, good aero and most important, unrestricted breathing. (To get this, I use stems that are very long.)

I use conventional (old school), deepish drop bars and hoods forward and down. It seems my hands and wrists are getting fussier re: their rotation and I have been rotating both the bars and levers further forward and down as that allows my wrists to be cocked "down" which they seem to like a lot more, especially when I am out of the saddle. This has my setup looking like a race bike out of the 1950s. Not all my bikes are there yet. My wrists remind me every time I ride a "regular" setup that they are not really happy.

Not saying this is for you. Just that some of the current thinking doesn't work for all of us.

Edit: I do agree that core exercises help. I'm sitting on a balance ball as I write this. Now if I could only ride hard enough to always create enough torque to keep the load on my hands light. And if I could only recapture those lost 40 years.

Ben

99Klein 

I have a bit of drop too and ride comfortably in the drops. I actually put more weight on my hands on the hoods than in the drops.

bp2k8

@99 klein - Holy crap that s tour de france type drop ratio. You must be a beast on those bikes or have very good spinal flexibility. Much respect. My drop to saddle height ratio is half of yours ! Yes I can ride with no hands as well as barely any pressure on bars but it seems like the weight gets transferred to my back rather than core. WTH am I doing wrong? I have been riding for the past 3 years but can never ride more than 60 miles in one sitting because of this as I have to take like 2 hour breaks if I go beyond 60 miles. I do not have any tingling or numbness just a sort of tearing or heaviness in the mid back. Hard to explain. I shift my position a lot and get out of the saddle a lot but its a sort of tightness and yet my core feels like it snot engaged as if my spine takes the blunt of my weight instead of mid-section. Should I be flexing my abs or my family jewels whilst riding or something? lol


@79pmooney I 2nd a lot of your input in your response I do wonder if its a hood placement rotation wise or the clamp location on the bars themselves. I like my brifters or levers (most of my bikes have downtube shimano 600 shifters or similar) cocked slightly upright and the bar itself rotated slightly down or vice versa. I seem to have less trouble with my buddies size 54 specialized sirrus with a flat bar.

@FBOATSB - I will However sometimes I do feel as if my spine could be the culprit. Anyone out there feel the need to straighten/strengthen their back to improve their riding capacity. Its hard to breathe from the belly when my spine feels like the world is sitting on top of it.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

I am new to cycling but not fitness. It is important to remember that your back is part of your core. If you work on your abs, you need to be working on your back as well.

99Klein 

I'm really flexible for an old geezer and like to be stretched out as well.

Back pain, for me, is almost always due to hydration.

FBOATSB

Full disclosure: I am not a pro.

bp2k8

@FBOATSB You are a pro to me
@yarbrough462
I do lat pull downs, push ups, chin ups, sit ups as well as yoga but alas I do not do dead presses or snatches or the likes.

@99Klein - no such thing as old if you are riding a bike you are doing better than many "young" people! I appreciate your response as well and I do tend to hydrate full before and after a ride rather than during but I do have 3 drink bottles mounted on my 3 cages on my bike during rides so seems legit.

Also is it weird that the ttbar setup seems more natural to me. I feel better on FSA vision full ttbar setup as opposed to just standard hands in the drops position. Even a old school profile design clamp style aerobar seems better than a drop position. Perhaps riding stooped in the drops feels weird to me but aero or tt bar feels a more natural stretch/reach.

To keep this thread going I guess my main request would be any unique or quirky things you guys and gals do whilst riding to improve riding functionality/comfort. I sometimes like to change stance on my pedals or have a certain rhythm dialed in. I even stretch my back whilst riding

redlude97

Pedal harder, seriously. More pedal pressure means more weight on your feet and less on your perineum and hands. The only times I get major discomfort are on long slow rides with the GF

steinercat

Stand up regularly/when possible. This helps me stretch my back out.

Seattle Forrest

Barbell squats.

bp2k8

I was always tentative of these and dead lifts as I have seen some horror stories from friends and even on youtube but perhaps I will start light and build up. I appreciate it.

@steinercat sometimes i stand up too long I often forget I have a saddle

@Redlude hmm never thought of that. I used to be a masher and did indeed seem to have less weight bearing on shoulders and upper arms. Perhaps I should invest in some clips in. My version of clips are just mt christophe plastic toe clips with the strap. Do you then divide your weight between the cranks/pedals or you dont even gauge and just pedal hard with legs engaged?

chainwhip

You might find this book helpful...

Tom Danielson's Core Advantage: Core Strength for Cycling's Winning Edge

https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Danielson.../dp/193403097X

Fiery

How is your posterior chain activation while riding, especially glutes? Core is just part of the equation here.

bp2k8

I feel like my form overall is good especially legs glutes and hips. Its the shoulders and back part base don the advice here, clearly I have to work on.

Do you guys recommend doing S shapes while out of the saddle with the bike or more of a light sway side to side?

Carbonfiberboy 

The test for balance is to briefly take one's hands off the bars while pedaling and see if one slides forward on the saddle when so doing, assuming a level saddle. So BTW, if your saddle isn't level, make it so. If it's level and you do slide forward, your weight needs to be further back.

As far as core goes, remember that your abs are 5 times further away from your spine than your back. That means that you need to do 5 back exercises for every ab exercise. I've heard from many cyclists who get sore backs. I've never heard from a cyclist who said their abs got sore.

And no, you can't just hold yourself up with your core, not for long. You have to be balanced and comfortable the whole time, so you could ride for 20 hours, no big problem. And no, you can't just pedal harder. You don't want to just pound the downstroke, plus your quads will wear out. You want to apply pedal pressure around 3/4 of the pedal stroke. That means you're generating torque around the BB, not around your butt.

You need to be in balance, with plenty of reach, and at least a 45° torso angle.

generalkdi

3 things : Dead lifts, Squats and Planking (normal and side plank)

bp2k8

@Carbonfiberboy That seems to be important as I do not find myself sliding but I do intentionally shuffle back on the saddle a little more so because my cutout is large on the saddle and I like it to be engaged all on my sensitive areas Good thing is my saddles are level and I dont fall forward if I take my arms off the bar. However I do wonder how the spine works. Does it fatigue from pressure or weight bearing on it or is it simply a timed aspect due to overall fatigue or fitness level. I say this as I can carry a large backpack full of bricks if I wanted and walk for miles no problem but somehow on my bike my back and neck seems to get stiff after about 15-20 miles.

However I appreciate the confirmation about a sore spine. Its true as I have never had sore abs or even sore legs! Even after long rides I feel fine except my back.

Squats and planking I utilize but deadlifts are hard as I do not have a gym membership.

Carbonfiberboy 

It's your back muscles which are fatiguing. It may be part posture, part strength. When you pedal, besides your quads you are also using what's known as the posterior chain, a sequence of muscles from the calves all the way up to the middle of your back. You do pedal with your back muscles to some extent. Cycling is actually great back exercise. The key to back exercise is to work it until it hurts, rest it until it doesn't, then repeat.

For the neck, the problem is usually that the cyclist is rounding their back, also a source of back pain. Someone should be able to put a straight edge on your back and have it be dead straight from your belt line to your neck. One does this by rolling the pelvis forward, changing what one is sitting on from the ichial tuberosities to the inferior pubic ramus: Orange Cycle: Finding the Right Saddle

One can also imagine that a helium balloon is attached to the back of your head, lifting it upward, straightening and relaxing the neck. Also see: https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...discovery.html

For back exercise outside the gym, nothing beats the kettlebell swing. Many good demos on youtube. You could start with a kettlebell that's ~20% of your bodyweight. 50 swings, in sets to start with, but the object is to do all 50 in one set. That'll strengthen your back! If you have Prime, you can get one from Amazon with free shipping.

Doge

Several things here. My first reaction is this may be a fit thing / power thing. The best fitters (in my opinion) fit you at your typical riding power. The fit for a 30min racing TT would most likely be different than for a normal road ride.

The more power (regardless of cadence) the less weight on the arms for a given position. And then the saddle tilt, position, cockpit length all play into it.

Now the core. Some suggested different weights. I think weight are the best thing for core. It is hard to get on the bike why you can get in the gym.

Walking lunges, hand stand presses, pull-ups... all are good.
Here is some old cycling gym work kid and his cycling buddies would do ~age 15 or so.
All became Cat 1 juniors.
https://vimeo.com/112982618
The tall one is a brand new pro for a Dutch team.
https://vimeo.com/112982618

Doge

Is the jury out on this? My wife is total straight back. Many pros - inc Lance are/ were arched.

I'll read your link.