# Pain in lower abdomen after cycling with drop bars



## aynjrz (29 May 2018)

I wonder if anyone can suggest anything to help with this. I put drop bars on my bike a few months ago, having been unhappy with the swept-back bars I had been using before that. While I like the drop bars in many ways, I've found that riding with them causes pain/soreness in my lower abdomen - between the navel and groin, roughly. It usually begins several hours after finishing a ride, and happens even after rides of only a couple of miles. It's not severe pain, but I feel the effects for quite a few days after riding, and it affects my ability to walk and carry. I've persisted with this for a few months, without any improvement.

I will probably have to change to straight bars - I know from previous experience that a riding position where my hands are level with the end of the stem is OK for me. However, before I give up on drop bars completely, I wanted to ask if anyone could suggest anything else to try.

The drop bars are about an inch or so lower than the seat, and about 2 inches above the top tube at their highest point (it's an older bike, with a level top tube).

I'm grateful for any advice.


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## pawl (29 May 2018)

I had a pair of shorts labelled as med which were actually large.,the pad was causing me a similar pain to that you describe.I think it was pressing on my groin.

Using my usual med shorts give me no problems


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## aynjrz (29 May 2018)

Thanks for the suggestion - I don't use any bike-specific clothing, though, and I don't think I'm wearing anything that's having that effect.


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## Globalti (30 May 2018)

Sounds to me as if you may be causing bruising or irritation to the pubic bone or area.

Please answer:

1 - Are you not wearing proper cycling shorts at all?

2 - Are you a girlie or a chap?

3 - Can you post a picture of the bike taken from the same height as the saddle, from the side, against a plain backgound?

4 - Can you post a picture of yourself on the bike, taken from the side, in your normal riding position, leaning against a wall?

Posting pictures from your mobile or laptop is easy, see the "upload a file" option below.


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## aynjrz (30 May 2018)

OK - here are the photos. I'm male. I always cycle in normal clothes (the way I'm dressed in the photo is quite representative), but I don't cycle long distances (20 miles is the absolute max), or go at great speed. I don't use padding or anything like that.

Although I know I mentioned the groin in my original post, the pain/discomfort feels more as though it's in the belly - from a little above the navel down to perhaps 1.5 inches below it. I don't feel as though bruising or irritation is involved - there's certainly no visible sign of it.


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## vickster (30 May 2018)

Presume you don’t have a hernia that is being impacted by Cycling position?


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## Serge (30 May 2018)

Caveat: I'm about as far from a cycling expert as you can be and still have a pulse.

But: your saddle angle looks wrong to me. The front of the saddle looks far too high. Levelling it may help, you're stomach muscles may be constricted by having your hips tilted so far.

Please feel free to shoot me down in flames!


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## aynjrz (30 May 2018)

vickster: I don't think so - I actually mentioned this problem to my doctor, and he didn't suspect anything medically sinister.

Serge: That's an interesting point, and I think I'll experiment with that a bit - thank you! In the past with this bike, I've often felt a little as though I was sliding forward off the seat, and so got in the habit of tilting the seat back a bit. However, that habit predates the drop bars. This is the first bike I've ridden as an adult, and I probably don't have a clear idea what a comfortable bike should feel like.


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## Globalti (31 May 2018)

The saddle is tilted waaaay too far back. It should be flat or a degree or two up at the nose. It also looks too low. This means you are riding in a scrunched up position, meaning your stomach muscles are struggling to keep everything together, which might explain the pain. Alternatively, as I suspected from your first post, you are bruising your pubic bone thanks to the too-high saddle nose.

With respect, wearing those clothes you are never going to be a "sports" cyclist and a road bike setup is not what you need. Somebody has fitted that poor bike with a rising stem and tilted the bars and hoods too far back then dropped the saddle in an attempt to make it feel more like a flat-bar roadster. That doesn't suit the bike; on a sports road bike the bars ought to be a little lower than the saddle allowing the rider to adopt a more aerodynamic position. I would suggest you go and buy a flat-bar bike, generally called a hybrid nowadays, from a proper bike shop, not a bike supermarket, that can get you properly set up with the right frame and seat height.

Alternatively get the bike shop to fit you with a modern sports road bike that was built to take drop bars. The lower position will mean your arm and shoulder muscles will ache for a while but the body adapts to new strains and it won't be long before you are enjoying the higher speeds that come with the lower posture and more efficient saddle postion and height. If you want to continue wearing clothes that soak up rain and flap in the wind, at least get some padded cotton under shorts to pad your saddle area.


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## Kajjal (31 May 2018)

If you put a spirit level on the ground to make sure it is flat and then use it to set your saddle level. If you can’t find flat ground just set the saddle to the same reading as the ground which means it will be flat. Having the saddle tilted too far back will put pressure on your lower back and muscles as they work to compensate.


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## mickle (31 May 2018)

Are you wearing a big fancy cowboy style belt buckle? Like maybe a pair of guns crossed over the stars and stripes? Or a map of the USA and maybe Florida is jabbing you in the crotch?


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## Globalti (31 May 2018)

There's another problem with that saddle - fat squishy saddles may feel comfortable in the shop but they don't take the weight on your sit bones, which is where your weight is supposed to be carried. Instead the sit bones sink in and the weight is transferred to soft tissue, which is not supposed to be weight-bearing. This causes sweating, chafing and bruising.

PS: This also means that thick squashy shorts pads are not a great idea. My most comfortable shorts have a thin pad, which is more like a felt than a sponge. The pad is supposed to soak up moisture and prevent creasing and folding, not compensate for the wrong shape of saddle.


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## mickle (31 May 2018)

You've got an adjustable stem on there which gives you a fantastic opportunity to fanny about with bar position.


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## Globalti (31 May 2018)

Because the Brooks supports your sit bones by cradling them.


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## Broadside (31 May 2018)

OP- I’m not a doctor but with what you are complaining of i would be getting checked out for a possible hernia.


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## vickster (31 May 2018)

Broadside said:


> OP- I’m not a doctor but with what you are complaining of i would be getting checked out for a possible hernia.


See post #8


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## User10119 (31 May 2018)

I had one pair of jeans where the zip caused discomfort. No idea why - they were the same make etc as all my other jeans.


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## aynjrz (31 May 2018)

Thank you all for your ideas. Following a couple of suggestions to change the seat angle and possibly lower the bars, I've changed the position a bit and have a picture below.

The point about the seat itself is interesting. I've always felt with it that I was falling forward a little - tilting it back was an attempt to counteract that. I don't feel securely "perched" on it. Maybe the seat just isn't suitable.

It's beginning to sound as though I should try getting a bike shop to look at what I'm doing, and possibly also test some other bikes, to get some perspective.

Globalti: I take your points - I'm still trying to decide what I want from cycling, and what I can actually do. This particular bike is actually designed for drop bars, and came with them originally when I bought it (used). I ended up having to have those swapped for something more upright due to (other) physical problems which have since improved, hence my attempt to try drops again. The unusual stem, for example, is a legacy of that. The seat, though, was on the bike when I bought it, and (I assume) was used by the previous owner with drops.

I don't want to become a racer, but liked the idea of drop bars for (eventually) riding reasonable distances at a steady, quick-ish pace.

Finally: a couple of people have suggested that something (like a belt buckle) might be poking into me when riding. I don't think this is the case - I'm not aware of this while cycling, but will try to notice when I next ride.


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## Globalti (31 May 2018)

Goodness me that looks a whole lot better! The bike will be purring.

What about seat height? Have you tried the standard test for checking height?


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## Oldfentiger (31 May 2018)

Something else you can experiment with......
The saddle looks to be at the most rearward of it's adjustment.
Sliding the saddle forward on the saddle rails may or may not improve matters. Just another variable to consider.

I would advocate a basic bike fit, done by someone who knows what they are doing.
Where are you located? I would imagine some recommendations would be forthcoming from CC.


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## cyberknight (31 May 2018)

Without seeing you on the bike its hard to say but if you feel like your falling forward is your reach to the bars to long ?
You should be able to hold your body position that you ride in with no hands on the bars for a bit.
This is interesting .
http://wheel-easy.org.uk/uploads/documents/Bike Set Up 2017a.pdf


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## vickster (31 May 2018)

cyberknight said:


> Without seeing you on the bike its hard to say but if you feel like your falling forward is your reach to the bars to long ?
> You should be able to hold your body position that you ride in with no hands on the bars for a bit.
> This is interesting .
> http://wheel-easy.org.uk/uploads/documents/Bike Set Up 2017a.pdf


He posted a pic in #5


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## cyberknight (31 May 2018)

vickster said:


> He posted a pic in #5


Teach me to skim read  
is it me or does the saddle look low and to long in the reach to the hoods?


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## vickster (31 May 2018)

cyberknight said:


> Teach me to skim read
> is it me or does the saddle look low and to long in the reach to the hoods?
> View attachment 411967


He’s made some changes if you look at #21


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## cyberknight (31 May 2018)

vickster said:


> He’s made some changes if you look at #21


indeed but the saddle has been set flat which does not affect my OP regards saddle height and lowering the bars would increase reach which if he is over reaching for his preferred saddle to bar drop would be counterproductive?


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## vickster (31 May 2018)

cyberknight said:


> indeed but the saddle has been set flat which does not affect my OP regards saddle height and lowering the bars would increase reach which if he is over reaching for his preferred saddle to bar drop would be counterproductive?


Don't know which of yours posts you're referring to, doesn't matter though


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## aynjrz (31 May 2018)

As cybernight thought might be the case, my lowering the bars has increased the reach too much, and I think possibly it was a bit long to start with. Tilting down the seat, to make it more level, has exacerbated the feeling of being shoved off forwards - even when riding in the tops.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice. As I say, I'm going to try to get advice from a local shop. I'm in Oxford, if anyone knows of a shop here that is good for bike fits. I'm also going to ask the bike shop I normally deal with for a test ride on a drop bar bike they recommend for me, to get a point of reference.


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## oldwheels (1 Jun 2018)

Others have posted on the same subject but I would suspect a hernia. Your GP says no but they are not all infallible.


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## SkipdiverJohn (3 Jun 2018)

Globalti said:


> With respect, wearing those clothes you are never going to be a "sports" cyclist and a road bike setup is not what you need. Somebody has fitted that poor bike with a rising stem and tilted the bars and hoods too far back then dropped the saddle in an attempt to make it feel more like a flat-bar roadster. That doesn't suit the bike; on a sports road bike the bars ought to be a little lower than the saddle allowing the rider to adopt a more aerodynamic position. I would suggest you go and buy a flat-bar bike, generally called a hybrid nowadays, from a proper bike shop, not a bike supermarket, that can get you properly set up with the right frame and seat height..



There's no rule that says you can only ride flat-bar bikes if you cycle in everyday clothing, or you can't be a "proper" cyclist unless you wear cycling gear. The only thing that matters is whether the clothing is comfortable and allows unimpeded body movement. I ride in jeans/everyday long trousers all the time and it isn't a problem.
As for going out and buying a new flat-bar bike, take a close look at what the OP is already riding; it's a Raleigh Gemini, which is a Reynolds 531 touring geometry frame out of Raleigh's parts pin that WAS originally built with flat bars! There's nothing to be gained from replacing the whole bike; it's a higher quality bike than any modern flat-bar hybrid. I've got one of these bikes myself (still on flat bars) and the frame is very comfortable and nice riding. I strongly suspect the main problem here is the angle of the saddle, and although some kids may have had their BMX saddles tilted back like this, it isn't a good recipe for adults using a bike for a serious purpose not just mucking around on. Set the saddle level as possible to start with and set the height roughly according to the 0.882 Lemond formula or the 1.09 formula used in Richards Bicycle Book, and it will at least be in the right ballpark.


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## Globalti (3 Jun 2018)

SkipdiverJohn said:


> Set the saddle level as possible to start with and set the height roughly according to the 0.882 Lemond formula or the 1.09 formula used in Richards Bicycle Book, and it will at least be in the right ballpark.



After all that calculation the saddle certainly ought to be in the right ball park!
​


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## SkipdiverJohn (3 Jun 2018)

Globalti said:


> After all that calculation the saddle certainly ought to be in the right ball park!



Sounds complicated but is very simple:- For example my inside leg is about 33 1/2".
Using Lemond (saddle height = 0.882 x inside leg + crank length) works out to 36 1/4".
Using Richards (saddle height = 1.09 x inside leg) works out to 36 1/2".

Actual saddle heights measured from own bikes based on trial & error comfort tweaking:-
Apollo MTB - 36 1/2"
Gemini hybrid - 36 3/8"
Pioneer hybrid - 36 1/2"

Both formulae seem pretty reliable to me!

.


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