# Back pain, drop bar



## DavieB (28 Jun 2010)

I have just started riding a drop bar bike. Never rode one before last week but im finding the reach to the lower bars is a bit sore. Im just leaning on the "Sora" levers allowing easy gear change and braking when I lean the bit further for whatever reason it gives me a sore lower back. 

Do you reckon it is just a matter of put up with it a couple of months and it will free off or I should go with a flat bar? im 30 14stone and 5'10" so slightly overweight my bike hac a 58cm frame. (carrrera virtuoso)


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## Mike! (28 Jun 2010)

I've just changed to drop bars recently and i did get some lower back pain for a couple of weeks - all fine now though.

Stick with it for a bit before adjusting anything as it may just be a new position to get used to.


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## craigwend (28 Jun 2010)

Try a shorter stem - most bikes tend to come with a 120 or 130, I specced an 80 for my road bike for _bad back issues _

or 

_adjustable stem_, this was the answer on tourer & MTB both shorter stems and can raise height if needed and drop to lower position if needed.


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## Banjo (29 Jun 2010)

I had the same problem when I started riding my road bike so I bought a raised angle stem which definitely helped me during the transition from riding a hybrid but I have since changed back to the original stem and back is now OK.

http://www.parker-international.co.uk/5395/BBB-HighRise-Stem.html


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## navrat_biker (29 Jun 2010)

yeah you can also lower or raise the hoods (only slightly) so that its right for you. if you experience shoulder pain, back pain then altering these slightly can help. Do you feel you have a lot of pressure on the front? or is it just getting into the bent over position on the bike where your feeling the pain coming from?


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## DavieB (29 Jun 2010)

Just a lot of strain on the base of my back. Probably just a matter of getting used to bending that far. Im trying to spend at least 10 minutes per ride on the low bars to get my back stretched (im only out 40 minutes at a time just now) There is pressure on my hands where I lean on the Sora set. But its only the back pain im bothered about atm.


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## Banjo (29 Jun 2010)

Another thing to check is your seat angle, if you feel as if you are leaning heavilly on your hands then your seat may be pointing down at the front slightly.Even a few degrees makes a difference.

Once you have the bike set up right I think you will adapt to it ,I could only do half an hour initially now I can spend 10 hours in the saddle with no backache (tired legs and sore arse but no back ache :-) ), had the bike 7 months and done 1700 miles on it so far. good Luck


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## Rob3rt (29 Jun 2010)

Just tough it out for a bit, it may be a case of adjustment, but Banjo has idenfitied one culprit with the seat angle. Get the seat/rear end of the bike sorted before messing with the front. Then maybe you need to raise the bars, this can be done by flipping the stem in many cases, or by buying a riser stem.

A shorter stem is an option but bikes usually come with stems aimed at the dimensions of the person riding the bike, i.e a 58cm bike may come with a 120mm stem, but a smaller frame may come with a shorter stem. So changing the stem would probly be one of the last things I'd try unless it was clearly a bad size.


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## eldudino (29 Jun 2010)

That bike sounds too big for you, 58cm is normally for guys 6' 1" and over. I'm 6" and I've got a 58 and it's too big for me (bought before I had a clue about sizing!), I've also got a 55cm bike that fits like a glove and I can ride for 4hrs plus without too many aches.


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## shrew (29 Jun 2010)

eldudino said:


> That bike sounds too big for you, 58cm is normally for guys 6' 1" and over. I'm 6" and I've got a 58 and it's too big for me (bought before I had a clue about sizing!), I've also got a 55cm bike that fits like a glove and I can ride for 4hrs plus without too many aches.



agreed, im 5ft 8 and i use a 54cm, i found a 56 a bit of a stretch and a 58 would be a nightmare to ride tbh,

that said and done, using drop bars can give you a bit of back ache unless your pretty flexable from what i can tell.


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## jimboalee (29 Jun 2010)

When a rider is riding 'in the tuck', their arms will be bent. This means the upper back will be lower than if their arms are straight.
Try riding 'in the tuck' with straight arms and your wrists will be clashing the bends.

Experienced riders ride 'in the tuck' with their forearms almost horizontal. If they were to reach out forward with straight arms from this position, their hands would be well in front of the brake levers.
Actually, in a position where their forearms can rest on "Tri bars".

What the OP has here is an 'untrained spine'.


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## DavieB (29 Jun 2010)

shrew said:


> agreed, im 5ft 8 and i use a 54cm, i found a 56 a bit of a stretch and a 58 would be a nightmare to ride tbh,
> 
> that said and done, using drop bars can give you a bit of back ache unless your pretty flexable from what i can tell.




Had a feeling it was too big, was my dads, he never used it once same height as me though.


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## Banjo (29 Jun 2010)

DavieB said:


> Had a feeling it was too big, was my dads, he never used it once same height as me though.



It may not be too big I am 5ft 9 and have a 56 which fits me nicely.Remember a smaller frame will need the seatpost raised higher in comparison with the bars so may give your back even more grief.

This site may be of some use. http://www.tredz.co.uk/sizing_guides.aspx#RoadBike


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## Sheffield_Tiger (29 Jun 2010)

It's not too big - a bike can never be too big. The bigger the bike the better! <-the mantra of parents around Xmas time every year

Nah, you need a bigger bike so enormous and difficult to control that your feet can just touch the pedals - but only if you kind of slip side to side off the saddle as you pedal, and (_being on-topic here to address the back issues_) turn the drops up and back so the brake levers are facing towards you.

For added retro points - suicide levers which will then be oriented so they are above the inverted bars and thus even MORE useless than before!

Then ride it one-handed through with a carrier bag in the other hand.

Never did me any harm


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## DavieB (29 Jun 2010)

Banjo said:


> It may not be too big I am 5ft 9 and have a 56 which fits me nicely.Remember a smaller frame will need the seatpost raised higher in comparison with the bars so may give your back even more grief.
> 
> This site may be of some use. http://www.tredz.co.uk/sizing_guides.aspx#RoadBike



Thats actually a good point. Ill keep it quiet though, as my double student loan comes through in september and I may be able to convince the mrs I need a specialized allez thingy for about 600 quid 

And by then my back may have stretched enough to cope with the right sized bike.


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## shrew (29 Jun 2010)

good plan ) or the specialized secteur which has a slightly higher head angle for a more back friendly ride )


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## DavieB (1 Jul 2010)

Spent on lot of time on the bottom bars today managed 20 miles and was getting sore hands leaning on the sora set, so done a lot of swapping positions. Actually quite liked the bottom bars today. 

On a negative side, I wear a baseball cap to catch the sweat before it gets to my face, when Im on the bottom bars I get poor vision because of it and put it on back to front  Must look like a right tard.


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## hotmetal (3 Jul 2010)

DavieB said:


> Spent on lot of time on the bottom bars today managed 20 miles and was getting sore hands leaning on the sora set, so done a lot of swapping positions. Actually quite liked the bottom bars today.



The bunch I go riding with on a Saturday tend to ride up on the hoods most of the time. We usually do a 45-50 miler at an average of 19.5, so not hanging about. I agree with you that the hoods can be a bit sore on the hands, but personally (maybe cos I'm a relative noob) I find the bike a bit unstable when I'm down on the drops, and tend to only ride down there if we're on a steep (down) hill so I can grab maximum brakes. I also get a sore lower back from riding on the drops too long (2 hrs). Subtle adjustment of cleats and seats (and bar angle) can help a lot though, as I recently learnt from one of the 'old hands'. For info I'm anout 5'9" and ride a 54.



DavieB said:


> On a negative side, I wear a baseball cap to catch the sweat before it gets to my face, when Im on the bottom bars I get poor vision because of it and put it on back to front  Must look like a right tard.



^

Don't want to start the whole helmet/no helmet thing, but I'd be scared riding in a baseball cap – on some of the hills we hit 40+. Mind you, my lycra isn't going to save the rest of me either I suppose, but I'd still want my bonce to work ok.


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## MacB (3 Jul 2010)

A variety of factors can be in play here but working out the correct setup should be a start, this site is good:-

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO&INTRO_LINK=NOREDIR

you'll need someone to help you with the measurements and you'll get a table of results, covering 3 riding postures. I tabulated mine to give me a range for each measurement and my final bike setup is a mixture of the Eddy and French fits. I start with the saddle position so, for me, I know that my saddle should be:-

68 - 84 mm - saddle nose to centre of bottom bracket measured vertically - I actually use 80mm on all my bikes

765 - 810mm - this is the range for centre of BB to top of saddle, bearing in mind that as you lift/lower the saddle this effects the first measurement

Once you have these two squared away, assuming the bike can accomodate what you need, then next is saddle nose to start of handlebars. I have a range of 539 to 570mm for this, to save buying loads of stems you can use this online tool to check what results different stems would give you:-

http://alex.phred.org/stemchart/Default.aspx

I'd be very surprised if a 58cm couldn't be made to fit you as long as you can get the saddle to BB relationship correct. After that it's just the bars and you can get some very short stems if need be. For the above measurement you're taking the distance from saddle nose to the nearside of the bars next to the stem. This will impact on handling but not enough to matter unless you're racing etc. Note that it doesn't mention height of handlebars, nothing to stop you having them really high/low. The norm would be to start with them higher and then lower them as you get fitter/stronger/more flexible. A lot of the modern race bikes are designed around a low bar position. One way of working around this is to buy a larger size bike.

I'd say that a lot of this is fluid as you ride more and get fitter but the saddle to BB relationship is pretty much set.


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## potsy (3 Jul 2010)

shrew said:


> good plan ) or the specialized secteur which has a slightly higher head angle for a more back friendly ride )


Oi shrew stop encroaching on norms patch,he is the official Secteur 'pusher' in these parts


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## hotmetal (3 Jul 2010)

potsy said:


> Oi shrew stop encroaching on norms patch,he is the official Secteur 'pusher' in these parts





Mind you he let me have a go on his and there's a lot to be said for the Secteur. Nice comfy bike with a reasonable turn of speed for the dough. While we were out we got some sarky comments from a copper with a speed gun. I'd be surprised if I made much more than 30 on the flat though.


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## potsy (3 Jul 2010)

hotmetal said:


> Mind you he let me have a go on his and there's a lot to be said for the Secteur. Nice comfy bike with a reasonable turn of speed for the dough. While we were out we got some sarky comments from a copper with a speed gun. I'd be surprised if I made much more than 30 on the flat though.


Was it you or norm riding at the time? Must have been downhill if norm got a turn of speed


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## bauldbairn (3 Jul 2010)

potsy said:


> Oi shrew stop encroaching on norms patch,he is the official Secteur 'pusher' in these parts



Yeah!! He'll send his boys round or somefink!!  -


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