lower back pain

[Cyclist33]

ive had my giant defy for about a month and in that time ive done a few 25-odd milers and a couple of longer ones.

after about 20 miles on it, i keep getting lumbar pain. it happened the first time after i set the handlebar to the bottom of the steerer. i moved it back up top as soon as I got home and now i have the bike in the geometric setting it came out the shop with.

im fairly sure the sizing is right but what can i do about the settings to remove this back pain?? it does get more pronounced with the seatpost higher up but i can only lower it so far without it becoming too low for pedalling efficiency.

is it just a case of keep doing shorter rides and giving my body time to elongate, as my other ride is a more upright flat bar jobby?

thanks

stu

 

[ColinJ]

Flip the stem over? I've done that on both my road bikes; it raises the bars and shortens the reach slightly. You might have a problem though if you don't have enough slack in the cables.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Do some stretching exercises for a little bit everyday, and also do some when you stop for a rest on your bike. I suffer lower back pain and once it went totally. Not an experience that I want to repeat. The exercises I do are from a book called Treat Your Own Back. Or shorten the reach as Colin suggests. But exercises are a good idea anyway.

 

[slowmotion]

If flipping the stem doesn't work, you could try a stem with a steeper angle and/or a shorter stem. Both would give a more upright riding position without spoiling the seat position relative to the pedals.

 

[roadrash]

or you could go and see your gp to rule out any underlying problems that you may otherwise aggrovate.


(the last thing you want to end up with is a back like mine)

 

[Banjo]

Presuming the bike is the correct size for you I would keep doing shorter rides for now until you get used to it. And flip the stem over as Colin J suggested. Eventually you can start lowering it a bit at a time or if its comfortable leave it as it is.

Definitely dont start lowering your seat to compensate as that will potentially damge your knees and make pedalling hard work.

I had similar issues when changing from an upright hybrid to a drop bar road bike now I feel more natural on the road bike.

 

[fossyant]

Leave it as it is, ride more, and your body will adjust.

I went through a number of months with really bad back pain (lumbar) some years ago when getting back into cycling - the bikes hadn't changed, but I'd not had the miles in.

 

[Cyclist33]

Well, in the end I've done 190 miles over the last six days so something must be going right! To be fair my legs don't seem to be the problem at the mo.

But covered a fairly swift (for me - 15.8mph avg) 38 miles this evening and the back only started to ache after about 30 miles so that's huge progress. And one thing that made the BIG difference - wearing mitts! Just cheap ones with felt padding, but there mustve been some naughty vibes going down my connective tissue or something. Anyway, well chuffed!

Had a nice bit of keepy-uppy with a carbon Pinarellist about 35 miles in and I'm pleased I held my own for a couple of miles

And also scalped a chappy on his Giant Defy 1 with my lower-budget 3. We had a good little Giant love-in, and I saw him again about an hour later coming the other way. It was one of my favourite of all my rides actually.

Thanks for the advice peeps.

Stu