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How I stopped my lower back pain


pulpwoody
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Since at least 2004, when I ride really hard, I would get horrible, sharp, stabbing pains in my lower back. They were so bad, I would have to stop riding completely, or slow down to a crawl.

I just recently fixed it, completely. Here's how:

I moved my seat forward and my bars back and up. Yup, that's it. "Conventional" wisdom on bike fitting had me sitting too far back, and hunched over the bike. I could try to get into the mechanics of this, but I won't. 

Also, I ride flat pedals. This is important too, because I can position my foot directly over the pedal axle. If you ride snap in pedals, this method might be tricky or just not work.

Now, instead of engaging my lower back to pedal hard, I'm using my legs. Imagine that!!! I can sit up straight(er) and push straight down. The difference in power transfer is drastically improved and like the title says, my lower back pain is GONE. Just like that. 

I think I moved my seat forward....maybe an inch. I went with a 40mm stem and raised the bars up by a few spacers. 

It also completely changed, for the better, the way my bike handles. I was struggling with tight turns, like 4 Corners, Tangle of Trails, etc. 

Now, it's so much more responsive. So much easier to handle. It feels like a brand new bike. 

I'm sure there's lots of riders out there dealing with the same kind of pain. It sucks the joy out of riding. Give this a shot. 

 

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thanks! I've dealt with lower back pain off and on. I have made minor tweaks to bike fit and sometimes that is the answer. I moved my saddle forward, but then I needed a longer stem. my bike is pretty compact, so stubby stems are not an option. some day i'll own the perfect fitting bike.

however, I want my bike set up in the way that maximizes confidence on the trail, and my bike feels unruly and vague if I raise my handlebar. the real culprit causing my back pain is weak core muscles and poor flexibility. fixing that is a lot more work than just moving things around on my bike. it's always a compromise: comfort vs performance.

I know that if I were to allow my body's limitations to determine how my bike fits, it will look like this after a year or two:

927062430_ScreenShot2021-10-10at5_26_47AM.thumb.png.c9516675f6fd0079d353060e581a1765.png

Give it another year or two of ignoring my body's need for strength training to keep up with riding, and I'll be on one of these:

563416059_ScreenShot2021-10-10at5_27_31AM.thumb.png.ebfc9a29596b0135393890e830ac8da2.png

so yes, do what you need to do to keep riding pain-free, but my experience tells me that I need to make an effort to keep in riding shape.

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