confused about lbs advice



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Jon Marshall

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hi all

i have recently returned to cycling and have been suffering from lower back ache after each ride. i
went to my lbs and they said i looked too upright and needed a longer stem to stretch me out a bit
more. This seemed to be contrary to most of the advice in this newsgroup so i got a second opinion
from another lbs who said that i looked fine in my setup and i probably just needed to experiment
with my saddle height etc. which i have already been doing. They also said that a longer stem would
just make the problem worse.

i've inclued a link to a photo of me on the bike, not the best but it gives a rough idea.

http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/green/xkn14/bike1.jpg

I would appreciate any suggestions on my setup and if there is anything obviously "wrong" with it. I
actually feel quite comfortable on the bike apart from the back ache i get.

Any help would be much appreciated.
 
"Jon Marshall" wrote
> hi all
>
> i have recently returned to cycling and have been suffering from lower
back
> ache after each ride. i went to my lbs and they said i looked too upright and needed a longer stem
> to stretch me out a bit more. This seemed to be contrary to most of the advice in this newsgroup
> so i got a second opinion from another lbs who said that i looked fine in my setup and i probably
just
> needed to experiment with my saddle height etc. which i have already been doing. They also said
> that a longer stem would just make the problem
worse.

> I would appreciate any suggestions on my setup and if there is anything obviously "wrong" with it.
> I actually feel quite comfortable on the bike apart from the back ache i get.
>
> Any help would be much appreciated.

Did you injure or strain your back during your hiatus from cycling? I've found that after a long
winter of not being on my road bike, and generally not getting enough miles in, the first few long
rides on the road bike leave my lower back a bit sore. If you feel quite comfortable on the bike
there's a chance that your back muscles just have to get reaccustomed to cycling.
--
mark
 
To look at the picture you are not too stretched. Your "down" leg looks a bit straight to me. In my
experience the biggest cause by far of backache is a saddle too high.

Measure this.

Sit Barefoot on the saddle, pelvis not tilted, pedal fully down, bare foot parallel to ground. How
far from the pedal is your bare heel (remember, not tilted pelvis (chair supporting other foot) and
foot parallel to ground).

If it is more than 5mm, lower it. Ideally it should be about 5mm.

As for stretch.

Put your elbow against nose of saddle and see where your fingertips are in relation to bars. Should
be from touching to about an inch on MTB in my experience.
 
Hello, Contrary to other answers I looked at the picture and in my opinion your saddle is too low! I
suffer with a spinal illness and if the saddle is too low-serious pain. Try it. Kind regards, John.

-- NOTE:YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEND A REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE John, Pauline & Hannah. Thornbury,
South Gloucestershire. UK. http://www.pbase.com/john28july
 
"Jon Marshall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> hi all
>
> i have recently returned to cycling and have been suffering from lower
back
> ache after each ride.

I'd say it all looks fine, if you are comfortable then it's right for you. I too suffer from
lower back pain, although this is a general problem from having to sit in a chair all day in
front of a computer.

Try adding a few lower back strengthening exercises to your routine. They won't take more than 5
minutes a day and will make a huge difference (according to my Dad, I hate doing exercises that
include gettng on the floor. *Me looks at floor and wonders whether I should vacuum first*)

I get off my bike after a few miles and do some stretches.
 
"Jon Marshall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> hi all
>
snip

>
> i've inclued a link to a photo of me on the bike, not the best but it
gives
> a rough idea.
>
> http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/green/xkn14/bike1.jpg
>
> I would appreciate any suggestions on my setup and if there is anything obviously "wrong" with it.
> I actually feel quite comfortable on the bike apart from the back ache i get.

The saddle looks low to me and the frame looks a bit small.

That said, you say its comfy -- which is a good start.

How long have you been back on the bike? How long can you ride before the back pain starts? Are
there any pre-existing conditions? Do you just need to build up your strength?

T
 
Tony W wrote:
> The saddle looks low to me and the frame looks a bit small.

Newbie ... but that frame looks way too small. Glad someone else thought so too.
 
"Tony W" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
:
: "Jon Marshall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
: news:[email protected]...
: > hi all
: >
: snip
:
: >
: > i've inclued a link to a photo of me on the bike, not the best but it
: gives
: > a rough idea.
: >
: > http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/green/xkn14/bike1.jpg
: >
: > I would appreciate any suggestions on my setup and if there is anything obviously "wrong" with
: > it. I actually feel quite comfortable on the
bike
: > apart from the back ache i get.
:
Wonder if this may help http://www.onyour-bike.co.uk/Stretching/stretching_to_keep_fit.htm Chris
 
"Jon Marshall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/green/xkn14/bike1.jpg

What the others said - looks a bit small and the saddle looks low. I would go to
<http://www.wrenchscience.com> and check out their bike fitting system.

--
Guy
===
I wonder if you wouldn't mind piecing out our imperfections with your thoughts; and while you're
about it perhaps you could think when we talk of bicycles, that you see them printing their proud
wheels i' the receiving earth; thanks awfully.
 
Jon Marshall wrote:
> http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/green/xkn14/bike1.jpg
>
> I would appreciate any suggestions on my setup and if there is anything obviously "wrong" with it.

I'm not saying it is absolutely wrong, but the first thing that struck me about the picture was you
seem to be sitting on the front of the saddle. This may be encouraging your sit bones to rotate
around the saddle a small amount as you pedal. Have someone follow you while you ride, and look at
whether your upper hips are moving as you pedal. Try moving the saddle forward an inch or so, to
see if that makes any difference. Theoretically, if nothing else, it will change the balance of
muscles used when pedalling away from your back muscles, but in practice may or may not make any
difference at all.

One thing I picked up as a very useful comfort tip on a bike is to do the following test: (this
works best if the bike is mounted in a trainer, but can be done leaning against a wall) From your
normal cycling postion, with the cranks horizontal, try raising yourself such that you
simultaneously release pressure (not necessarily contact) with the saddle and the handlebars. If
this is balanced, I tend to find the bike position to be comfortable. If not, I move the saddle (and
bars if possible) horizontally to make it balanced. It started as a cure for slipping forward or
backwards on the saddle (to which the schoolboy solution is to angle the saddle - not such a good
idea). Now I use it as a sanity check to avoid a number of comfort problems on bikes which I may not
be familiar with but need to ride for more than half an hour or so. It seems to be independent of
saddle and handlebar height. I would like to be able to attribute this to the web site I picked it
up from, but that escapes me at the moment.

Oh, and try everyone elses tips too.

Jim Price
 
"Arthur Clune" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
: Chris <[email protected]> wrote:
: : Wonder if this may help http://www.onyour-bike.co.uk/Stretching/stretching_to_keep_fit.htm
:
: Dead link. Looks like whoever owns the domain hasn't kept paying.
:
: Arthur
:
: --
: Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org Power is delightful. Absolute power is absolutely delightful -
: Lord Lester

Blast! Sorry you are right its vansished yet it worked this Morning! Shame, it was an excellent site
and I intended to download all the lovely exercise / strtech pictures but havent done it yet. I will
keep an eye open to see if it re-appears as it was very comprehensive and good quality! Chris
 
On Tue, 10 Jun 2003 14:30:48 +0100, "Chris" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Arthur Clune" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>: Chris <[email protected]> wrote:
>: : Wonder if this may help http://www.onyour-bike.co.uk/Stretching/stretching_to_keep_fit.htm
>:
>: Dead link. Looks like whoever owns the domain hasn't kept paying.
>:
>: Arthur
>:
>: --
>: Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org Power is delightful. Absolute power is absolutely delightful -
>: Lord Lester
>
>Blast! Sorry you are right its vansished yet it worked this Morning! Shame, it was an excellent
>site and I intended to download all the lovely exercise / strtech pictures but havent done it
>yet. I will keep an eye open to see if it re-appears as it was very comprehensive and good
>quality! Chris
>

Archive of the site is here, but on my computer at least its showing without images: http://web.arc-
hive.org/web/20020202140708/http://www.onyour-bike.co.uk/Stretching/stretching_to_keep_fit.htm

--
Alex Veitch
 
"Jon Marshall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I would appreciate any suggestions on my setup and if there is anything obviously "wrong" with it.
> I actually feel quite comfortable on the bike apart from the back ache i get.

The saddle looks too low to me, don't know if that's giving you a backache but it may give you knee
ache on longer rides. You look very upright as if the frame is too small but that's based on my
perspective and if you feel comfortable it probably doesn't matter at this point. If the saddle is
squishy, ie feels soft and makes you think it should be comfy, then your a*rse will squirm around as
you sit into it rather than on it, this may make your back deform like when slouching in a soggy
armchair but this doesn't appear to be so on the photo.

Pete
 
On Tue, 10 Jun 2003 13:53:45 +0100, Jim Price <[email protected]> wrote:

>Oh, and try everyone elses tips too.

In that case: lower the seat by about two foot, replace it with a comfy deck chair, shrink the
wheels a bit, move the pedals forward of the front wheel and off you go :-D

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
NOTE: BT Openworld have now blocked port 25 (without notice), so old mail addresses may no longer
work. Apologies.
 
Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
> On Tue, 10 Jun 2003 13:53:45 +0100, Jim Price <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Oh, and try everyone elses tips too.
>
>
> In that case: lower the seat by about two foot, replace it with a comfy deck chair, shrink the
> wheels a bit, move the pedals forward of the front wheel and off you go :-D

But that would be Darthed!

--
Jim Price

http://www.jimprice.dsl.pipex.com

Conscientious objection is hard work in an economic war.
 
yeah funny that - the bike is a 19" hardrock. I'm 6'0 dead with about a 34" inside leg and
originally thought i might need a 21". The lbs i bought it from had both a 19 and 21" in stock but
they advised very strongly against buying the 21" and to be honest as the 19" felt okay i went with
that. I did say i would be doing as much road as off-road. looking at the photo i was also struck at
how small the frame looked. I idid a quick look thru this newsgroup before buying and it seemed that
people with the same dimensions as me went with an 18/19 " .

Oh well - i'll keep persevering -

thanks for all the replies

Jon

Tenex <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Tony W wrote:
> > The saddle looks low to me and the frame looks a bit small.
>
> Newbie ... but that frame looks way too small. Glad someone else thought
so
> too.
 
"Jon Marshall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> yeah funny that - the bike is a 19" hardrock. I'm 6'0 dead with about a
34"
> inside leg and originally thought i might need a 21". The lbs i bought it
>

Every time you write lbs, I keep thinking pounds ;) I'm heavy enough already .. Maybe LBS is better?

Cheers,

Nick
 
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