New Member, Silly Question.....

[syllabus]

Hi all,

I'm a fair weather cyclist(sorry) who currently averages maybe 30/40kms a week. I've signed up for the Great Dublin Cycle for the 60km one next week. I have a Lapierre Hybrid bike and a bad lower back so i'm worried about my back over the distance. Would tri bars help? Do people put tri bars on hybrids? Would I be laughed at with tri bars on a hybrid? I'm not overly worried about what people think about me(i'm a fat bastid who wears lycra) but at the same time I want to be aware of any Faux Pas so I can have a sarcastic answer ready!!!

Thanks,

Syllabus

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

Personally, I find riding upright on a flat bar bike is easier on my lower back, especially on long rides - YMMV as they say, probably depends on the specific medical nature of your back pain.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

You can ride anything you like. When I first started riding I went hybrid. I did an organized ride, 2 days 60 miles each day. Mass start of 100 riders so we all started at the same time.

First day I got to the finish line about 1 pm. A group of 4 riders sat next to me at the post ride meal later that day. They saw my hybrid and said oh no, you need to get a road bike. Then they went on and on how I should get a more aero helmet, better shades, blah blah blah. They said I would go faster like them, especially if I rode in a pace line like them.

After he was done rambling he asked me what time I crossed the finish line. I said 1 pm. Should have seen the look on their faces when I asked them, they finish at 2:15. :lol:

Ride whatever you like as long as it gets you there. FTR, you could be riding the hottest most expensive roadie on the ride and some wisenheimer will make some kind of comment.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

"Would tri bars help?"

No clue. Every back injury is different and what you can or can not take as far as pain, spasm's, etc. will be impossible for us to predict.

Saying that, I've always found varying positions on the bike often helps. Drop bars offer multiple positions and keep the back moving to different postures. A flat bar hybrid offers maybe two riding positions and clip-on tri bars might help you with another position to relax or stretch out your back.

None of us can make that call for you though. You can always bolt them and try using them a little at a time. If they seem to help, keep using them for intervals of time that work for you. If they start to cause pain, stiffness or such...stay off of them and use them to clip your route map to or rubber band a couple of energy gels to them and call them a 'feed zone speed effective bracket structure'!

As far as folks laughing at you the old saying, "If it looks stupid and it works...it ain't stupid!" comes to mind. Ignore them. It's YOUR back and dealing with a bad back takes whatever it takes.

Good luck and have fun on the ride.

 

[mpre53]

If you've never used tri bars before, an organized event with hundreds or thousands of other riders, probably isn't the best place for your debut performance on them. I'd bolt them on right now, and spend the next week familiarizing yourself with the way they handle.

 

[Corzhens]

I am sorry for this comment but I would advise you to refrain from riding for a long distance, much more on a competitive riding event. I'm afraid your lower back would be aggravated and it might turn into something serious. I have this mouse on my leg, right at the back of the shin, that is bothering me for some months now. That's the main reason I couldn't ride because I am afraid that it may turn for the worse. When an injury is a prospect, quit for now especially if you are young.

 

[Sunflogun]

I think you should go for whatever makes you feel comfortable and not care about what others think. They might laugh at you? Who cares!

 

[AtlantaSports]

I think you should go for whatever makes you feel comfortable and not care about what others think. They might laugh at you? Who cares!

That is honestly just a really good outlook on life in general lol

 

[Mr. Beanz]

If you've never used tri bars before, an organized event with hundreds or thousands of other riders, probably isn't the best place for your debut performance on them. I'd bolt them on right now, and spend the next week familiarizing yourself with the way they handle.

GREAT POINT!!!!! I have to second this! I have used the aero bars before, as well as several friends. It does take quite a while to get used to them. Balance as well as being able to stay down in them for periods of time. I remember at first I could only stay down for 1/8 of a mile at a time. It was about 2 weeks before I could stay down for a couple of miles. Plus they are very twitchy until you get used to them over a period of weeks.

I somehow missed out on the point of being new to them, As stated, you don;t want to take them on an organized ride around other peopel without being able to handle them properly. It's very dangerous to you and others.

 

[oldbobcat]

I don't know if tri-bars would help, but I can assure you that good posture certainly will. I can't tell you how many riders, mostly men, have told me about their back problems and shown me all manner of adaptations, many silly, to try to cure them. And then they saddle up and slump on their bikes like a sullen teenager eating breakfast.

These are my steps for good posture.

1. Level the saddle. You can't sit straight while sliding off the front or sliding off the back
2. Bend your elbows a little, more down than out.
3. Sit up straight. Hold your head high. Like your mother used to say. If you must bend forward, bend from the hips, not the shoulders or lower back.
4. Adjust saddle setback. Many riders slouch because it keeps their center of gravity back. If your upper body feels like it's going to fall forward once your start sitting up straight, move the saddle back (and lower it a bit, too).
5. Learn to "post." When you see bad road ahead, transfer some weight off the saddle and onto the pedals.
6. Change your hand and arm positions occasionally.

The problem I see with using tri-bars on a hybrid is that the handlebar is usually too high and to distant to get comfortable for the "elbows on the table" slouch that most comfort-seeking users are trying to achieve.

 

[gavinfree]

I'd say that you should consult your physician before going on this particular ride. If everything checks out (aside from the ride causing back pain), then you can ride in whatever manner or with whatever attachments you want. Make sure that you practice good posture while on the road, and don't hesitate to stop for a bit to take a break to avoid added pain. Changing your posture to something that maintains good posture can have incredible results, although I don't know if you'll be able to avoid some level of pain.

 

[mpre53]

I think you should go for whatever makes you feel comfortable and not care about what others think. They might laugh at you? Who cares!

That's true up to a point. The point is when what you do endangers others. Who cares? If someone new to tri bars happens to be on the same ride as me, I care. A lot.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Tri bars in the pack during a massed start event = usally sketchy and sometimes dangerous.

Tri bars out on the open road after the packs start splitting up in a massed start event = no big deal to me.

On the last 104-mile ride I did, the best time I made was while desperately trying to hang on the rear wheel of a pair of really fast tri guys on high-end tri bikes. Nowhere near their brakes for mile after mile and with just the three of us I've never felt safer.

I've seen squirrels on all manner of machines. I give them all wide berth.

 

[LinB]

The fact that the idea came to you and you are bold enough that I ask the question, it means it's not such a silly notion really. Go ahead and try it out. It's best to ride in a manner in which you feel comfortable.