ok, after an incredible ride yesterday in the sunshine and crisp spring air.. i can barely walk, wont babble on about my specific back problems as the main aim of this thread is to ask a couple of questions:

1) have those with back problems found riding a bouncy bike makes a difference to back pain?

2) have those who have gone bouncy noticed a drop in fitness or an increase? didnt exactly sleep well last night and i’m mentally struggling to work out if the extra weight and stuff would eventually improve fitness or does it make you a lazier rider…

3) money…. now the new boardman FS bikes look like good value for money, but at that price point would i just be setting myself up for a fail?

😥

in too much pain and too shattered to process such decisions, any advice an experiences would be great! thanks in advance everyone 🙂

have you tried riding with your knees bent?

Likely to be your riding position, I reckon. I do wonder if those who say FS helped their back are actually feeling mostly the benefits of a better position?

Post a pic of your bike, pref with you on it.

FS : One much loved commencal meta 5 frame…

It’s probably as much to do with bike set up though.
Try pilates, e-mail in profile…

can you do pilates via email now? sign me up!

Just e-mail me Nutt… I’ll send you pics of some interesting positions…

Pirates?

Hey matey, chin up! I suffer from back problems as well, however this year I can talk well and last year I could walk without ending up in pain.

I have come a long way over the last 18 months, why not send me an email and I’ll talk you through what I’ve learnt about my back and keeping it in good shape.

For me yes, the full sus is much better for riding, I have lock out on my front and rear shock for on the road and the extra weight you get used to it quickly, as for being lazy I can simply ride over rougher stuff and it is much smoother.

If you want to keep your fitness up! just leave the shocks unlocked and cycle up hills hehe! 😀

Top tip #1 for keeping your back in good shape:

Do not slam yourself backwards into trees.

HTH

Hmmmmmm … have you exhausted all possible treatments for your back? Is it something you just have to live with?

I would say there’s a lot to think about and, from my own experiences, frame material plays a big part in this as well as set-up.

Also, you can’t see your body position on the bike. Show that Yetiman how to use your videocam and that may help.

Would suggest that as you’re fairly new to riding, you’d be better off keeping to a hardtail.

+1 also for pilates and related exercises – sort your core out.

I’ve had terrible back pains on rides and then gone on to not have any – all on the same HT bike.

I don’t normally suffer from back problems, and never through riding.

But… I got a new bike a few months ago and it made my back hurt. After much faffing with seat heights, saddle position, stem length and steerer spacers I’ve got it to stop hurting.

So… I doubt a FS bike will help (but I guess it could). Messing around with your riding position may well help though.

only thing FS would help with is if the problems are skeletal and aggravated by repeated compression.

As above – I’d look at;

1) position on bike
2) core exercise/strengthening

As being a better long term solution.

You coudl try a suspension seatpost (thudbuster?) as a cheap trial rather than buying a whole new frame/bike, too.

I find FS is alot better for my back on longer rides and find pilates also helps

Core conditiong is key.
Try not riding with a back pack for a while.
Buy my full sus.

I think FS makes little difference to backache. Arseache on the otherhand it certainly helps with.

I hate being stretched out as it hurts my lower back so I have quite a high bar position, a short stem and prefer a shorter TT. For me being more upright helps lots.

I guess whether a full suspension bike would help would depend on the type of problem with your back.

If it were muscular then I would have thought that a getting the position right combined with a little more stretching (yoga/pilates) would probably do the trick.

If it were a disc problem then it may be that the jarring of a hardtail is doing you no favours regardless of the position and that the slightly more cushioned ride of a full suss bike may well help.

*DISCLAIMER* I am not a doctor, and the above is based on pub logic. I have however suffered with muscular and disc related back problems in the past and they were both managed with stretching and good posture.

I agree with position on the bike.

I have long standing back problems and need to run highish bars to avoid pain. An inch difference in height makes all the difference – so try mucking about with stems to get higher bars.

been very much wanting to stick to my hardtail as you say.. still relatively new to riding and i love that bike! don’t really fancy spending the money on a bouncyhorse at the moment either.

riding position is a good point, if the saddle was slightly too low would that mainly effect lower back? i cant find the right position at the moment and end up doing most of my riding standing up stomping about.

back condition is degenerative so i try and do as much as possible to help it, diet, exercise, stretching (stretching about every 30 minutes at work at the moment), NSAIDs, osteopath appointment this evening and currently trying to find a good pilates person in our area.

core strength is something i’m trying to work on, however the impact of the saddle on bumpy rooty stuff definitely doesnt help…

no back pack is a good plan too

going to see if the ostepath reccomends anything specific tonight too.

this thread isnt looking for an excuse to buy a FS, i was hoping to wait at least another year so i can improve my skills on the HT.. but thought it worth asking the question!

however the impact of the saddle on bumpy rooty stuff definitely doesnt help…

That’s why you stand up over bumpy stuff 🙂

As above, if you have a specific condition that is aggravated by impacts then an FS is a no brainer.

this thread isnt looking for an excuse to buy a FS, i was hoping to wait at least another year so i can improve my skills on the HT

Ignore the ‘FS is for no-skills’ nonsense, that’s just pure STW snobbery b*llocks. There are some specific skills that are handy on an HT but you could easily never ride one and be a great rider.

phil… I’ll lend you a DVD that could proove a good start… back pain can be related to stiff hamstrings… knee pain related to stiff backs… the kneebone is connected to the thighbone…

Carbon seat post will get rid of some trail buzz.

Iirc you have a session booked with jedi? He will pick up on anything not quite right.

Alternative is to buy a reasonable fs frame that you can lighten up/upgrade over time. Definitely check out the Classifieds.

If your saddle is pretty much centrally positioned on your seat rails that a USE XCR post plus a compliant frame (steel?) will not lose much in comfort to a 4inch FS.

If your seat is not centrally positioned then try a thudbuster.

Also add high volume tyres.

And when you get to the rough stuff then pedal harder as this will unweight you more from the saddle.

1 x Redbull 2 x Nurofen = no pain 8)

I ride both hardtail and FS as well as my hybrid commuter. I also have 2 prolapsed discs and 2 degenerative discs. To be honest the type of bike I ride doesn’t seem to affect my back and I would go so far as saying the FS sets my back off more for some reason.

The best advice I could give is go and see a sports rehab / sports physio. I went to NHS physios on numerous occassions and was told to do stretching which aggravated my back more. The Sports rehab guys actually checked my posture and worked on levelling my hips first (which were causing me to limp and back pain). Well worth checking to see what they can do anyway.

Anyway whatever you decide, good luck with it!

i do stand up on bumpy stuff, i stand up most of the time (all single track, most climbs.. only time i sit is on fireroads and the initial part of a climb) as every little bump travelling through the seat post hurts.

tight hamstrings and back of the leg in general has always been an issue, stretching them out about 10 times a day and doesn’t make much difference 🙁

jedi day will happen soon, need to!

high volume tyres = yup

pedalling hard on the rough stuff… very much yes.

EDIT – caffeine + painkillers doesnt touch the back pain 🙁

cheers konaboy, going to get osteopath to look at posture and muscle balance tonight 🙂

Stretching music…

Dj Deekline… Touch your toes.

VIdeo is a bit risqué so you can search it for yourselves if you want to.

standing up all the time and pedalling hard up hills might be giving you back strain – I get lower back pain if I ride my SS after a while on gears – I’m sure it’s ‘cos I’m turnign a difficult gear and stood up for long periods climbing.

If your saddle is too low when you are putting power through the pedals and sitting down, it will cause you to hunch up your back so that you can put down the power without a fully extended leg, this may be causing problems.

When I have the saddle too low it make my back twinge after a while, hence all the faffing with the bloody seat height.

Oh, and as I said before, I wouldn’t underestimate the impact (scuse the pun) of last weekends crash, a week is not a long time to recover from quite a substantial clout directly to the back.

stretching them out about 10 times a day and doesn’t make much difference

You do it cold? I heard this was bad. I do this stretch:

AFTER a ride, only with my palms on the floor, reaching them as far forward as I could (held for 10s 3 times each leg with a shake and rub). Every ride I could reach half an inch further and in no time I had my forehead on my knee.

Phil, the osteopath didn’t really do much for me, it may for you but again he seemed to be looking to cure me when it is a degenerative condition which needs managing instead if that makes sense?

Oh and painkillers, my doc gave me Dihydrocodeine, they helped but definately wasn’t with it when following his dosage and they are quite addictive apparently 😕 If you’re near to Manchester they do a sports rehab I can recomend at Salford Uni.

Guys, guys, guys… we all appreciate this sucks and hope Phil the best, but and this is a big BUT… our standards are slipping…

MTFU!

phew.

My Thudbuster seatpost helped a lot on my old hardtail and is far cheaper than buying a new full suss. Just takes the edge off the bumps and means you can stay in the saddle more.

I run it in my SS now and i still think it’s great. Not the prettiest or lightest though but that’s a small price to pay for comfort.

I’ve tried persevering with a hardtail for the last two years, after rupturing a disc in my lower back. I have a FS too, so can switch between them.

I’ve now sold the HT as it kept hurting my back, to the point where I couldn’t walk after a 2+ hour ride.

The problem is climbing, not descending. When riding up long bumpy tracks, where it’s too long to stand and climb, sitting on the HT with the constant small bumps pumelling me, really finishes me off. I don’t get this on the FS, as it softens the blows. Also riding on bumpy flat bits gives a similar beating.

I really liked my HT, but had to sell it as it just wasn’t getting used.

I do lots of core work with a swiss ball, and have a good physio, go to the gym etc. Good core strength workouts with specific emphasis on my back got me riding again after the initial incident.

As you have a specific condition, you should follow advice from your physio/doctor. Not sure if FS will help any with your specific problem.

mmm the osteopath isnt a long term plan, kind of a “oh my god i need something done to my back today and anything will do!” luckily i’ve managed to get an emergency appointment with the guy who used to crack my back about when i was a young teenager so i know his skills and dont mind taking my top off on front of him as he saw me as a tubby teen.

degenerative yes so looking for long term plans to keep it as healthy as possible and slow down the wear and tear without giving up riding!

dihydrycodeine = very addictive! being a nurse and giving out pills all the time has made me very reluctant to take painkillers… trying to save myself til i really really need them to be able to move instead of for comfort, hopefully this will extend the period of time i can take the less harmful painkillers before being thrown on patches and stuff.

the stretching i’m doing each day isnt exactly from cold, i use heat pads almost constantly and its gentle stretching targetting quite specific muscles… that stretch in the photo i cant physically sit like that to stretch in the first place lol

EDIT – could look at getting a swiss ball for work… make the core exercises more effective!

Phil… try the ‘Giggs Fitness’ DVD as an introduction to pilates and yoga.

The problem is climbing

That’s what used to happen to me on my HT before I changed the position…