Ever since I’ve started riding XC towards the end of a long ride I tend to suffer with lower back pain.
I allways thought it was simply due to my back being bad with work sometimes (I’m a joiner) rather than my bike set up. But after doing a 100 mile charity road ride on a borrowed road racer I suffered no back pain at all, I’m now thinking its time to alter my bike set up/frame size.

I ride an 07 medium nomad, 160mm travel forks, 50mm stem, regular fixed seat post.

I’m 6ft 1, 12.6 stone.

Any advice from anyomne who has maybe had similar problems before? I’d rather not start running a longer stem, I really dont like the twitchy feeling of anything more than 50mm.
I had a large nomad two years ago and found I still had the same problem.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Mike.

Height of the bars, not the lenght of the stem – try adjusting that.

Do some back excercising to strengthen it.

I’d rather not start running a longer stem, I really dont like the twitchy feeling of anything more than 50mm.

You just don’t want the fashion police laughing at a long stem, do you?

A longer stem is usually less twitchy in my experience. Sounds to me like you either need a longer stem or larger frame 😯

consider:

relative difference in height between saddle and bars, position of saddle over BB, height of bars, rotation of bars, position of cleats. back/core strengthening exercises. I’d also consider a Med frame for a 6ft chap to be too small as well (unless the next size up is ginormous)

Height of the bars, not the lenght of the stem – try adjusting that.

try moving your saddle around too (backwards / forwards)

I’ve got a 07 Nomad as well. I know what you mean about the long stem, just doesn’t feel responsive enough. I ride a medium as well but I’m only 5ft 6 and generally it feels alright so possibly the frame might just be a bit too small for long XC rides.

The other thing is that if I’m on my singlespeed then I’m out of the saddle a lot more and quite often get lower back pain at the end of a ride. On the nomad I tend to just sit and spin so if you tend to ride out of the saddle in a bigger gear a lot then that might have something to do with it.

I have different bike but its medium and also I am 6ft high. Have the same problem. Found out that when I do have back pain, usually it’s camelback related and stretching out on a bike eases the pain. So most probably it’s higher bars set up solution to me, laid-back seatpost will come after if higher bars don’t help. Think my riding position is -racey- aka bent forward too much for my liking instead of seat’n’beg position. Look some video’s of top DH-ers, their stance on the bike practically vertical tried myself and no back pain at all.

Obviously cockpit set up is personal thing, may work for me but not other rider.

Whenever I’ve suffered lower back pain it’s been because I’ve accidentally set my seatpost too high

the medium nomad has a Top-tube of 57.8cm – the large 60.3.

these are not long bikes*, you’re a big guy using a very short stem on a not-long bike, i’d be surprised if you didn’t get lower back pain on long rides.

i bet they’re brilliant on the fun stuff though…

(*even the large)

Medium frame, 6.1, lower back pain………your too cramped on the bike mate. Layback post or bigger frame.

Well at 5’10” I found a large Nomad to be on the small side… Agree the 50mm stem feels right though.

Broadly it’ll be about the reach – are you running an inline post or a layback one? What about bar height

Sadly – bikes like Nomads whilst being great jack-of-all-trades efforts, are at the same time masters of none. The trade off for sensible, chuckable DH geometry is that they’re a bit cramped for long all day rides.

(I’ve ended up with a medium Uzzi – and it’s the same thing. Hurts me up hill, scares me down…. Just the way things should be 😆 )

I’m about your build (with long legs and arms) and have found that there are certain bikes that just don’t seem to fit me.

One problem (for me) with FS’s is that by the time my ar5e is high enough to stretch my legs I’m perched at a height (or the BB’s too low), needing a higher front end.

I’ve also found that as I get older, I’m less able to do the ‘racers crouch’.

I’d try a set of higher (and possible wider) bars first, and don’t be afraid to try an 80mm stem also.

But a medium does seem a bit small – I use 20″ frames.

And the layback post I ran on my Enduro while fine downhill, was a pain on long uphills to try and maintain weight over the front.

1. Get saddle to the right height (heel on pedal, leg nearly straight for starters).

2. Get saddle to the right place fore and aft (when your knees are at 90 deg you should be able to drop a plumb line from the side of your kneecap and it hit the pedal thru the axle).

3. Mess around with bar height and reach. Not sure whether you are too high or too low. Sounds too high. Wider bars might help if you don’t want to have a longer stem – but a slightly longer stem might be worth trying. If you are on risers, flatter bars might work for you.

Points 1 & 2 don’t work as a science for everyone, but it is a good neutral starting position to work from. Can you get the measurements of the borrowed bike and compare cockpit sizes?

move your saddle back n’ forth, also a layback post could be the thing you need?

I had the same problem. Fixing it turned out to be VERY easy and when you think about.. it also makes a lot of sense.

Stretching…

I now stretch after a ride.. not everyride (looks a bit daft if ride finishes at a pub!!) but at least once a week. A guy I work advised me about it as he went to the doctor with the same problems, and surely enough, within a couple of weeks all the pain had gone. I don’t even stretch my back, only my legs (calfs, hamstrings and “that big tendon at the bottom back of your leg”). Anyway, give it a try, it costs nothing.

diagnosis over the internet from anecdotal evidence or getting a sports physio to look at you sat on your bike?(plus flexibility and muscle imbalance and all those other things physios are trained to look for)

worth every penny.

Santacruz site sizing chart puts you very definately in the large frame size. The medium isn’t recommended for riders over 5’11, this is definately gonna be the route of your problem if your starting to put the miles in. You need to get your ass back further so to speak, to balance your back. keep in mind also frames are usually designed around a layback post so this problably won’t solve your problem. I’d save your money wasting it on different stems, posts, saddles, physios etc and get a frame that fits.

i had lower back pain for a while now im used to it and it no longer happens

Do you wear a camelbak type backpack whilst on the MTB? And only water bottles, no backpack on road?
I had the same symptoms, removed the camelbak on the road and used water bottles instead, no more backpain on the roadbike. So in theory ditching the camelbak would sort you offroad.

you need a bigger bike – wouldn’t worry about feeling silly – just being able to ride in more comfort!

Slightly lower saddle. Easy to try. It’ll feel weird at first but give it a chance. Just a smidge, mind.