[Closed] Does a hardtail or rigid MTB cause back pain ?

It can do, especially in the lower back ime.
But i think I’d be looking at your position on the bike too, try dropping the saddle 5mm, or move it forward, also look at your bars and see if you can do anything to raise them and/or shorten the stem.
A proper bike fit can be an incredibly revealing tool.
Obv, if you’re changing things do them one at a time, that way you know for certain which one is doing the most for you.

My back pain is mostly brought on by too compact a riding position, but there are lots of types of back pain.

Hey fella, I would tend to agree with Bez - it could well be the rigidity, but I suspect a great deal of the the issues may be position related.

As Bez. Set up right i can ride my hardtail pain free for hours & hours, set up wrong and I'll be feeling twinges in the first 15 minutes

Could be the hardtail or could be position related.

I have had bulged discs in my lower back that I have to manage time to time and I find stretching out before riding makes a big difference to how long I get before my lower back tightens up.

That said I find I can always ride longer on my full suss than my hardtail. The fs has a slightly longer reach but I’m not sure in a seated position if it’s much longer than the ht as it has a steeper seat tube angle.

Thanks folks. I'm reluctant to give up on the fatbike or hardtails in general, so am hoping it might be something else. At the moment riding the Dude does seem to knacker me for a week though.

It is a bit (around 20mm) shorter than the FlareMax in terms of reach, but feels more cramped than that when riding. I think that's down to a steeper seat angle. the FlareMax gets criticised for having an unfashionably slack seat angle, but I can ride it all day with no problems. Maybe it's just overall "reach" for want of a better word when seated that's the issue though. Bar/saddle height are pretty much identical on both (although obviously change a lot on the FS).

Do some lower back deadlifts at the gym to strengthen your back. Riding into town on roads on an mtb with a heavy backpack excercises my lower back lots. As does riding a hardtail offroad. Never causes pain, but I can see it doing so if your lower back does not strengthen. Only hatrdtail that does not is the bmx, because you are stood up most of the time and do not pedal when seated. Didn't realize that fs does not use the lower back. It's not the set up of mine either as it happens on different hardtails just the same amount offroad although more with a heavy backpack onroad. My lower back is differently worked the most, rigid and offroad with a stretched 1990's geometry bike.All of my experiences are old old school bikes so the geometry would be different.All my bikes have the saddle quite low too. I think pedalling in a more upright position would help, although my town trips bike is pretty upright already with a short stem, so this may not help at all although bikes now are long and you probably have a short stem already. Maybe turn the bars slightly and slide the saddle to see if this helps.

Does it? I dunno. Can it? Yes.

I find sitting in the same position quite hard on my back, so a rigid/ht can actually help a bit. But you certainly can get battered and a small change in fit can hinder your back.

Rigid causes hand and elbow pain for me (on longer and rockier rides) but not back pain. As above, most like-position related. If swapping to a FS relieves the pain it is most likely because the position is better on that bike rather because it has suspension

I was getting back pain from hardtails.
I got lucky on here and got a second hand thudbuster for £10. It ace and has completely changed what bike I can ride and where.
I’ve even popped it on my roadbike and have noticed a difference there too.

IME, it’s down to positioning and set up. My previous HT was a brute of a ride, quite solid, no flex alloy frame. Initially, I’d suffer for the first part of any ride until I’d warmed up and started moving about a bit more. Post ride I would be achy for at least a day. Once I tweaked it a bit, wider bars, slightly longer stem, changed the saddle and its position things got better. No stiffness post ride mainly.

New bike is still a HT, but steel, and much more compliant. However, problems still persisted until the set up was tweaked to my liking. Again, a change of bar and stem, getting the saddle height dialled in, suspension setting right, and tyres to the right pressure.

I still get pain in the lower back, but this goes once I’m a few miles into the ride.

Lack of back muscle mass/strength causes back pain, much more so than the lack of rear suspension.

I suffered back pain for years since my teen years, even with the normal conditioning of Karate, Muay Thai and JJ. Then 3 years ago I started training at a CrossFit gym, a very good one. 3 years later and I'm heavily into CrossFit and strongman stuff, back pains are long gone. MTB became much more enjoyable

Cause? maybe. Aggravate an underlying issue? most definitely!

i have had lower back pain from an injury over 10 years ago and find that the positioning when riding any of my bikes to be critical, especially when i have a backpack on.

The HT gives me the same twinges in my lower back but i can ride for longer on the FS before i feel uncomfortable. Strangely fitting a dropper to my HT has made a difference, which points more towards it being a position on the bike thing rather than the bike itself. Also riding without a pack can ease any pain.

Been using the rowing machine recently to try and strengthen my core a bit as well, double whamy!

I did 3300km last year on my Solaris (fully rigid with carbon fork) without problem. Longest ride in a day was 250km and that was followed by a couple of 200km days.

All the above proves is that the bike is set up correctly for me. I do have 30+ years of climbing to a high standard plus having done a physical job for a large part of my life so my back is pretty strong.

If you have back issues in general then a trip to a physio could be your first port of call, then maybe a bike fit.

Contrary to the advice below I was told not to do stiff leg deadlifts / much normal deadlift for my lower back as it was tightening the muscles and making things worse.

I was told to build general core strengthen with glute bridges mainly. I found that worked for me but I’ve slacked a bit recently on them and need to get into a routine of doing them regularly again.

I've mainly ridden the FS since winter. Grabbed the 90's rigid MTB with 2.4's yesterday for a local XC ride, and could tell after. Back was a bit stiff, but it's got a 90's position - aka more like my road bikes - lots lower. OK this morning, and going out on it again soon - so blooming muddy out there, I'll take the old bike.

I think alloy hardtails do tend to (at some point) aggravate your back, specially if it's weak anyway, guess it depends on where you ride though and how you ride, some folk stand up and pedal more or float above the saddle more and give more in their arms, to reduce the shock/vibration.
I went to a steel HT, what a difference they are, borrowed my OH’s alloy HT a couple of times later and hated it, absolute bone shaker. If you're suffering with a bad back on and off but love your hardtails, try a steely, you'll never look back!

A proper bike fit can be an incredibly revealing tool

I always thought this was a roadie thing due to moving about a lot more while mtb'ing? Does it help a lot with mtb too?

I'm currently getting bad back pain, but riding less due to work just now so not sure what to blame.

Surely it comes down to fit, strength of the riders back (and other bits of anatomy) and the bike itself. I’ve pretty much ridden hardtails as a rule and never had back pain or issues. Had neck, leg and shoulder issues on a FS though.

Mostly posture and your own strength and underlying conditions is what causes back pain- certainly is for me. But different bikes can aid or hinder these things, especially posture.

I think a hardtail could easily make your back pain feel worse but I don't think it can cause it- unless you count aggravating an existing injury or similar.

Do hard tails give you a bad back? No

Do I know people who have swapped to fs because of a bad back? Yes

Riding position. Look at what the natural curve of the back is and compare to the shape when you are on a bike. You flatten the lumbar curve and overbend the cervical curve. The answer is raise the bars

+1 for doing some weight training, it's done wonders for my back pain.

If you're a middle aged man there are considerable additional benefits too.