Back pain and bike sizing – any thoughts/ideas?

Been suffering with lower back pain for years now. It’s not particularly cycling related, though long rides (and long climbs in particular) do aggravate it. I’m 5′ 10″ and always ride mediums, although I could probably get away with many large frames. Just wondered, is a longer effective top tube the kind of thing that might help lower back pain? Seems to me it would stretch me out more and have me leaning further forward on long, steep climbs, which for me is counter-intuitive when it comes to helping my back. I tend to like to sit more upright to ease it on big climbs. I could be missing a trick here though. I’ve seen various physios etc but still not managed to solve this (I suspect I’ll never solve it completely). I’m tempted to try a large frame but any tips, ideas, experiences welcome. Cheers.

Bump for lunch

I suffered for years and finally bit the bullet and went for a bike fit with a guy called the bike whisperer. It was expensive but still cheaper than getting a bike purchase wrong. Genuinely changed my enjoyment of cycling. He did my road bike first then eventually my commuter and mtb for a smaller additional charge.

I’m in the same boat but it really depends what your back problem is. I have a badly pro-lapsed disc that gets worse in flexion (when bending forwards). Shorter top tube and less bending over plus a back brace to keep my spine in the right shape is pretty much the only way to make biking not massively uncomfortable for me.

MTB or road?

I thought I’d have back pain forever but a recent swap of bikes and its gone! (Road bike Merida Ride)

With MTBs I find its the bumps rather than the position that gets me.

Thanks all. I’m riding mountain bikes and the problem is the same on full-sus and hardtail. I’ve never had a proper diagnosis as such – physio (who came highly recommended) seemed to reckon it was largely wear & tear after 25 years in the saddle, desk job etc. Discomfort is fairly permanent, and it’s hampering my riding a bit – 2 or 3 hours into a ride it often feels as though my back is done when my legs could carry on. I just ignore it and carry on, but it’s not ideal. Even though the frames I ride are, if anything, very slightly on the small side, it always feels on climbs as though I want to sit more upright. This makes me doubtful that larger frames would help, as I’d presumably be leaning forwards even more.

My back pain is barely an issue since I moved to longer bikes, but it had been improving anyway in the last few years.

I think you should be on a large at your height anyway, so go for it!

Is your back pain just stiffness or some sort of injury? I’ve been getting physio for the last couple of months due to back pain/hip pain/generally feeling like I’ve been hit by a truck.

Physio has been working on a few things that have really helps – tight fascia at the front of my hips, tight spots at the side of my hips and lack of flexibility in the hip joint.

Tightness in these areas can lead to back pain as muscles/tissue etc is being pulled – think of it as pulling your tshirt at the top of the shoulder – pull it there and the pull runs in all sorts of directions.

Tight hips is a common cycling issue as you don’t get the full range of motion and I think stretching you out on the bike would make this worse as this would lead to less movement in the hip area.

Acupuncture on my hip released the tightness and pain instantly.

On another point cyclist generally check their leg extension on their dominant leg, if this is slightly longer than the other leg that means that the hip connected to your non dominant leg is being pulled down with each pedal stroke – that was certainly the case with me.

though long rides (and long climbs in particular) do aggravate it.

Do you stretch much / at all?
Have you experimented with seat position to adjust the angle of your back / leg / hips?

Top tube / reach won’t change much that is related to lower back stress, which can be brought on by tension in the legs and hips. It may adjust how you back feels but not the cause elsewhere.

I usually do a few stretches before I ride, yes. I should probably do them for a bit longer though. It did occur to me that a longer bike would allow me to move the saddle further forwards on the rails, and that would have the same effect as steepening the seat tube, which might help climbing.

gary – that kinda makes sense to me. My physio talked about my hips not being completely square on – perhaps because of many years riding with the same foot forwards/dominant leg.

It might be a bike fit thing but I doubt the top tube alone would fix things.

I’d be looking for professional advice but here are a few thoughts in no particular order.

rocking on the saddle can also be a cause if your pelvis rocks from side to side under effort then over time it can cause back issues.

lower back pain can be caused by issues with your hamstrings and glutes. Saddle height and stretching/massage can help here.

if you spend all day sat at a desk with bad posture then ride with bad posture this will also have negative effects – see pilates – you’ll become more aware of your posture and when you need to correct it. e.g. no slouching or collapsing into your bars when riding.

stronger core muscles and increased flexibility will help. I’ve fel so much better on the bike since I started doing pilates. 1hour a week has been enough.

I was getting a lot of pain in my back when riding (and eventually two disc prolapses). However it turned out it was more due to my desk job, than the bike. I have done a rethink of how I work, standing desks, a lot of core work, swimming, a bit less biking and as result, the biking now feels so much better and on all the same bikes as before. Not everyone is the same, your problems may well be different. But just some thoughts from my own experience.

Have a look at this thread on sit-stand desks. Know it isn’t what you asked for, but might give you some other thoughts. It might be worth going to your doctor to get a senior physio to arrange you a scan to really understand the issue before you shed out a load of money on a new bike which may not solve the problem.

EDIT: Sorry, I see wl you are the same OP on both threads! Telling you to read your own threads! Sorry! In all honesty, I would look at the root cause of the collective issue rather than the bike in specific – for me the bike just highlighted issues created elsewhere!

jonba – thanks for this – useful stuff.

ahsat – ha, thanks for this! You’re right, and I’m currently in the process of sorting out various different factors that could be contributing to my back issue. I’m reasonably positive that I’ll be able to improve things, although I reckon there will always be a slight problem. Going to try to get a GP to refer me for a scan or x-ray or something too, just in case that sheds some light on stuff. Also signing up for pilates. I’ve done yoga before, but I think pilates might be better in my case.

Great. Sounds all on the right track. Def look for a physio led pilates class if you can as they can normally give more specific direction than just a general teacher.

Will do, and thanks for your tips.

and that would have the same effect as steepening the seat tube, which might help climbing.

In my case moving from a layback post to an inline helped eliminate lower back pain when climbing on long rides as soon as I made the change, I guess because it reduced the angle between my hip and legs or back, some knock-on effect with hamstrings or tension there etc.
Overall, stretches have helped most long-term and I’m now back to a more usual laid-back road saddle position; but that’s just my experience rather than fix-all advice.

I’m another Pilates recommender. I’m 54 and until relatively recently struggled with lower back pain (sciatica) for over 10 years. Tried everything going to get more comfortable on various bikes, including different frame sizes, seatpost, saddles stems, bars etc. – spent a small fortune on different bikes and kit, with limited success. Eventually got an MRI scan that diagnosed general wear and tear of lower vertebrae, then luckily, I found a physio who also taught Pilates.

Id tried normal Pilates classes before, but didn’t really get any benefit – however, the physio had a max class size of 6 and wasn’t afraid to get hands on to move people into the correct position. As with some other Physio type stuff, you have to persevere with the exercises before getting results, and at first, I found it really hard work – but after 6 weeks, I started to feel a difference, and after 3 months, no more bad back! I now do two or three 30-40 minute sessions per week, to keep my core strong.

A stronger core brings other non-biking benefits too, and I’ve noticed things that used to set my back pain off no longer do.

Jameso and bowglie – cheers, very helpful. And also very encouraging on the Pilates front – will be signing up soon.

As an experiment I fitted a longer stem to my commute last night. Its a relatively new bike and other than move the stem and bars I haven’t changed anything else. The original was an 80mm so I fitted a 100mm thomson I had on my last commuter.

Rode it this morning and I feel a load better today, much loser around the shoulders and chest and my back feels much better too. (My commute is 20 miles so todays ride would have an impact on me).

So maybe longer is better.

Having recently had lower back surgery for a slipped disk, I can confirm that working on core strength is key to getting over lower back pain.

I’ve haven’t messed about with sizing except to raise handlebar and stem heights.

Sorry I meant ‘other than moving the seatpost and bars’ not stem

Another thing to look at is what is on your back. If you have a hydration pack how heavy is it and how well does it fit. They do put pressure on the back which might be some of the problem

Ah, yes, chrismac’s comment is a good one. As one of my experiments I switched from a Camelbak HAWG to an Osprey Raptor, then to a Wingnut…and finally a Camelbak Volt. The Volt shifts the water bladder around your waist and I’ve found its noticeably comfier on longer rides, and I feel it’s the best (most stable) in roughy/technical terrain – also keeps the lower back a bit warmer in winter.