Layback Seatpost?

Hi All,

I have noticed that towards the end of a ride I seem to get a sore lower back so am looking to give myself a bit more room in the cockpit. I have ruled out getting a longer stem because I don’t like the thought of being further over the front wheel on tricky decents so am looking at getting a layback seatpost. My question is, do I already have a layback seatpost?? Below is a photo of the seatpost I already have.

Are there any other options I haven’t explored? I mainly do XC around Leith Hill, Bedgebury and Cannock.

Cheers,

Alex.

It looks like a “lay up” seatpost from that picture.

alexb17 – Member

My question is, do I already have a layback seatpost??

Yes, you do. A layback seatpost is one that positions the saddle clamp behind the centre line of the seatpost.

Looks like you’ve already got about 20mm of layback with the saddle slammed as far back as it will go. If you don’t want to change your stem then it’s new frame time !

Yes its a layback post

An inline looks like this:

You can probably get a layback post with a little more layback, but as youve already got the saddle right back on the rails, you’re going to be right off the back of the bike
How longer stem have you got, Id be tempted to go longer there or consider a longer frame

That is if the lower back thing is solely the cockpit being too short?

You could look for a saddle with longer rails, but this will only make a difference of a few mm at best.

Thanks guys good to know. Didn’t really want to go down the new frame route because I prefer the handling of a smaller frame on the down hill bits.

Surely the saddle in the photo is as far forward as possible – not far back it’s very late and I’ve had quite a bit to drinks, so maybe I’m mistaken though.

Surely the saddle in the photo is as far forward as possible

Yeah, think so.

It’s as far back as it will go in terms of position relative to the bike (although it’s as far forward on it’s rails as it will go…)

I’m no expert but if your saddle is that far back already your frames too small.

There are dozens of things that could be giving you a sore back. Have you looked at anything else? Bar height, poor core strength, poor saddle/pedal position etc etc.

steve_b77 – Member
I’m no expert but if your saddle is that far back already your frames too small.

You’re right, you’re no expert 🙂

You could be right but you may well not be.

As TooTall said though, sore backs can be caused by loads of things – one of which is lack of flexibility/core strenght and/or a front end that’s too low. Another is pushing gears that are too high rather than spinning.

Alex,

Just wondering what makes you think lengthening your bike will help with lower back sorness towards the end of your ride. I’m cetainly not saying that this isn’t the case but there are a few other things that could cause it. Off the top of my head it my be worth looking at your saddle position/height in relation to the bb but I think the first thing I’d think about would be your core strength, the fact it’s not a problem until the end of your ride suggests that it could be fatigue related…

Just a thought

Oooops, beaten to it.

steve_b77 – Member
I’m no expert but if your saddle is that far back already your frames too small.

Sorry to jump on this but I knew someone would post something along these lines, seems to be a bit of a STW favourite. At least you qualified it with your claim! 😉
Saddle position should have nothing to do with reach to the bars/frame size it’s about leg length or rather the thigh length. So someone with there saddle in that position is not riding a too smaller bike, necessarily. Try telling th elikes of Cadel Evans, Jaroslav Kulhavy they are riding the wrong sized bike!

In this case though does sound like unless you (OP) still feel like you feet are too far underneath you then the stem length looks a better bet to increase the length of the bike. You could probably go an extra cm or 2 without really noticing. Of course it will affect the handling a little but not so much that you won’t be able to adjust in a week or two (if that)

Edit: also beaten too it! Doh!

I found the cure for lower back pain was to put the seat further forwards, and to raise the seatpost somewhat.

PS, OP – make changes a bit at a time, ie. by 2-3mm at each change. Making a big change at once can lead to worse issues!

Lower back pain resulting from bike set up can be very personal. The age old make the reach shorter and put the bars up works for some (which I realise is not what you (OP) is saying just talking generally), and as a sweeping statement works for most people riding a bike. BUT most people riding bikes are not really trying to go fast or ride off road, shorting reach and raising bars can actually make things worse, as you try to compensate to make the bike work for you, and in some cases you need to do the opposite (make the reach longer/lower bars) but impossible to say with out an expert looking at you on the bike or a bike fit.

Without an expert opinion (which would be the best thing to seek)I would just leave the bike if you feel comfortable on it at the start of a ride/on a short ride and look at strengthening exercises and stretching. Harder to do it some ways opposed to opening your wallet but as a rule more effective. A lot of lower back pain comes from lack of core strength/ tight hamstring mussels and also creeps in a lot when you are doing a lot of repeated efforts sitting in the saddle. Also there is an element of the repeated effect hitting rocks/roots/bumps that riding off road involves, again increased time on the bike and good technique will solve as many of this problems as technology will. That’s not to say that some bike set ups will not help but won’t solve the problem.

But maybe you know all that already! In which case sorry!

I tend to get a sore back after long rides, it doesn’t matter what bike I ride, it is made worse if my camelback is particularly heavy.

I have asked around about it and it’s to do with my gluteus maximus muscles, because I sit down a lot during the day the muscles are stressed after riding the bike for a while.

Obviously your back pain could be described by loads of things (I’m not a medical expert) but it’s worth considering there may be other reasons to your back pain.

it is made worse if my camelback is particularly heavy.

Try a Wingnut pack that sits lower…helped me.

shorting reach and raising bars can actually make things worse, as you try to compensate to make the bike work for you, and in some cases you need to do the opposite (make the reach longer/lower bars) but impossible to say with out an expert looking at you on the bike or a bike fit.

+ 1…I’m very much low bars, long reach. As others have said, it’s a very personal thing and was very much trial and error for me to find the right position. Reach, saddle height/angle and bar height can all have an effect and my setup only has to be out by a few mm and I suffer lower back pain within the first half an hour of riding, yet setup correctly and I can cycle for 10hours+.

Loads of great info there guys, thanks. I am riding a frame that is probably a bit too small for me, but I preferred the handling to the larger bikes. The bike feels fine at the beginning and it is only towards the end that I start to get the problem. I thought that lengthening the distance detween the saddle and the bars would allow me to have a flatter back and reduce the pressure on it. A lot of you are saying that it could be my core/poor strength/fatigue that is causing my issues and I think you may be on to something there so I’m going to go away and work on that and see how I get on.

Thanks again.

May be obvious, but just to add – lower back is often tight hamstrings etc, so as well as stretching, you could try reducing the reach.

Doesn’t have to be stem or saddle position* mind. Lower bars give you more of a stretch, as do wider bars, and vice versa.

* though as noted, this should be nothing to do with reach, all about thigh length and seatangle.

May be obvious, but just to add – lower back is often tight hamstrings etc, so as well as stretching, you could try reducing the reach

So move the saddle forward on the rails, reducing the distance between the bars and seat? I’ll have a play with my seat position on my next ride and see it it makes a difference.

It might be worth a try but would, as suggested above, only move it a small amount, also worth trying playing about with the angle of the saddle, again very small movements.
BUT I would be fairly hesitant of adjusting your position if you find it fine to start with, does depend on how long “after awhile” is, if we are talking an hour an a half then I would er on the side of leaving it if it’s 30 mins or so maybe play around a bit more. I would just be careful of trying to fix what might be a physical problem by changing position on the bike, far more likely to throw up more problems in the long term, than it will solve.

Of course it maybe be just your position needs a slight tweak, clearly hard to say from a computer!