Most annoying thing ever. It feels like a spasm that gets worse as I ride road or mtb. Afterwards it’s fine but tight on one side around the hip only. Slightly sore but not a concern for me.

It’s more on one side than the other and I’m paranoid it’s si joint inflammation. I know this is common amongst the cycling community but I’m looking for things to do to cure it and everyone I find something new I add it too the gym or stretching routine and end up spending hours doing it!

It could be a tight psoas. Tight hamstring. Weak glutes so I’m trying to fix them all via stretching, yoga, and strengthening.

Does anyone have a majo

Is it all the time whilst riding like a postural thing or muscular tension that builds up during climbs etc?

Hi..its definatly something that builds up on climbs and stays unless I stop and stretch. It’s eleviated if I stand on the pedals and stand stretch my hips forward for a few seconds.

Sounds very similar to what I have experienced and I have narrowed it down to saddle position and reach. If it is off my lower back is in the wrong position and the stabilising muscles get stressed. I solved it on my ss bike with a steep seat tube angle with a lay back post and the saddle far back on the rails. I also found narrower bars positioned me better in general. Worth trying out as it may work for you too.

Tried putting more spacers under stem, un-slamming stem, high angle stem, riser bars?

Lower back pain could be due to weak/damaged core muscles, mine is a bit of both, I struggle to cope with drop bars and low front end on flat bars these days. Old job killed my back, carrying white goods including washing machines, up and down blocks of flats.

I get something like this on long hard climbs and if I’m going into a headwind for a long time, standing and putting the hips forward alleviates it too. But, I’ve been doing more hamstring stretches before and after rides as well as a yoga pose called the pigeon which seems to be helping a lot, stretches the muscles around the butt, think it’s been recommended before on here for lower back pain. Sounds like you’re already doing some stretching and yoga though.

Kojak. Good to here the hamstring stretches help. I noticed the same but not enough to feel like I found a solution.

I just started having a go at the beginner strength excercises on the British cycling web page. Found lateral squats hard so hopefully I’m ironing out my weaknesses.

Seat too far back for thigh length? I have my seats very far forward.

My saddle is all the way forward. My saddle height is spot on from bike fit. Although I raised it slightly the other days to see if it helped. Kinda didn’t really.

My cleats are the correct angle and fully back..

Reach to the bars is spot on. It’s me that needs fixing I think. My hips are seriously stiff. My hamstrings aren’t to bad but I know my glutes are useless.

Dont see the point of an mri scan. It’s not bad enough for an operation.

My saddle is all the way forward

And

My cleats are the correct angle and fully back..

Sounds to me like your position is a mess, and you’ve got back pain, which is not surprising.

Start again, look on the web for the right way to set yourself up or do the STW thing and pay someone £100 or so to do it for you.

Do you sit at a desk all day? If so then could be related to weak core muscles and/or tight hamstrings

My tip comes from Bikejames.com – he suggests standing up to climb whenever you can – I tried this and it really helped me a lot – I had been getting a lot of back pain on the bike and found this the best fix – it’s free too unlike pricey bike fits which are only going to the shift the problem of shortened hip Flexors whilst engaged in seated climbing

ive had a bike fit. £100 with pro bike dynamics through a bupa hospital. In general, I’m better considering, arms neck etc but no change for my lower back. My mtb and road bike both give me the same issue.

I think it’s related to week core and glutes. they just haven’t got strength or endurance! I noticed the other day that the tension pain goes when I force my stomach out and tense.. As weird as it sounds!

I’m going to see a physio next week. Hopefully she will be able to help me along.

If your seat is all the way forwards, you wasted your money or your bike or stem is the wrong size.

My saddle height is spot on from bike fit.

Bike fit isn’t definitive. Everyone needs to adjust a bit here and there for all sorts of reasons.

I read that some lower back pain is due to the curved bit being forced to curve the wrong way. Which IME happens if your saddle is tilted slightly too far back. Had this on my Patriot yesterday after a bar change and associated shuffling of parts – tilted the saddle forward a *smidge* and it was much better.

Post a pic of you riding the bike, if you can.

It all depends upon an individual’s body dimensions.

A lot of people do have their seat too far back, as they never move it from the position it was in from the factory/shop.

I have my cleats all the way back, which suits me.

My mtbs have the seats mid-forward on inline posts.

My (used bargain) road bike frame is too long for me, so i do have the seat pushed very forward to compensate. Not a problem normally, but it did mean that I struggled to get the aero position right for tome trialling.

Tight hip flexors and weak glutes. I get the same. Try some bridges before you go out. Do you sit at a desk all day?

You’ve had a bike fit and you get pain that gets worse as you ride along; the bike fit isn’t right and no amount of stretching off the bike is going to make it better.

A ‘correct seat height’ with your saddle as far forward as it will go is most likely wrong, and you’ve got pain which proves it. Putting a saddle that far forwards is a classic error when attempting to improve the reach to the bars, and will stress your lower back as a result.

Start again.
Sort out your saddle position then address any reach issues.

Saddle forward is used by people with short femurs to bring the knees further forward wrt to the pedals. Bar reach is tweaked afterwards.

It is not necessarily “wrong”.

Having the seat too far back can cause lower back pain too.

Many people do not have a flexible lower back and or weak glutes, as others have said.

Working on strength and conditioning of the core (and whole body) is beneficial to most office-based people.

You’re assuming that a) he has a desk job and b) he has short femurs.

I’m taking the evidence offered above and suggesting his bike fit isn’t right.

He could spend time exercising to attempt to make his £100 bike fit work, or he could start again and get a good fit that doesn’t require off the bike messing about to be comfortable.

I’m making a number of points.

Bike fit needs to be right first, though

Yeah, i sit in work most of the day except several tea breaks. Im in the gym most nights so hopefully i compensate for it.

I think the big assumption is that I’m physically strong enough to climb as much as i do without my back getting hammered. Ive started more core work this week and am going to smash it for a month or so and see how i go.

Anyone tried the Boat Pose? It hurts my lower back, gluten etc in exactly the same way as when I’m riding.

Following the comments about saddle and cleat positions i am wondering if my setup has put more strain on the back of my legs (hamstrings) subsequently tugging on pelvis. I recall pain before the bike fit so I’m not sure this my statement is correct. Saddle all the way forward (to the edge of the marker – it will go another inch) and cleats all the way back.

Im wondering if this is saddle shape related. i use a speech avatar measured to my sit bones. I find it hard to stay with my sit bones on the widest position, instead the taper of the saddle slides between the sit bones but its still comfy.

Sow anyone on here actually do bike fits? I have images of me on my bike if anyone feels they can comment.

There is nothing wrong with improving strength and flexibility -especially in hips, glutes, hams etc.

What do you do in the gym? Sitting down all day (as i also do) needs a lot of compensating for. I use a Sissel Sit Fit cushion for much of the time that I am sat at my desk, which requires me to stabilise my “core”.

As has been pointed out, bike fit needs to be right first

AS Aristotle says, we could all gain from improving strength and flexibility, not only for biking, but also to correct the day to day impact of sedentary work.

In terms of bike fit, I’ve always been sceptical when it comes to paying for a definitive fit, and I am a fan of people starting from a few basic principles and using them to really learn about what works and how changes affect things.

As a general, get you started thing, put your saddle down by 2cms and back by 2cms, and see what effect it has; aim for the same saddle distance from the centre of the BB, but farther back and lower.

Crikey.. Shouldn’t I consider moving my clear with this change you suggest?

Cleat position is a real personal preference thing; mid position is a good starting point, rearwards cleat position has had a few enthusiasts, I always push mine as far forwards as possible and turn the right one so my toes point out on that foot.

Experiment! but always start from a neutral point so you can learn how and why the changes you make either work or don’t.

I’ll give it a stab. Interested in the Sissel sit for cushion.. Might get me one of those.

I had this issue, I was getting it so badly that i was having to stop to try to stretch. My turned out to be saddle angle was wrong

My saddle is flat.

A new bike that had a higher front end and shorter tt sorted the problem for me.

Since you keep saying you’ve poor glutes etc…do you do yoga (or similar activity)?. Yoga is very complimentary for the body and useful for mtb too..Abi Carver’s MTB yoga series on Vimeo is a good place to start if you’re interested. Simple 15minute sequences to start with, that you can build upon as you get better at it…

My saddle is flat.

Still experiment with slightly nose down. Only slightly though. Might help, costs nothing.

Same issues here. Really tight hip flexor. Click at night when I roll over ow. Doing lots of.yoga and strengthing exercises. Trying some 90:90 exercises as recommend on my thread. Too early to.tell if it’s workibg

Sounds familiar. As mentioned above, for me the problem is hip flexors and glute activation. Plenty of stretching of the hip flexors, not just riding, but every day (my back pain ended up being more than just on the bike). And also dead lifts and squats if you use a gym. Otherwise a few goblet squats or pistols squats will help your leg/glute strength and also help you to stand up more whilst climbing.
The dead lifts should also improve your standing posture for downhill too and you’ll also fatigue less and consequently maintain better posture for longer.

Literally just done “the plank” exercise for first time in ages, I was suffering by ~1 minute and begging for the 2min alarm by ~90 secs, while no doubt my posture was not very good!

But having made it to 2mins, the achy pain in my lower back has been replaced by a sensation that my lower back core muscles have had a damn good workout.

Try pressing your body up and down with your arms whilst doing the plank exercises, much better.

Planks on their own seem far less beneficial.

Sounds very much like what I get. After loads of fannying around, osteopaths, physio’s etc. I saw a sports specific physio’ who narrowed it down to my piriformis muscles being tight (amongst other but these were the main offenders). Google it for some decent stretches but I’d recommend seeing a sports physio’ for assessment before anything else.

So I visited a physio this morning. She tested my gluteus and it was immediately obvious that the hamstrings and back were activating before them which is wrong therefore I’ve got some simple exercises to do to ensure they all fire up together.

Explained that the glutes are the powerhouse before you legs and if they don’t activate together the lower back tries to help out but it shouldn’t.

The exercises are for timing rather than strength. Hopefully this will work. She also records in to stretches out (seat to clear x axis) so I should tilt my seat forward a few degrees.

Hi OP how are you getting on?

Explained that the glutes are the powerhouse before you legs and if they don’t activate together the lower back tries to help out but it shouldn’t.

I love this kind of stuff. What exercises did she give you?