[ummbikes]

So I'm a little out of shape.

Okay. I'm horribly out of shape but riding again. The problem is my lower back is not happy with me leaning down while riding.

Short of a ultra rise stem is there any setup tricks to ease my transition from acedemic exile boy into speedy trail rider?

Thanks

Rob/Armondo/ummbikes/jerkboy

 

[indieboy]

Originally posted by ummbikes
So I'm a little out of shape.

Okay. I'm horribly out of shape but riding again. The problem is my lower back is not happy with me leaning down while riding.

Short of a ultra rise stem is there any setup tricks to ease my transition from acedemic exile boy into speedy trail rider?

Thanks

Rob/Armondo/ummbikes/jerkboy

there are a few things you can do, but i hate preaching about this but i'll do it anyways......your fit to the bike may not be dialed in correctly, which ultimately could cause some back pain. so have someone qualified check that out for you.

the next thing i'd recommend is doing certain stretches for the lower back and sit ups. both will help strengthen your lower back.

 

[Serial Midget]

Hair of the dog Armondo, hair of the dog!

 

[BikeGeek]

What stem rise do you currently have? For me, easing the back pain was as simple as going from 0 to 6 degrees and adding a spacer under the stem.

Check your seat height. Maybe you could drop it a bit without sacrificing your knees?

 

[Skookum]

Originally posted by indieboy

the next thing i'd recommend is doing certain stretches for the lower back and sit ups. both will help strengthen your lower back.

Originally posted by Serial Midget

Hair of the dog Armondo, hair of the dog!

yup, i do stretches and variations of crunches every morning (alright almost every morning), and just riding every week helps too. But a good back support mattress does wonders.

 

[The Toninator]

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43997&highlight=back+pain

 

[Westy]

At the begining of the year I was having a bit of a back pain problem. I was stretching and strenght training, I tried shorter, longer, higher and lower stems. Nothing seemed to work. I then found out that if I set my seatpost to where it seems about 3mm too high my back was fine. It took a little getting used to but it was worth the pain free back.

 

[Drunken_Ninja]

doing up that lower strap on the camel bak makes a difference.

 

[Jesus]

I went from a 110mm to a 90mm stem and it made all the difference for me.

See if some of your friends have some different stems you could try.

 

[MikeOK]

I had a double fusion back surgery a few years ago, I definately understand. People who know I've had this surgery always ask me what to do when their backs start hurting, and one thing I've learned is that everybody is different. For me, the more I ride the better my back feels. Seems that the position I'm in on both road and mtn bikes stretches me just like I need to be stretched. Plus, I can tell you from hearing other's experiences that unless it is something serious, a little "riding through it" could be the ticket, or it could be a fitment issue.

In my sig click on "Bike Links", and down at the bottom of the page there's a couple links to bike fitting, maybe they can be of help. Good luck...