suvere back pain

supafly1982

Hi guys, when i used to ride a 16.5" Azonic az7 frame i sued to get alot of back pain but i was just getting into biking, i bought a cube reaction pro which was a 20" and back pain seemed to stop but hitting 30 miles it would start,20" frame was a tad to big so i built up a 18" cube reaction and its great too, till about 30 mile

Ive bought a medium Marin wolfridge and all has been well on local runs and on the trails, however by the end of the red route at Kirroughtree i can feel my back pain and its only 13 miles max but alot more effort is involved in these miles.

last night i done the red route my self and hit it as hard as i could, i could feel my lower back starting to burn with pain, especially going DH as hard as i could, riding in the standing attack position for a length of time just seemed to set my back on fire, i had to stop a couple of times to stretch and ease it away.

The top tube on the marin is alot shorter than the cube HT, do you think a larger marin frame would bennefit me? I do suffer from a bad back anyway so if anyone knows tips on how to reduce the pain i would appreciate it.

regards

scott

schmako

To me it sounds like riding position is wrong, try adjusting stem length/bar width? Seat too far up? Sitting on the saddle over the rough stuff?

Sounds annoying though!

supafly1982

Hi Schmako,

i stand up for tacling rouch terrain, obtsicles etc, when i first got the bike i thought it felt a bit cramped reach wise and that a longer stem might be worth a shout but due to the type of bike it is im not really wanting to fling on a long stem as im unsure if it will affect the handling, yeah i did notice on roads with the saddle right up it could cause a bit of pain on long stretches so i just dont put it up that high any more, thats why im wondering if its going to be worth the money to buy a large frame and put all the componants on it to see how that works, alot of money just to try something though

schmako

This is true! Test rides are the key, always good to get a feel of a bike before you buy.

paul_75

i went for a large boardman because i have back problems, i find streatching out a bit helps take that weight off my lower back, also done this when i had sports motorbikes

timpop

Have you ever had your back checked to see if everything is aligned; lower back, hips and legs? My left hip is out of alignment and needs adjusting every so often. Basically my left leg ends up being shorter because it's out of alignment with the hip. It sometimes causes me a lot of lower back pain. The physio doc just pulls it back.
I would look at riding position too. I moved my saddle forward slightly on my new bike and that helped with my general position. I think it's better to have your back more upright to help prevent back pain from bending forward. It also opens up your chest a bit more and that can help with breathing. Having your saddle too low or too high could contribute to back pain. Keep trying new positions.
Then finally, core strength training will definitely help. Check out this:
http://www.bikejames.com/ipod-videos/mountain-bike-core-strength-sequence/
Good luck. I hope it improves.
Have fun out there!

jayson

I tend to buy a slightly smaller frame to help stop my back from spasming when on rides, a slightly shorter top tube seems to help me out loads although i do still get twinges from time to time, thats the nature of back problems though once u have one it never really goes away.