New Bar and Stem Combo - but which is causing my back ache

Wormishere1
Wormishere1 Posts: 284
edited April 2015 in MTB general
Hi,

Just put a pair of 740mm flat bars and a 60mm stem on my Canyon Nerve 29er. It now handles like a dream but sadly my back gave out half way round the first ride. My question is which is likely to have caused the pain:

Shorter cockpit length
Greater drop moving from risers to flats
None of the above - just need to adapt to new set up

Thanks for your thoughts.
Remember Rule #5

Comments

  • batmo
    batmo Posts: 277
    Difficult to say, how long was this first ride? Even a small change to posture can have a big effect.

    I've found it useful when making changes to get someone to photograph me in riding positions both in and out of the saddle so I can compare the pictures and see the differences for myself.
    Viscount Grand Touring - in bits
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  • Wormishere1
    Wormishere1 Posts: 284
    Hi, it was only 21km but had a fair few climbs (700m total ascent). I wonder if I should try a 75mm stem and see what happens. The original was 90mm so it was quite a big stem I guess.
    Remember Rule #5
  • Antm81
    Antm81 Posts: 1,406
    Have you still got the old bar and stem? If you do, I'd put one back on to see if it makes any difference, isolating each item. Trying different lengths again could get costly and remember (presuming the stem has the same angle) a shorter stem won't just shorten the cockpit but will also lower the bars.
    Trance 27.5 Hoodoo Her Scott Contessa Daughter's Vulcan
  • Wormishere1
    Wormishere1 Posts: 284
    Cheers. Just tried the old stem with the new bats and everything was a lot less cramped. Nothing notice me with the drop of the bars. I have 1cm of spacers I could use too which will reduce the drop from the old risers to only 1cm difference. I think I might have to try and scour eBay for a cheap 70mm/75mm stem to try.
    Remember Rule #5
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    Do you just need to get used to it? I used to belong to a car club. Despite all the cars being super comfortable (they were usually cars in the 100K - 200K range) every single one of them gave me chronic back ache. Nothing wrong with the cars, it was the inch or two difference in where I had to hold the wheel in each of them that did it.
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
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  • LJ.
    LJ. Posts: 149
    the wider bars will make you more bent over, stretched
  • Mattharrier
    Mattharrier Posts: 173
    What size were your original bars? A wider arm spread can make a drastic change to the muscles in your back, which could very well account for the ache as you'll be used to a different position - your arms are part of your suspension, and if you think of it like doing tiny pushups, it gets more difficult the further apart your arms are.

    Combined with the shorter stem, which also changes the relative position of your muscles, you'll be using your muscles in different ways which will take time to get used to. If you're comfortable with the new bar/old stem combo, ride that for a while, and then swap out for the shorter stem if you need to.

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