Back ache - off road only

fat daddy

I regularly ride a CX, hybrid, MTB and road bike; on the road with no issues, out the saddle climbing, sprints, seated climbing, pot holes all fine.

BUT

when I venture off road be it MTB or CX within about 30mins by lower back is aching and impeding my performance, stopping and stretching helps but its an ache until I get back on the tarmac and ride home

WHY ????

I assume its not bike fit as all the bikes are fine on the road, its only when I go off road, so it must be muscular ? .... are my hamstrings too weak .. basically what do I need to address here

stumpmagnet

i get this also no idea why

fat daddy

the best I have found so far is a Cycling Weekly article that starts by saying "back ache might not be about the bike fit" ..... then goes on to tell you 300000000 ways to set your bike up :?

211dave112

Few thoughts:

- Do you tense up when offroad? I do - not because I'm nervous but because your body is constantly reacting to changes in surface etc. On my road bike my body just kind of sinks into position but that doesn't happen so easily off road with the ever changing conditions so your body is sort of on high alert at all times.

- Your bike fit shouldn't necessarily be the same for road/offroad. My CX bike is more upright (shorter stem with a couple more spacers underneath) than my road bike. I feel a little more 'in contol' and weight is shifted back slightly which I've found reduces front end wash outs (especially on greasy twisty cross circuits)

- Core exercises will help you strengthen your core (as you'd expect!) which is so important when riding offroad and shifting your weight around

andyp

'Cross back' is a pretty common occurrence, I think most people suffer from it at some point. I usually get it in my first race of the year, usually because I've not ridden that hard for that long off road for a while.

CX Magazine have some good articles on it, like this one;

http://www.cxmagazine.com/training-tues ... ris-mayhew

grenw

Whenever I get lower back ache off road it's usually the climbs that do it. The short sharp climbs that you come across tend to involve a lot more bursts of strength and more use of the back.

fat daddy

ahhh, cross back .. its actually a thing.

I do tend to tense up off road .. mostly due to not being the smoothest or confident rider when it comes to speed and perceived grip, so that wont be hurting.

does sound though like its muscular and I need to spend more time getting stronger ... when I did a lot of MTBing I don't remember it being a problem, but having not done it for the last 5 years and now getting back in to MTB and CX as well as road, its sounding like it is just core weakness maybe

stumpmagnet

i have and still do race motocross for many years so offroad tensing probably not the issue will try some more core stuff

joey54321

- Core exercises will help you strengthen your core (as you'd expect!) which is so important when riding offroad and shifting your weight around

+1 for this. After taking up cross ~6 months ago I found I had a seriously weak core. I always thought it was bad but never had a reason to do anything about it. I started doing 1-2 core workouts a week (nothing crazy 25-30 mins) and it's made such a difference to all my cycling. I would definitely recommend it.

Pooter

I get cross-back in races sometimes too.

There's a mention here:
http://www.colbypearce.com/fitting-a-cyclocross-bike/
'Because of the typically lower average cadences, riding over rough terrain and sometimes very steep grades which are included in race courses and cyclocross terrain, having a higher bar can release the hip angle (make it less acute) which minimizes the chances of lower back pain limiting a rider’s power production. When the hip angle (average angle between femur and torso) is too acute during higher torque/ lower RPM intense efforts, lower back pain can result, even in a rider who can tolerate a very low position on the road without lower back pain'.

Jterrier

I kind of agree with everything here. In a nutshell riding offroad is much more intensive and sees you doing a lot of twisting and twitching. On a roadbike you do exactly what you said, as in adopting one position and sitting in for hours. Do some core, do some singletrack runs, and get a foam roller.