Hi Adam - I hope this gets better for you. Curious on where your drop bar is in relation to your saddle and what you would say is your spine/back angle when riding (90, 75, 45 degree)? I've had the bars more aggressive years ago and they're more upright now (hoods 2cm above saddle), but any position has never impacted my lower back. It certainly impacted my neck/shoulders, and that is now much better.
I've had my saddle too high, and that has led to over-use of posterior chain and lower back issues. After going for a fit, with this issue in mind, the saddle is now lower and it has been a while since any back pain (fingers crossed). Lastly, I like using a foam roller on my back (carefully), and stretching glutes and back muscles 2x daily (I have always stretched a lot). Good luck! On Friday, January 3, 2025 at 5:12:09 PM UTC-5 Adam wrote: > Thanks all, > > I appreciate hearing thoughts from everyone. It's easy for me to neglect > leg stretches post ride, something I've been working on doing more > consistently. > > And yes, getting on/off the ground is an excellent goal! > > Adam > > On Friday, January 3, 2025 at 3:05:09 PM UTC-6 Bill Lindsay wrote: > >> "Not really looking for advice, but curious to hear what other folks have >> tried, etc." >> >> I'll take that at face value and not offer advice. Over the last ~30 >> years, I'm running a longer top tube, and a taller stack. I'm 5'10" with >> pretty normal proportions, and I always thought of myself running as a >> "Medium". I thought a 56cm road bike with a 56.5cm TT was perfecto. Now I >> ride things more like 59-61cm with a 58-59cm top tube. I use the normal >> randonneur training two-step: >> >> 1. any schmuck can ride 50km >> 2. for any distance that I can ride easily, then I can double that >> distance until that distance is easy >> >> I have zero back related issues to cycling. If I want to cause a back >> problem, I sit for a long time on a bar stool, or for a long time on the >> ground. I'd like to improve my hip flexibility so that I can sit longer on >> the ground. I believe the rule of thumb that being able to get on the >> ground and get back up off the ground is correlated to longevity, and I'd >> like to be alive for a long time. >> >> Bill Lindsay (55) >> El Cerrito, CA >> >> On Friday, January 3, 2025 at 6:44:48 AM UTC-8 Adam wrote: >> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> I'm curious to hear any comments thoughts, etc on back issues and riding. >>> >>> The context is that this fall I've had some nasty lower back/hip pain. >>> Rest and some stretching & PT has "solved" the issue, but I'm still having >>> trouble getting back on the bike without a little stiffness in the lower >>> back. >>> >>> I have thought about swapping out my drops for alt bars and have an old >>> bosco setup ready to go. My issue is that I've tried sweptback bars before >>> and always end up back on HIGH drops. I really like my current setups and >>> have ridden many long stretches on these configurations, so I'm not >>> excited to change what's taken a lot of tweaking to accomplish. >>> >>> My current strategy is to raise my current bar height a bit (already >>> above saddle height) and to do shortish (under 1hr) rides indoors on >>> rollers being mindful of core muscles, etc. That seems to be working, but I >>> still have a bit of stiffness post ride. >>> >>> I'm curious to hear anyone else's experiences. Not really looking for >>> advice, but curious to hear what other folks have tried, etc. >>> >>> Thanks! >>> >>> Adam >>> >>> >>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/a7c9b1e3-1afb-4b4f-8f59-198459e095e5n%40googlegroups.com.
