General Cycling Discussion - Raised my seat, now having palm and back soreness

I've been commuting to work on a Redline 925 and have been slowly raising my seat to a height that is more comfortable for my legs. I raised my seat about 1" last weekend and have noticed that while my legs feel great, I'm starting to feel soreness in palms and mid-back after I ride. I'm guess its from me having a more hunched position and putting more weight on my hands.

Is this something I will acclimate to? Or is it something that could lead to problems in the future? In which case, what can I do to fix it?

Thanks.

There's a proper saddle height, one where your knees are almost straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke.
When the saddle is too high, you rock your hips, causing lower back pains.

Lower the seat.

Sounds about right. First, 1 inch adjustments are h-u-g-e. Try making more incremental changes. Lower back can be rocking hips, over-extension or both. When your saddle goes up, more weight goes onto your hands. Experience any numbness in your hands? You can always raise the stem if you have a quill. If your bike looks like nearly every other bike, you'll have to swap for more rise in one of the stems that clamp onto the steering tube.

You've opened Pandora's Box, and you're learning -- painfully -- changing one thing has a host of desired and sometimes undesired effects. The bike is a complete system. Think about it: longer cranks mean your leg is lower at the bottom of the stroke. Seatpost down. But longer cranks mean the pedal is higher at the top of the stroke. Seat up? Nooo.

One thing that often works: Ride with someone who knows a thing or two about bikes and ask them to carefully observe. Are you rocking just a little when viewed from behind? Are you very seldom on the drops or hoods? Does your back seem over-extended? Tip: as a general guideline, look down when in the drops. Your handlebar will probably hide your view of the front hub. That's about right for most folks.

Try taking the post down 1/2 inch or so and giving it around 20 miles. You'll know when you're dialed in.

Good luck.

If you haven't raised the handlebars then you are putting more weight on your hands. You will have to determine a relative seat to handlebar height that you can live with.

Thanks for all the advice. I just dropped the seat 1/2" and will see how things go on the ride home today.

I'm not getting any numbness in my hands after I ride, I'm just sore for a couple days after. Am I okay as long as I don't experience numbness?

"Okay" is relative. Nothing is likely to cause long term debilitating injuries. But if something is discouraging you from getting on the bike, that might not be "okay".

Steve