Recumbent - Roadie in Pain Has Question

I have pretty severe back pain on my rides (I have been doing ultra-distance lately with 3 double centuries this year). My typical ride involves back pain starting at around 30 - 40 miles. Do the back muscles really get less pounding on a bent? My present commuting bicycle has 15000 miles on it and I am getting to where I might be able to have a good argument for a new bicycle to my wife. Anyway, I want to find out if this will likely be a solution to my problem before I go investing time in shopping for one. The 400k I did last Saturday had a Bent we hung out together through all the climbing but as soon as we started going down he dropped me like a lead balloon. I managed to catch him at a rest stop (which he had been at for 15 minutes) after a few more climbs but as we hit the headwinds he managed to gain an hour and a half on me in the next 120 miles which were mostly downhill. Anyway, the back pain and the sound drubbing have got me thinking about bents. Anyone have thoughts on the backpain thing?

Saving some time on a 25 mile pretty flat slightly downhill commute would also be a plus :).

I'm wondering myself, but the other way. I get backpain sitting in a chair too long, and my back started bothering me the same way when I was pedaling on a recumbent spinner at the gym after 1 hour. ?? I ride a DF now, and my lower back never bothers me (but my butt, arms, neck, hands hurt). I was looking into a tadpole trike, but now I'm wondering if it would work for me. ??

Diana

I can't honestly say that I ever had a problem with back muscles when I rode an upright, but there were a few rides where I'd come back with sore muscles in my lower back. Usually these were when there was a lot of headwind and I spent a lot of time on the drops. The advice I got for those few times was to do exercises to strengthen the muscles. Theoretically, a bent should be easier on your back, because it puts you in a more natural position, and all the power is generated between your hips and feet. In practice everyone is different and, as overthere wrote, sometimes a position won't work for no good reason. :( Sooo, I've learned to not give a definitive yes/no answer and merely suggest a few test rides on different bents. If you were impressed with the bent you saw on the ride, try to wrangle a test on it or a similar bent for starters. Then ask for recommendations for further test rides. If you find one bent owner, I'd bet they know of others nearby.

First see a doctor and find out what it is.

Thinking of testrides. Looks like there is a big store in Tucson that has a lot of recombents and might allow a test ride.

I say, if it saves you from being in pain, then it's worth checking out.

I've found the hardshell seats to be far more comfortable than the hammock style seats. The hardshell seat never changes, so once you get your correct postion on your seat, you are set. I add some thin foam padding under my regular seat foam pad towards the lower portion of the seat behind my lower back for a bit more ergonomic support. The hammock seats, give and move, stretch..........so much more difficult to maintain the proper leg length to the pedals. I also find that being more reclined on the lowracer is more comfortable than the more upright postion on the trike.

2manybikes is right. You need to find out what is causing the pain. Once you know why it's hurting, you'll have a better idea of whether a bent will be better.

I can't begin to ride a df, or even sit on a bar stool for an hour (degenerative discs), but I'm up to 125 miles a week on my bent with no pain.

I agree with lowracer1. The hardshell seats are great.

Make the test rides as long as you can.

First see a doctor and find out what it is.

Finally someone makes a good suggestion. Watch out for advice from recumbent zealots that suggest getting a recumbent will be the cure all for back problems. Hard shell seats are hard on backs and transfer road shock to the vertebrate. Lot of benters stick a thick foam pad on a hardshell seat for a soft PBJ ride effect. Riding with a pad on a hardshell will lower your power transfer.

Go see a sports specialist who can diagnose your back problems properly before you spend any money on a recumbent. Back pain can be a muscle imbalance issue and not a bike issue.

Spuds

Also you say you increased you mileage and did three double centuries? Did you work up to this high mileage gradually. If you didn't it would make perfect sense that your back hurts from riding so much. I would be surprised if it didn't a little.

I still say see a doctor it could be many different things. My back problems prevent me from riding a bent, I have to ride a diamond frame. Everyone is different.

And don't let me ride my track bike 77 miles again, like today. You're not the only one who might ride too much !! :o

I have pretty severe back pain on my rides (I have been doing ultra-distance lately with 3 double centuries this year). My typical ride involves back pain starting at around 30 - 40 miles. Do the back muscles really get less pounding on a bent? My present commuting bicycle has 15000 miles on it and I am getting to where I might be able to have a good argument for a new bicycle to my wife. Anyway, I want to find out if this will likely be a solution to my problem before I go investing time in shopping for one. The 400k I did last Saturday had a Bent we hung out together through all the climbing but as soon as we started going down he dropped me like a lead balloon. I managed to catch him at a rest stop (which he had been at for 15 minutes) after a few more climbs but as we hit the headwinds he managed to gain an hour and a half on me in the next 120 miles which were mostly downhill. Anyway, the back pain and the sound drubbing have got me thinking about bents. Anyone have thoughts on the backpain thing?

Saving some time on a 25 mile pretty flat slightly downhill commute would also be a plus :).

do you do anything else besides ride? not trying to be a jerk, but you might need some more
weight training to build up your core muscles.

I bike commute. I am a person who has a very hard time establishing habits for excersize and this is likely part of the problem as I can't get a habit of doing crunchs or back extensions going. Commuting helps as I have to go to work anyway and find it more enjoyable by bike. The problem is that it hurts even on shorter rides (30 mi +) so I don't think the double century part has anything to do with it other than magnifying it (incidentally the pain usually goes away as soon as I get off the bike). Back pain isn't the only reason I wanted to check bents out though. My commute makes up for about 6-7000 miles a year and it is mostly flat. I am curious as to if I could get a 1-2 mph boost over this terrain or maybe more with a fairing by going to a bent (I rode with a bent for the first 60 miles of the last double century and he stayed with us during the steady slight uphill but as soon as we hit the rollers and headwind section of the course he dropped us like a lead balloon). Only worry is locking it up at work.
Another problem with weightlifting is that I barely have time for cycling with other family commitments. If a bent would allow me to ride longer without having to spend the time working on muscles I don't use for other things then that seems like a better solution at the moment.

Finally someone makes a good suggestion. Watch out for advice from recumbent zealots that suggest getting a recumbent will be the cure all for back problems. Hard shell seats are hard on backs and transfer road shock to the vertebrate. Lot of benters stick a thick foam pad on a hardshell seat for a soft PBJ ride effect. Riding with a pad on a hardshell will lower your power transfer.

Go see a sports specialist who can diagnose your back problems properly before you spend any money on a recumbent. Back pain can be a muscle imbalance issue and not a bike issue.

Spuds


Ah yes, but a hard DF bike seat transfers the schock to the hips and lower vertebrae where it hurts so spreading it out over the whole back might be the thing! Anyway, I am determined to do a hilly test ride before making any sort of investment so it should either be painfully apparent it won't work or be the holy grail (steady hills always compound the problem more than usual).

Ah yes, but a hard DF bike seat transfers the schock to the hips and lower vertebrae where it hurts so spreading it out over the whole back might be the thing! Anyway, I am determined to do a hilly test ride before making any sort of investment so it should either be painfully apparent it won't work or be the holy grail (steady hills always compound the problem more than usual).

Its not a bike or a seat at issue. You have to work on core strength to strengthen your back. Crunches, side bends, back extensions, leg bridges as well as working with free weights, balance and flexibility. There are no short cuts. It will not matter what bike you ride or what sport you chose to do. A weak core will guarantee constant pain issues

You can always take the alternative route and just ride if you prefer to have back pains for eternity. When you test ride a LAZYboy on wheels take along some PBJs.

Spuds

Took a few test rides and found the position much more relaxing once I got used to it. As far as core muscles go I can paddle a canoe and row a rowboat just about all day without back pain so I think it is something having to do with the position of an upright. Maybe I will ask my doctor next time I am in. Wife won't let me purchase for a few months anyway so I have plenty of time to see if this will work or not. I rode a tour easy, a Rans Rocket, and a vision SWB (can't remember model but it had the 26" 20" wheel combination). The tour easy felt really nice but didn't seem like it pedalled as fast although the owner tells me it is faster than the short wheel bases and takes a fairing easier. The rocket was a little jarring at times but the vision felt really nice. The bent seemed to relieve the back of the stress of supporting the upper body and once I learned to relax my arms as I drove it was a very pleasant experience to see the world as I rode. Incidentally, I liked most of the stuff about the rocket, just thought the ride was a little rough due to the small back wheel, I really want to test out a v-rex next I think.

Spuds, I am just curious about one thing which I have never been able to figure out. If the muscle gets sore from use, why doesn't the body build that muscle up? I've never been able to figure out why a muscle you used for something would get out of balance when it is getting used just like all the other muscles for that activity are. Is it that some muscles grow slower? It doesn't make sense to me, but then again I am not a sports therapist or know too much about that anyway. The concept of strengthening a muscle through a different activity to make it stronger for another activity is interesting. I guess it might have something to do with isolating the specific muscle to get it to grow stronger faster maybe?

Spuds, I am just curious about one thing which I have never been able to figure out. If the muscle gets sore from use, why doesn't the body build that muscle up? I've never been able to figure out why a muscle you used for something would get out of balance when it is getting used just like all the other muscles for that activity are. Is it that some muscles grow slower? It doesn't make sense to me, but then again I am not a sports therapist or know too much about that anyway. The concept of strengthening a muscle through a different activity to make it stronger for another activity is interesting. I guess it might have something to do with isolating the specific muscle to get it to grow stronger faster maybe?

Paul, this isn't a 100% correct answer if you know all the science behind it, but I don't feel like giving a 3000 word thesis :). Suffice to say that muscle doesn't grow without setting up the proper environment. Biking truthfully sets up muscle to be broken down, not built up. Especially with muscle not actively engaged in the pedaling of the bicycle. Just holding you upright, regardless of the stress put on the muscle, is not enough for muscle growth.

Muscle that DOES get actively used (thighs, buttocks, etcs) can still experience loss and get broken down when sufficiently overworked (and most races and tours are overworking muscle) but the muscle does get more efficient with the repeated activity, and the breakdown can be minimized, obviously.

But this explains why you never see bike racers, marathoners, etc with big muscles - they're just very low bodyfat. And it explains why you see HUGE muscles on sprinters, gymnasts, etc. Make sense?

I'll buy that. I guess my theory is if the bent uses different muscles in the back then this might be my solution as the muscle giving me trouble (which does OK with periodic on bike stretchs) would not be used as much on the longer rides. Getting a gym membership and lifting weights could also be a solution but at this point not one I could likely put enough time into to work. I must also say beyond all the desire to cure back pain though that there is also a great desire to add another bike to my stable and the idea of a fully faired recumbent intrigues me.

Paul, I can't answer your question but your avatar weirds me out! :D

Well, given the joint pain that I live with, the recumbent has been the bike of the gods in relieving it. I just got back from a 32 mile ride over freaking bumpy mountain roads and aftewards felt as if I'd never even been ON the bike. Literally zero pain whatsoever - just some muscle tightness from scaring myself going downhill at 45mph.

Contrast that to today's ride on my hybrid - 21 miles on completely flat bike path where my arse and hands were hurting bad at the end.

It *is* best that you have a doc take a look at you, but I feel confident a recumbent will amaze you with how easy on the body it is.

I would also recommend doing back extensions/supermans/crunches, etc at home to strngthen your back. Doesn't take a lot of time and could be all you need. Most people don't realizeback muscle pain is due to weak ab muscles, so see what you can do to help yourself in that regard. It will make you stronger, recumbent or not.

Paul, I can't answer your question but your avatar weirds me out! :D


Sorry about that, It was a strange attempt at trying to get my avatar to talk Ala monty pythonesque animation. Cactus at sunrise is a little more soothing I expect.

Sorry about that, It was a strange attempt at trying to get my avatar to talk Ala monty pythonesque animation. Cactus at sunrise is a little more soothing I expect.

Ah, Man... don't change it on my account; I was trying to be humerous. :D The animation was cool, I'd put it back.

-Dennis

Ah, Man... don't change it on my account; I was trying to be humerous. :D The animation was cool, I'd put it back.

-Dennis

Na it was about time to change and I wasn't too happy with the grainy picture. Will have to think up another one that is cooler.

Just in case anyone was curious about the result of the search for less pain. The recumbent was in fact the answer. Took an extended ride yesterday and noticed my back didn't even have a twinge in it. Good enough for me. I am now a member of the bent club. Will keep the road bike around for shorter rides and towing the kids around but look to put big miles on the bent in the coming months.

On your question about the pain, one reason it happens when you do one thing repetitively is only certain muscles get built up, which can then start to pull your spine and joints out of alignment. Once that happens, you start to get pain from the joints and tendons always being pulled a certain way. That is why cross training is so valuable. Runners who don't stretch or bike often get tight hamstrings which begin to pull knees out of alignment.

When I started biking a lot more in the past couple of years, I started to get foot pain in my metatarsals - no amount of changes to shoes and orthotics helped. It even affected my ability to hike. After seeing a podiatrist, it turned out the biking had tightened my achilles tendons significantly (apparently I pedal with my feet pointing down somewhat) and I rarely stretched, so they just got tighter and tighter. The tight achilles was pulling my metatarsals out of alignment and causing the pain in the ball of foot. With proper stretching now after each ride, and on steps 2x/day, plus better pedaling form, the pain is subsiding.

.... I am now a member of the bent club. ...but look to put big miles on the bent in the coming months.'

Hey...that's no answer!

What'd ya get and why and what are you gonna put on it and when will you tell us all about it?

I have pretty severe back pain on my rides (I have been doing ultra-distance lately with 3 double centuries this year). My typical ride involves back pain starting at around 30 - 40 miles. Do the back muscles really get less pounding on a bent? My present commuting bicycle has 15000 miles on it and I am getting to where I might be able to have a good argument for a new bicycle to my wife. Anyway, I want to find out if this will likely be a solution to my problem before I go investing time in shopping for one. The 400k I did last Saturday had a Bent we hung out together through all the climbing but as soon as we started going down he dropped me like a lead balloon. I managed to catch him at a rest stop (which he had been at for 15 minutes) after a few more climbs but as we hit the headwinds he managed to gain an hour and a half on me in the next 120 miles which were mostly downhill. Anyway, the back pain and the sound drubbing have got me thinking about bents. Anyone have thoughts on the backpain thing?

Saving some time on a 25 mile pretty flat slightly downhill commute would also be a plus :).

Paul,
There are some ultra riders on bents and they do quite well. First get you back checked out then if your ok look at some recumbents. I have a touchy back, it's arthritis, verified by my othopeadic. Older age. I still do some upright biking. MTB and road. However, anything of any duration say 50+ I stay with the recumbent. As you noticed on your ride mentioned, there are some advantages to a recumbent. There are climbing "issues" the degree of ability climbing loss depends on the recumbent and the rider, but there is a price paid on steep climbs and there is a muscle break in period or as I have coined the phrase "Bentistic Muscluarity Devlopment"
Sooo try out some recumbent styles and see ifyou like em. As far as comfort over the long haul the have uprights beat.

I did have it checked and the basic answer was take some muscle relaxants and 800mg of ibuprofen. This is fine for the bad pain that has become a recent problem but not for my problems climbing long hills on an upright (incidentally the recumbent seems to fix this too). If I don't ride the upright bike the pain goes away but I gotta ride. I bought the recumbent saturday because I can't afford a new ward robe (the last three weeks have seen a lot of weight gain) and it feels much better on my back (before anyonoe starts in on affording a bent but not a wardrobe I was in the market for a new commuter anyway). Anyway, bottom line to me is if it feels good it must be good, just like deciding on a new bike. The back problem is something that has been going on for years(to a lesser degree of course, only acting up on long rides and climbs) and the Doctor couldn't think of anything other than a pulled muscle or ligament in my case. Even with the meds the upright bike caused pain, and the recumbent didn't so that was a pretty clear indicator to me. In any case, I just wanted to update this thread to say that in my case after a month of looking and experimenting a recumbent turned out to be the best answer of all the alternatives presented to me. I bought a Bacchetta Strada by the way as it seemed to climb pretty well and it seemed to fit my style and was amazingly comfortable. I have the mesh seat on it for the summer and plan on getting a hard shell for the winter/brevet season. Incidentally, my legs are a good healthy tired today after 30 miles commuting on the bent. My times were right inline with what my roadbike times were before I had to stop. Can't wait to get my bent muscles going, toughest part will be taking enough rest to let them build.

Paul,
I ride an AERO and it is the best climber I have had. I had one of the first STRADA's prior. I put a M5 seat on it. The M5 or similar hardshell seat will improve climbing some due to the rigid platform. I also ride a 26/20 GIRO with the mesh seat.

Jude da' Wheel Doctor

...bottom line to me is if it feels good it must be good.. in my case after a month of looking and experimenting a recumbent turned out to be the best answer.
Welcome to the club! Spread The Word, Paul.
Frankly the only pain I feel riding a recumbent is in not being able to convince some traditionalists that when riding a bike that "to recline is divine."