Hello,
I commute about 8 miles every day through London with absolutely no bother on my Hoy Shizuka hybrid.
But when I go on longer rides on a more 'roady' bike I tend to get lower back pain.
I spent a lot of money on a proper bike fit before I bought my Fairlight Strael and it is very comfortably set up.
However, my lower back is still the first thing that becomes uncomfortable on a longer ride.
By longer ride I would say anything over an hour.
I did a four hour ride along the Pembrokeshire coast recently. 80km. 1200m elevation gain. After I was homeward bound I had to keep standing on the pedals and eventually just getting off to straighten my back and ease the pain. Whist this ride was a massive endeavour for a fairweather cyclist like myself, apart from general fatigue it was really only my lower back that stopped me truly enjoying it and even going further (my shoulders also ached but it wasn't a deal breaker).
I don't blame the bike fit. I blame my own fitness! I'm 52, 90kg and whilst I'm active and can do this kind of thing without regular training, I'm clearly no Olympian!
Even today I did a fairly straightforward 60k with no hills and at a gentle pace and whilst it was nowhere near as uncomfortable as the Pembrokeshire effort, my lower back was still shouting at me after an hour or so.
Question I have is what tips does anyone have to help alleviate this? How could I strengthen my lower back? Are there any special lower back exercises for cyclists? Is it simply a case of spending more hours in the saddle?
Any tips and thoughts are gratefully received.