Hi all,

I've got a question about the correct way to go about training your back to get lower on the bike that I'm sure some folks on this forum can help with. I've only been riding for a couple of years and am just starting to enjoy riding in the drops when going fast.

Recently I tried taking a bunch of spacers out below where my stem was (and putting them up top) and also raisinig my seatpost a tad based on some additional fit help I got from a friend. The result is that now I've got about a 5cm drop from the saddle to bars.

The problem I'm having is that it seems that the angle I sit on the saddle now, I can reach the bars without back pain (I do several stretches very often) but I have to "rotate" my hips/pelvis forward to do so and it places the weight of my body still on the sitbones, but the far "front" of the sitbones (no soft tissue pain or pressure). The bibs I have don't have very good padding here and I ride on the front edge of the stitching from the pad which creates chafing and discomfort.

When I watch guys in the Giro or any other race, many guys have low backs when riding on the hoods but their butt and hips seem to be rotated almost as though they are sitting upright on the bike but bending from above (the waist and lower back) instead of rotating their pelvis to sit like I am.

Am I understanding this correctly, and should I be riding more upright until I can get the flexibility in my waist and lower back to angle my upper body at the waist (above the pelvis)? Or is it normal to ride on the front of your sitbones like this to get a lower position on the bike?

Thanks in advance, I hope I explained it fairly well. Also if anyone has any stretches they can recommend for the lower back or exercises they do to help with flexibility to get this kind of position I'd appreciate it. I mostly do streatches out of the "Stretching" book and some ones I read about that Chris Carmichael uses with Lance.