My Back! My Back!!! How is my posture?
 

I have to ride 3 times a weak 18 miles round trip. My back is always killing me at the end of the ride. How is God's Name Do I Fix This???

It would help if you gave more information.

What kind of bike - drop bar road bike, flat bar mountain bike, raised bar hybrid, etc?

What is your position - torso angle 45 degrees, more upright, more flat?

Are you supporting a lot of weight on your hands? Or most all on your rear?

How is your bike size vs your leg length?

I've only been deep into biking for the past month and I recently got bar extenders and when I'm done biking my entire back seems to feel worked out instead of just 1 small part. They also help hugely when going uphill. They are really cheap too, like $10 for both

http://i41.tinypic.com/2wn1pxz.jpg

Picture isn't working for me, OP.

got someone to take a picture of you, on this topic, of how you fit on your bike?

Post it .. Or .. go to a BikeShop and ask them, THEY can see you.

Post pics or get someone experienced, locally to help you assess how your fit on your bike, as others suggested.....
Also, w/ back pain.....two places to start.....
First possibility, 18 miles, fair distance.....fair energy output....your bike may be too upright, causing strain through your lower back. Get lower via stem/handlebar/combo change, move your seat back a bit on the rails.....find a slightly more aggressive position for that long a ride.....
Second possibility, you are in too aggressive a position for your current core strength. Move back in (hands/stem/bars), or up, and strengthen your core via targeted exercises.
Post pics......

How wide are the bar ends, compared to the width of your shoulders? Also, which part of your back is protesting? upper or lower?

let me get the old crystal ball...

Ummm??? 3x a week @ 18 miles each,......sounds like you're COMMUTING!

Get your bars UP, and possibly a bit shorter stem to lessen the leaning foreward. Most in this country have their bikes set up in racing mode, yet aren't racing. Not like that in most countries.

That's part of the reason i LOVE long headtubes, as it's much easier to fit a fork with a long steerer tube. This one has a 300mm steerer tube, but i have some going to 350mm, and i use EVERY mm!

I NEVER have a back problem, as all of my steeds are upright for comfort with 1.5" or 32mm width tires, which ALSO help to cushion your back from jolts.

Here's one of my favorites, my Dean titanium "69er" fixie geared low at 63 gear inches for the hills nearby. Most of you have probably seen it before:

I'll be 57 next month, and ride most every day, but back problems aren't one of my ills.

Trust me,....your back pain will go away once you get them up! :D

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...nt005small.jpg

I'm 57 too Joe and agree with you. Haven't modified my bike yet but after pondering this for a couple of years, I'm fairly sure you're right. The discs in my back are are no longer in pristine condition. With the longer steerer, can you describe how you get the preload on your head bearings.

Joe's hit the nail on the head. When I first got back into bikes around 2008, I wasn't buying the right size, which caused obvious issues. After that, I finally got two LBS bikes fitted for me, and they rode like a dream! Problem was, after a ride my back would still bother me. It was then that I decided to raise that stem a bit; even buying different ones that offered a more "upright" riding position. Sure, they're not as "dynamic" as other bikes I've seen here, but they fit me and my riding style, and my back no longer bothers me after a ride. Attached photo is my Schwinn Racer with a Kalloy stem; note the angle of the stem veers more toward the upright posture.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=322332
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=322333

Sorry but I don't agree. If the bike and the position on the bike made any difference then the people commuting on fixies would all require traction when they got home. Some people have weak backs. More accurately, some people have weak cores. When your back hurts, 85% of the time it is because the back muscles are stronger than their antagonist muscles in your core. When you hurt your back are you advised to sit up? Of course not, you get on your hands and knee's and your back assumes a flattened arch very similar to a full tuck on a road racer. That isn't completely coincidental. If I were the op I would be taking a look at this site.

H

I must admit, since high school ended my 8-pack has converted to a 2-liter, so core muscular strength could definitely be an issue for the OP. I just know that in my limited experience, my core is still very strong; I simply had to adjust my riding style so that my [long] trunk wasn't hunched too much. Good point, though.

I googled it and the bike is a poor choice for an 18 mile road commute , cheap, heavy, full suspension wannabe.

bikes using big old car [or dead 1st nations chief's] names .. may be a Poo bike
its a big part of it though and wrong for the application .. Plus,
its the way you fit on the bike.. fit is the problem ..

The Forward Lean on a road bike is much better for one with back problems...

Some people might be deterred by the craning of the neck that goes along with a drop bar riding position, but I find it only takes a few days to get used to again after I've been away from riding for several weeks,... FWIW.
BTW, the only times I don't ride on the drops are when I'm starting, stopping, negotiating intersections/traffic, or sitting up to slow myself when coasting down steep hills. All that amounts to a small percentage only (<10%, probably more like 5%). I typically commute ~100mi/week when weather & business travel are cooperating.

That was my point... ...

That's a pretty straight up bicycle. I hate to tell you this but it's quite possible raising the bars higher might not do much at all. It's also possible cycling uncovered a physical problem in your spine.

for example, like so:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=322548

http://www.bikeforums.net/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by 10 Wheels http://www.bikeforums.net/images/but...post-right.png
The Forward Lean on a road bike is much better for one with back problems...




Mine, too, in an earlier post. If you are sitting too upright for too strenuous a ride, the tendency is to sit too much on the saddle, absorbing road feedback through the s-curve of your lower back. Can turn into lower back pain, soreness, cartilage irritation. When you are in a more aggressive position, your legs, knees, core absorb the road feedback. And the arms, shoulders, torso, transferring through the core, all help to stabilize you instead of sitting on your saddle letting the bumps jar through your spine and bending its s-curve.

Maybe. My thoughts, anyway.

You have to find the perfect adjustment for you. I have a weak core and have had a bad back all my life until more recently it is much better. I attribute the improvement to building my bike the way I like it and feels most comfortable on long commutes and long weekend rides. I made sure the bike was light and my position is somewhere inbetween bent over and upright. It is the mountain bike position more or less. Everyone is different so that makes it hard to suggest something for you but I think your on the right track by making modifications as you go and see if things improve. If you find getting more upright helps (its not for everyone), you will have to pay closer attention to your saddle and its design and how much of your weight is on it. Keep working at it. When you make improvements it will be more encouraging.