I went on a century ride this weekend and there was a camera set up to take pics so I got one of myself from a profile view.

I'm 6'6" and the bike is a 64cm Trek Emonda. Very comfortable until about mile 50 when back pain kicks in. Is this arch I have in my back natural or do I need to work on rolling my hips forward to keep a flatter low back?

At 50 miles take a Break off the bike ? might try a shorter Up angled stem if you feel like you are reaching too far down and forward.
but you want to be using a racer posture . I'm probably the wrong guy to sort that out as I sit up more and dont worry how fast I Go.


maybe some Gym time in the weight room and work on the core muscles ?

I stop and get off every 15-20 miles usually regardless of how I'm feeling.

I do weights twice a week, squats, deadlifts, etc... I know you can always have a stronger core but I'm not totally neglecting it haha

Before I picked up cycling I was doing weights 4x a week... 550lb deadlift, 405lb bench, 445lb squat. I haven't maxed out since I started cycling so I'm sure it's less but at one point I was pretty darn strong

Yeah, I'd say roll it forward. Move your elbows in and down a bit. Push your glasses up your nose and look more through the tops of the lenses. Or try on glasses that enable you to do that more. You'll have less back pain with a straighter back and it will be easier on your neck, too.

I would think moving down would put MORE strain on my back, as I'd have to look up more to compensate.

My neck has never gotten sore due to cycling prior to this ride... this was the longest road ride I've done by about 2 hours so I'm not surprised I encountered new pain.

Rolling your pelvis forward will straighten your back, which then reduces the angle between neck and spine. Your upper body will be easier with bent elbows to lessen shocks and make the mechanics of handling the bike better. Cycling is the best thing I've ever found for strengthening the back and getting rid of back pain. The less vertical and the straighter your back is, the less discomfort.
https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...discovery.html

Awesome, thanks, I'll be reading that thread.

I might try shortening the stem by 1cm in conjunction with pushing your butt back as you tip your pelvis forward. It looks like you may be a little stretched out right now.

Exactly what I was thinking. Shorter stem! You look like you are very stretched out, and your arms are almost locked in stead of being bent to absorb shock.

I read somewhere to envision myself sticking my butt out, meaning, to try to. and I found that when I make the effort my back is much happier. passing my reflections in store windows I know that I am not in fact sticking my butt out, but it helps straighten my back.

on another note, my son always had a weird arch until he finally got onto an adult sized bike, so maybe bike fit is an issue for you. I think we are supposed to have our elbows slightly bent, right?

Another thing to think about is stretching your back and hams. Sitting on the floor with your legs straight, you want to work toward being able to wrap your fingers over your toes and maybe down to your instep, and not so much by rounding your back, but trying to keep your back straight while pulling your toes back toward you.

My stretching post: https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...l#post15372967

Another idea - flip your stem up!

I had it like that for a little bit but this is more comfortable