Back problems
 

Hi

Fairly usual stuff here. I fancy a road bike and most of my bike time is currently commuting in an 11kg kinesis ace tripster which is great on track and road etc which is my normal commute. About 50 miles per week.

I fancy a comfortable road bike for Sunday cruises and coast to coast etc. Not had time to ride anytime if yet but initially fancied the 2017 Trek Domane 5 with the vision wheels running 23-32mm tyres - budget max 2.5k

Then the internet comes into my house and suggests the Roubaix, synapse and Roadmachine.... trek reservations - it sounds heavier than the other options; Roubaix is bike of he year; a friend swears blind by Roadmachine.

Any thoughts welcome!

Where do back problems come in to this question?

You have a bad back and want a light weight enduro machine?
I would suggest a recumbent.

I read the post and thought the same thing! What back problems?

Sorry - the surgeon who treated me suggested that I need eg a car with a comfortable ride as opposed to a low profile sports car. The bumping around aggravates disks in my back.

I am extrapolating that I need a comfy bike also!

The surgeon who treated me strongly advised that herniated disks can become worse if you get banged around eg in a sports car or bike

It’s not that bad - I did a 70 mike ride last year on a stag do Calais to Lille on a bit of a tank and would like to do more of his type of thing.

Look for a touring type drop bar bike with the handlebars at saddle height. The drops will still be available for getting lower, at least for 30-60 seconds at a time in stiff headwinds, etc., as your back conditioning improves.

I've had back and neck problems since a 2001 car wreck busted up six vertebrae, with permanent C2 damage. After two years of conditioning on hybrids since 2015, I got my first road bike in years back in June. Took a lot of additional conditioning to handle it. And I still experience bouts of severe neck pain when I need to take a few days or a week or so off the road bike and stick with the flat bar hybrid.

My road bike is an older racing/tri bike, not a comfortable touring frame. Probably a mistake. Even with the stem at maximum safe extension the bar is still 2"-3" below saddle height. A longer stem will help. So will a different handlebar with brifters and better hoods. No reaching for downtube shifters. More comfortable than old style aero hoods. But I'd be better off with a more relaxed drop bar bike.

Check the LBS carrying the bikes you are interested in for rentals...I rented a Roubaix for a weekend when I was looking---a really nice ride. I ended up with a Domane (also a great ride) largely due to LBS proximity and a bit of a cost savings.

Btw, I've had back issues for many years (L4/L5...now 61yo). I know we are each different...there are things in my life that aggravate my back, but my Mustang and Domane are not on the list (noting that getting in and out of the car is where my problem is aggravated if I am not paying attention). Interestingly, I had a Moto Guzzi Sport (sportbike motorcycle) for many years and could sit it for several hours (bothered my knees, not my back LOL)...many of my Harley riding acquaintances (upright with legs thrown out in front of them putting all their weight on their tailbones) had to stop every thirty-forty minutes and get off to walk around, surprised that my back wasn't hurting...all said to suggest you may find that a endurance road bike position works better for you than expected (the plush rides of the Roubaix or Domane should be a plus). These are my opinions and experiences...others vary. Keep smiling!

HP Velotechnik makes a dual suspension line of recumbents .. HP Velotechnik - Main page (recumbent)
NB: http://www.hpvelotechnik.com/produkt...t/index_e.html

Many recumbents are simpler and have no suspension , so the jolt is still potential..

there is the Suspension seat post approach , Cane Creek Thud buster has a variety of elastomer density pieces

lie to it about your weight on the saddle and a softer one can move more when you have a surprise bump..

bumps you can anticipate , get off the saddle, your legs will cushion those..





.....

You will get plenty of good advise on comfortable bikes and setting one up. As a life long sufferer of a "bad back" my advice has to do with how to deal with it. There may well be some limitation in your case, but in general, strengthening core muscles is what supports the body, and unloads weight bearing on discs. This is also true for riding a bike. In any case, after I began daily core exercises, my back problems diminished considerably. I will always have a bad back and parachute landings are beyond me, but I am mostly pain free.

You could get the somewhat mis-named SpeedMachine by HP Velotechnik, although backs are *funny* things. You may find that being stretched over a road bike is perfectly comfortable while a recumbent hurts. Do they still make suspended road bikes like the SLK models?

Standing on 2 legs in the quadruped, Animal kingdom is some what rare ... many primates mix walking on hands and feet to get around..

You may need to strengthen those arms, and the core to support the back..

Your surgeon is a dope. Study spinal anatomy a little bit and you'll see that the elongated position of a road bike is quite healthy for a normal spine.


Bumping around happens during running, weight lifting, off-balance and off-axis awkward motions, and while riding in a more upright position.


Consult a physical therapist who is experienced with spinal injury recovery and he/she will be able to guide you. You Brits have "universal care", right?

I'll bet his spinal surgeon has spent more time studying spinal anatomy than a lay person. My surgeon gave me similar advice decades ago. Some of it is done for liability reasons.

A repaired herniated disk takes time to heal. The surgeon makes an incision into the disk and removes the soft, gel-like material that has herniated the disk. That stuff acts like a shock absorber, and until the incision heals any kind of jostling hurts a lot and delays healing.

Rick

Simon, you haven't mentioned what kind of treatment. Surgery or you two watching it closely?

I have 6 congenital defects in my lumbar spine, had a double lum-lam and a spinal stenosis cleared out of one of the lumbar vertebrae.

I know how surgeons can suggest a wait-an-see approach in some cases, and the downside of that approach is you need to be very careful of bumping around, because that not only hurts, but it causes the disc to bulge further. I'm sure your surgeon told you that after surgery your back will never be quite the same. So there is a big decision there.

After my surgery it took about 2 years for things to settle back to near normal. During that time cycling was iffy. If I maintained absolute perfect form I was fine, but hit a bump or move just a bit out of proper cycling form and it really hurt.

Decades later I'm riding with no pain. Bike doesn't matter.

Rick