Roasted

Any ideas on what you can do to remedy that? I ride a hardtail, but I took a 25 mile ride on a rails-to-trails path the other day, and even then my back was killing me by the end. I'm not sure if it's the camelbak that's getting to me but, I sort of need my pack for water (obviously) and it's where I stash a spare tube and some fold up tools in case I need to make adjustments.

pilotboat

I have a history of back pain while riding. I recently brought a hard tail 29r after riding a FS for 10 years. I was worrying that my back would hurt alot while riding. I put a suspension seat post on it to take the schock away from my back. So far so good. I personally don't like anything on my back and I carry two bottles on my new bike. Before you think about your Camelback being the root of your problems you need to make sure the bike is a good fit for you and that it is set up correctly.

A 25 mile bumpy ride is a long one. Are you used to that distance? What is your normal ride? Does your back always hurt? Was the pain just achy all over or pain related to nerves ( sharp shooting pains down the leg

Where does your back hurt? Low back pain could be from the way you sit on the bike. How far above the handlebars is your seat? Maybe you are bent over to much so a new handlebar or stem riser will help make you sit more upright and get you more comfortable.

let us know how you are doing!

Psycle chic

Check your fit. Do core strengthening. Don't sit over bumps. Use your legs as suspension.

jayvo86

You can try pusing your seat back about a 1/4 inch. On my road bike I was at a bad angle and it fixed the problem. Best bet is to go to a bike shop that knows what they are doing and get a custom bike fit. They will make sure your riding right. If it's not that then it could be other things related to your riding or fitness.

rumrunn6

I have chronic back issues but have no trouble with it riding. I prefer to unencumbered so I use a rear rack trunk and bottle holders on the frame. to test your theory go for a ride without the camelback, I guess.

Roasted

I do believe I have proper riding technique. Every bump I see no matter how big or small it is I always stand up and bend my knees to absorb some of the impact. My bike also fits me very nicely and is pretty much right on par with what kind of setup I need, as far as my height vs frame, etc.

The seat is pretty much level with the handlebars. I admit I did bump the seat up a bit more during this ride because, for those of you who don't know what rails to trails is, it's where communities uproot old railroad tracks not in use and smooth out the paths with packed down fine stone or some sort of other hard material. Overall, it's very flat with very few elevation changes. The 25 miles I rode this weekend was on one of those trails, so I was sitting the entire time. I do admit I bumped my seat up a little so I could further extend my legs with each spin of the crank, therefore I could get maximum torque to the ground while sitting down without much interruption.

However, I've done a ton of riding, and in every instance if I'm on the bike for a few hours, the back starts to kill me. I rode about 70 miles the other weekend and my back was in a lot of pain. Rode about 25 miles this Saturday and was in pain. Rode another 25 miles Sunday (same path) and it was even worse due to the pain from the day before.

It's strange, because I'm a pretty fit individual and have never had back pain before. I just always associated it with the camelbak, since my camelbak is 100oz and that's quite a lot of water to be carrying, along with 2 tubes, small air pump, some tools, etc. Nothing hard is hitting my back since the tools and whatnot sit on the outside, with the water "tank" being the cushion in between - but even still I have to wonder if, at the very least, the camelbak is starting to take its toll on me.

I need to get some kind of a small attachment to my frame so I can store these tools. It'd be nice to avoid taking the camelbak if at all possible, but normally I ride long enough that 100oz camelbak + two 20oz water bottles is almost necessary. I'm the weird guy that loves going out in 98 degree weather and biking in the baking sun for 6 hours straight, so I try to take whatever water I can.

mx_599

somethings that have helped me:

1) increased lower extremity flexibility

2) stand up and peddle periodically to give butt a rest and to straighten your back out for a few moments

I have not been huge on the whole stretching thing, but I do think it has helped me and that it can be efficacious for specific problems and/or specific sport movement necessitating a certain ROM for success.

I am not talking about stretching acutely at the time of riding...I mean like all the time. I think I was causing an abnormal pelvic tilt with a tight hamstring muscle group. I believe lengthening these musculotendinous structures will help prevent a posterior tilt and possibly help low back pain.

maybe, maybe not. oops, I mean YMMV. I think that's right

PaulRivers

Well - the most likely explanation is that your bike isn't set up / fit for you perfectly. I've had that problem, got a professional bike fitting, and it went away.

The problem is usually that your seat is to far forward or to far back (just needs to be moved forward or back), or that your stem is to long or to short (need different stem), or that the entire bike frame is the wrong size (problem I had with my old bike, it was to big).

The bike shops around me do basic fittings for $35. Something you might ask about.

PaulRivers

LOL, "my bike also fits me very nicely and is pretty much right on par with what kind of setup I need" is usually mutually exclusive with "However, I've done a ton of riding, and in every instance if I'm on the bike for a few hours, the back starts to kill me. I rode about 70 miles the other weekend and my back was in a lot of pain. Rode about 25 miles this Saturday and was in pain. Rode another 25 miles Sunday (same path) and it was even worse due to the pain from the day before." :-D

I certainly can't really say over the internet though, ya know?

If you don't have a carbon seatpost, racks for attaching to a mountain bike for flat trail riding are certainly available. Like from Topeak (MTX Beam Rack) -
https://www.topeak.com/products/Racks/MTXBeamRackA-Type



I suppose I don't know for sure how well it would behave while carrying water that might slosh around. For just the tools, most people use a smaller underseat bag...maybe you already know that.

While I can certainly respect your desire to bike at 95 degrees, just for testing purposes maybe you could find a day that wasn't quite that hot ;-), and try riding without the Camelback and with just the water bottles on the frame. Or you said it's a MUP - does it intersect road where you could get to a gas station and refill your water bottles?

I'm not saying you should do this permanently, just saying you could try not taking the camelback on a couple of rides and see if that makes a difference in the back pain. If it doesn't, then you know it's not the Camelback.

helifitz

Try rotating the nose of your saddle down slightly.

I don't have a lot flexibility in the pelvic area and this was suggest by my LBS when I was having back pain as you described. No issues now.

RatedZ

I get some back pain also, but only if the trails I'm riding are really rough. I think the back pain comes more from straining during up-hill climbs than vibrational "shocks" from the terrain. No problems on the road, here.

If you're doing 25 miles in the mountains, that's some pretty intense riding. Even after just a 7-9 mile ride I'm whipped and feel it the next day...

joshnc

I get back pain, hand pain, knee pain. I told myself after a ride last weekend I will stick to road riding!

mx_599

not sure if this was missed, but here it is again

Chris_F

I get some lower back pain when I'm turning too big a gear and mashing my pedals instead of spinning with appropriate technique. Basically my back pain comes when I exhaust the muscles in my lower back. It serves as a good reminder that my technique sucks.

electrik

Lower-back pain is bad news, i would see a sports therapist... it may just be that your hamstrings are really tight or your posture is all wrong. There are a lot of causes.