PrfectHair4ever

Normally, I have no back pain while on my bike. However, the past couple of rides that invovle a lot of climbing have resulted in a pain in my lower back. It seems to happen right after Im done with a hill (not stopping my ride, but when I hit a flat part I notice the pain). Has this ever happened to you? Am I doing something wrong? any info you have would be helpful.

big john

I'm not a great climber, but I do a lot of it, and I think if you don't climb for a while, your back does get sore on climbing rides. I think if you keep at it, it will get better. Maybe do a litle stretching, too.

feethanddooth

what exactly is a 'great climber'?

FrankBattle 

Assuming there is nothing wrong with you, this sounds normal especially if you hadn't been doing as much climbing. You exercise a different set of muscles back there when you climb so a little pain while your body gets used to the new position/stress is par for the course.

Zinn-X

I'm a climber. Perhaps not a great climber, but I've noticed that saddle position has a lot to do with back pain for me... I'll get back pain unless my butt is a lot farther back than it would be on flats. I keep moving my saddle back and seatpost up little by little and my back pain seems to decrease with every ride (just got the bike a week ago so it's not perfectly fit yet)... this was the same story with my last bike though, I had the saddle back far, up high and the bars low, and it seemed perfect for climbs.

wvxc

I'm by no means a great climber, but living where I do I have to do alot of it. I scoot forward on the saddle, and pull up on the bottom part of my hoods. This straightens my back a little, and pulling up on the hoods recruits my core (abs, pecs and shoulders) and helps take the load off my back. Your butt muscles will burn more when you do this, especially on long climbs. I adapted this technique from riding my MTB in the mountains of WV, and using bar ends instead of hoods. It works miracles with my road bike.

PrfectHair4ever

someone who can do it without lower back pain

gordo23

I have noticed that when I am doing a good bit of climbing I really have to focus on my hamstrings more than usual during my stretching. Try that and see if it helps that lower back pain out. It could very well be as simple as your hammies being too tight and thus hurting your lower back.. Hope this helps!

toshi

When climbing seated, try scooting back on the saddle, rotating your hips and pelvis forward and keeping your lower back straight and relaxed, rather than heavily curved and tight. Also, pull up on your pedals (so that you can feel your shoe straps against the top of your feet).

Outside of that, look online for simple things you can do at home to strengthen your back. Supermans, lying rotations, and other basic core work will help a ton. If you have access to a gym I would recommend doing lots of back extensions.

+1 for the aforementioned stretching too... your lower back and hamstrings are all connected. Just don't stretch your hamstrings cold, do it after you're warmed up or post-ride.

dmotoguy

keeping your hips rolled forward makes a huge difference.. climbing with your back really bent over will put a lot of stress on it.. and will cause the aches.. im fighting the same problem.. if i dont think about keeping my hips rotated and my back straight I end up with pain..

jschen

In that case, I feel qualified to address this question.

Switch positions! Sitting upright, pulling with your arms on your bars may get you up the mountain relatively efficiently, but it puts quite a bit of strain on your back, which must both transmit power from your arms and hold up your body. For me, if I keep at it enough, eventually, a small spot in the lower portion of my back, roughly behind my belly button, gets rather sore. The solution to this is to alternate positions. Hands on tops, hands on hoods, hands on hoods and standing, hands on hoods with forearms parallel to ground, perhaps sometimes in the drops if speeds are high enough to warrant it. When seated, slight changes in how far up/back you are on the saddle can also help. This gives the various overworked muscles a chance to recover.

And practice. Climbing a lot will make one more comfortable with climbing.

jtree

i am not a great climber, but i do a lot of climbing, and i get the same thing. i stand regularly to relieve the soreness. i also try to put a reverse bend in my back, and sit up tall--anything to relieve the ache from the hunch.

probably the best solution would be to get a compact crank, so that you have gears low enough to enable you to spin at 80+ rpm while climbing.

SBSpartan

IMHO - (I have been told I climb well, especially on long climbs)

I noticed a couple of things I would not recommend.

I wouldn't pull-up on your hoods to get you to sit-up more. Sounds like a lot of wasted energy to me. Also, it wouldn't help you to be relaxed which is another key to riding on any terrain really. Sitting more straight up is a good thing and will help with your power as well as relax your back so it won't hurt so bad.

If I am climbing up a good long hill I am either on my hoods (near the bars/right on them if I am standing) or on my bars with my palms facing the road.

I think a lot of people forget to change their position on the bike while climbing like you do when you are on more flat ground. If you don't change it up you are going to get sore period.

Most importantly RELAX.

jfmckenna

I really cannot add anything to this thread since its all been covered but I will stress the importance of riding with a light touch on the handlebars, standing while climbing to stretch, and keeping a straight back. Also before riding you may want to try doing some lower back stretches, this has helped me tremendously especially as you get older.

GuitarWizard

It's a combination of things....but the two most important are bike fit and conditioning. If you don't normally climb much, and then do a ride with a buttload of climbing, your lower back will inevitably tighten up - particularly if you ride the hills hard. Proper bike fit can make a big difference as well. Before I got a good bike fitting done, I could go about 1 1/2 to 2 hours before my lower back would start tighening up. After 2 1/2 hours, my back hurt reallllllly bad, and over 3 hours it was more of a "survival ride" than anything remotely enjoyable.

You can also do some simple back strengthening exercises (do some hyperextensions) a couple times a week to aid in getting your lower back stronger, which will also help. Try to relax your upper body as much as possible while climbing seated as well - it takes practice and concentration before it becomes second-nature.

If you're out in AZ near the Scottsdale area, hit up Bill Peterson at eSoles (www.eSoles.com) for a bike fitting. It's a bit pricey if you need the custom orthotics, but the whole process is WELL worth the money IMHO. Best thing I've done, riding-wise, to date.

PrfectHair4ever

Thanks for the info!

...any other advice is appreciated.

'nother

Avoiding low back pain is not something you do while riding, but long before...you need ab/core and hamstring strength and flexibility. Consider taking a core/stretching class at a local gym or something like that. The main deal is with the core. The reason your back gets sore is it's trying to support your weight when the core muscles should be doing that instead. But if you have a weak core your back will try to compensate and it's not up to the task (and probably won't ever be).

MtnRide

Hey, if you hate working out in a gym, like me, get one of those exercise balls to use as an office chair. It's a great passive core workout, kind of fun, and worked wonders for me. Expect to get some strange looks from co-workers.

'nother

The balls are good, but I suggest a gym or some kind of class to get started and learn how to do the stuff properly. Done improperly, you can do more harm than good.

Warblade

Since I am considered a "climber" on the national level try standing up every once in awhile. It helps a lot.

jtree

one data point: it doesn't help me at all. yoga, weight lifting, back extensions, situps, stretching have all been ineffective. and, i've been doing them for over 10 years!

'nother

With the possible exception of situps, none of those are necessarily core- or hamstring-strengthening or flexibility exercises, and it's also possible you were not doing them correctly. You really have to focus on those two areas. Not to the exclusion of everything else, but the work on the core should make up a pretty large percentage of what you're doing in overall training.

My data point is: I used to get a sore back on just about every climb over a couple of miles. 2 months worth of focused core work and the back soreness disappeared. When I neglect the core work, I'm immediately reminded by the sore back.

wvxc

I definately second the core strength. Most back pain can be aleiviated by strengthening you core.

SlowSpinner

My lower back started hurting during hilly ride last week. Turns out I had prostatitis.

MtnRide

I wasn't suggesting anything rigorous, just sit on the thing. If you go beyond sitting, then yeah, get thee into a gym.