I have tried to decrease the reach by moving the seat forward and tilting it downwards, in addition to tilting the handlebars up but this doesn’t seem to work. I am not even sure if reach is the problem at this point. I think this seat height is correct, but correct me if I’m wrong – even if it is too high, I can’t move it down anymore because I am nearly past the “0” mark (last photo).
by Dear_Inevitable7417
12 Comments
I’m not a bike fitter. However, decreasing the reach by moving the seat forward and down is going to greatly increase the weight on hands and your upper body, which might in turn make the problem worse.
You can also try r/bikefit, suggest posting images/video while you are actually pedalling, preferably stationary on a trainer.
Not a bike fitter but: Tilting the saddle downwards is a bad idea in almost all cases. You will slide forward ever so subtly and that will put more pressure on your hands and might cause you to tighten your back involuntary.
Reach looks fine. The position is actually quite upright. In the end it’s a matter of taste and how sporty you want to sit on the bike. So my non-educated guess is that you just need some core strengthening and the back pain might go away.
Not a bike fitter. For me the sattle is a bit too high. I guess the formula to set (approximately) the sattle height will not work in your case, as your wearing sneakers and placing your foot in the middle of the pedal.
I would ask some to record while riding behind you and see if you can detect any imbalance in the pedal stroke.
Edit: If you set the sattle back in its original position, do you still have back pain when only riding on the top? If so, also when lowering the sattle?
I would first set up the sattle height correctly and then look at the reach.
Try some lower back rotational stretches before and after riding. Did wonders for my lower back pain.
Let me try to explain my observations by cycling for decades and helping a lot of people get into the sports.
There is no universal rule that the higher handlebar equals less lower back problems.
Everybody’s body is different, this also applies to lower back. Some people like to ride their backs completely straight and some want it to be curved to an extent. And even those two don’t have straight correlation to the handlebar height.
I have long history of scoliosis and back problems, but still I ride handlebar that is good 15cm lower than my seat. But my back is virtually straight as I lean my whole body forwards. This actually helps my back as I have fairly big portion of my weight on my hands so I don’t support my upper body with only back muscles. On top of that the road stress doesn’t travel through my spine as it would if sitting upright on the bike.
Your fit seems to be very upright. I would, at least try, to put the seat a little bit back and try to lean more on the bar but still keeping your back relative straight. This could put some stress on your weaner if the saddle is not meant for that but that is something one can remedy later. Of course at the same time put the hood level with the ground.
Size looks right for you. The saddle is definitely tilted forward too much. As other ppl mentioned here it should be horizontal and somewhat in the „middle“. From what I’ve seen online and experienced myself it’s almost never a good idea to play with the saddle apart from moving it to the right height. Try to put your saddle back to default, do your research on proper saddle height (it’s easy really) and maybe exercise a bit more. In my not very professional opinion a bike that has generally the right size and saddle height shouldn’t be a big pain inflictor to people who strengthened the proper muscles. But if the problem persists see a bike fitter🤷🏻♂️.
In your place I’d continue doing 2-3km rides and see if the pain grows worse or better over time. If it gets better, then you can start prolonging rides
Definitely undo the two things you did. They are not the source
of your back pain, but they will create other issues to take your mind off your back.. Flatten the saddle and handlebars. Moving the saddle forward won’t hurt tho, especially if you find some added comfort there.
Do some core exercises. Sorry about the pain :/
Not any advise due to the position, but do some core exercises. Maybe 10 minutes of 1 minute planking 1 minute rest. It will definitely help with the lower back. Also some hamstring stretches will work, those are connected to your lower back. Lengthen them will also help relieve stress on your back. Last tip: do a bike fit.
Get a bike fit. Your tweaks (saddle tilted downwards, pushed forward, handlebars rotated up etc.) are pretty substantial and as a result, I don’t think anyone here will give you any valuable advice
Flip the stem
I named my Grizl “Pain Machine”. It was also my first drop bar bike.
Canyon seems to have a somewhat more aggressive body position than some other brands.
The first thing I did was got rid of the stock seat. For me the Ergon Sr Road fit well. My FSA crank set broke with in the first couple of weeks. I replaced it with a slightly shorter 165mm set with a wider Q factor. Finally got a slightly shorter stem and flipped it. Now I feel much more comfortable on the Pain Machine.
As others have mentioned stretching will also improve your comfort. Hamstring and lower back stretches with a few deep squats while activating the glutes also get me warmed up and ready.