My upper back starts hurting after long times on the saddle. Does anyone have any tips on how to adjust my bike to achieve a more comfortable riding position?
by Wild-Badger2994
My upper back starts hurting after long times on the saddle. Does anyone have any tips on how to adjust my bike to achieve a more comfortable riding position?
by Wild-Badger2994
16 Comments
Just watch a video on setting up your bike? A DIY bikefit takes a couple of hours and gets you 80% of the way there.
Raise your handlebars .
Shorter stem for sure, and I’d look into your saddle fore-aft position, it’s hard to tell but I think you look a long way back behind the pedals – kneecap should be approx in line with the pedal axle but that’s only a guide.
What’s “a long time” to you?
Are you a regular cyclist and how many miles are you riding a week?
Is there anything else that hurts or. Just your upper back?
Do you have any chronic injuries?
Thinking ur seat is too low
Certainly: get a bike fit.
Use these:
Saddle height: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxRVphhR_Ww&feature=youtu.be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxRVphhR_Ww&feature=youtu.be)
Rest of bike fit: [https://youtu.be/c0gw_UG1zZM](https://youtu.be/c0gw_UG1zZM)
I’m 6’3 with crazy long legs. On drop bars for bikepacking, I have to use a 30 degree Redshift stem to put me in a comfortable upright position to ride all day, so in the end it’s going to be comfort over everything else. A custom fitting will give you the best route, but it’s expensive. Sometimes local Physical Therapy offices will offer bike fittings that can be paid through insurance ( US ).
Always nice to see another camino on reddit! In the best colour too!
It looks to me as if you’re over reaching, but there’s a lot of ways to address that and some potential causes.
It’s hard to say without seeing where your foot lands at the bottom of the pedal stroke (or ideally a video of you pedalling), but looking at how your pelvis is rotated I’d say that your saddle is too low. This under rotation of your pelvis is making the reach to the bars seem longer. As you raise the saddle your pelvis will rotate forwards moving you closer to the bars.
**Fix your saddle height, with the saddle at a neutral angle in the middle of the rails before you make any other changes. There’s plenty of guides on youtube.**
Secondly, am I right in thinking that those are the stock “bomber” bars that come with the bike by default? Those bars are obscenely wide, which in effect adds reach seperately from the stem length/frame. I’d definitely look to explore some different handlebar shapes with less width and a less dramatic flare to them. Since you’ve set your camino up for road touring (by the looks of it) you can easily go quite narrow without compromising the handling. You can also experiement with the position of the hoods on the bars, moving them upwards or downwards to see what feels best.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with stem length either, the Camino can take all the way down to a 50mm stem without compromising the handling, so you’ve got plenty of room there to knock off some reach. Also don’t be afraid to experiment with flipping the stem down and up. I know you’ve probably read “flip the stem up to make a bike more comfortable” many times on reddit, but it’s not a one size fits all. Sometimes lowering the handlebars can positively change the way you interact with the hoods and make it easier to support yourself.
There isn’t enough info in a single frame to get any advice that is good.
That picture doesn’t show the leg extension.
That picture doesn’t show how wide the handlebars are (which have an impact on reach).
No idea what long days in the saddle means. 50km? 200km? 300m or 3000m of elevation?
You need a proper bike fit. But upperback pain sounds (and looks) like you ride hunched over and you shoulder blades are compressed all day…
Sometimes it seems like you need to shorten your stem and sit more upright, but this can be counterintuitive.
I found too short a stem caused me to haunch my back, leading to pain. A bike fit lengthened my stem and raised my saddle – made a world of difference.
I don’t see it mentioned anywhere else here yet, but it looks like your brake levers are pretty far down. Pulling them up a little higher might give you some relief, since it looks like your arms are stretched out pretty far to rest your hands on the hoods.
Always wise to get a fit from a reputable fitter/PT, and really never hurts to add on exercises that will help your position. Core strength, triceps/upper back, hip mobility are my goals personally. I ended up not having to make changes to my bike when I began addressing my core strength to get my arms more bent/relaxed. I was trying to use my arms and upper back to hold up everything that wasn’t on the saddle and it was really hurting me. This may not be your issue but it also never hurts to work on these.
Your helmet should be on your head, not the handlebar
Top tube looks short for you to my eye. Bike looks small. That’s a quick read.
move saddle forward
Shoot for making the saddle height (post bike fit) the same as the bar height. You may either need to get a longer stem, a new fork or a larger frame.