3 Causes of Back Pain on the Bike - BikeFitTuesdays

[@Cade_Media]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES

[@kalbokar456]

Happy Birthday!!!

[@K777John]

Indeed Happy Birthday oh knowledgeable one!

[@gethinap]

Happy Jamesmus!

[@benthilwind6908]

Happy birthday James!! The bearded bike wonder fitter!! Enjoy fella x

[@Strombolovsky]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES

[@todoperdido8017]

in Texas, we got hills, they're short and steep, more fun on the way down. Happy birthday James! lowered my saddle a while back after watching a bike fit tuesday, helped a ton, thanks.

[@discbrakefan]

Recently had a number of issues and saw a physio/bike fitter. For the first time I was told to consciously rotate my pelvis forward. With that, shorter cranks and a cleat adjustment the pressure is off my back and my hips feel much better too. It also looks like I might need a longer stem. I always thought I wasn’t flexible enough to get aero but I just wasn’t moving properly or sitting on the bike correctly. Sometimes one comment from the right person can change everything!

[@timmogtis3498]

I've been "fitted" 3 times and still having lower back issues. It's very frustrating

[@jovan.vuckovic]

​@@timmogtis3498maybe time to try strengthening the back and core muscles, without changing the fit that helped me almost get rid of the back paint. I still have it but only on super long days in which i dig really deep.

[@Hamsong]

As always, brilliant content. I fixed all of my fit issues watching James break it all down.

[@albertosegurajr9229]

Oh hey! Happy Birthday from a physio with a better than healthy respect for your work and the ease with which you present it! I’ve made changes based on your material, and I’m much happier on the bike. Please keep,spreading the word! When I think I can make it over to your side of the pond, I’ll drop in for a fit!

[@wintergreene795]

Happy birthday James! Will never get tired of this series even if some have been talked about already. I rewatch old videos anyway so fresh ones are always great! By the way can you dig in deeper about wrist pain?

[@smkmed77]

03:08, a peanut nearly came out of my nose. Happy birthday to James. He is amazing.

[@simontrail1216]

Great vid and Happy Birthday James. As someone who suffered with lower back pain, I couldn't recommend more getting a quality bike fit. It's helped me no end.

[@marcellon2003]

Happy birthday, James! I feel some lumbar pain while climbing, had a bike fit last year and it got rid of a lot of problems, but not this pesky discomfort. Gonna try and lower the saddle height a couple mm to see if it helps. Thanks for the tip!

[@jadsru1]

Thanks for another great video. Forward bending at the lumbosacral spine at the L5S1 joint is flexion not extension.

[@naomipalmer4244]

what would be really interesting is to see how the fits differ for two individuals of the same height. e.g. do they end up on totally different size frames / bars? Does an individual's flexibility and general level of strength ever impact how you fit them? Thanks for these videos, they are fascinating!

[@serdiezv]

Yup, I'm as tall as my brother, but I have way shorter arms and slightly longer legs. I have a size L he uses an XL, to adapt the reach.

[@reddawn87]

Second Tuesday a week?? This is awesome! And Happy Birthday James!

[@BrianElliott1965]

I've been on night shift all week, so I barely know what day it is already. BFT on a Friday isn't helping!! Happy birthday James.

[@haxhxm841]

I love how I commented on the previous video ABT bike fit Tuesdays on every other day and this video title pops up

[@jiboo6850]

Hi, FYI any back pain should be looked at. MRI and radios. if there's nothing and you have a good bike fit, just build your core up. no miracles can be made. core strentgh is the key for most peeps. no secret recipe. cheers. Happy Bday James!

[@billincolumbia]

James, I had 49 feet of elevation on my last 20 mile ride, so we DO have hills. :) Happy birthday!

[@miguelcpt]

Happy Birthday, James. I have lower back pain on one side and have already lowered my saddle on one of my bikes. I will do the same on the road bike and observe. Great video by the way.

[@alexpickering.]

I don't know why but bikefittuesdays are my fav vids

[@chrisridesbicycles]

Interesting as always. Increasing the handlebar drop reducing the pressure on the hands sounds counter-intuitive. Please explain this a bit more. And of course, Happy Birthday James!

[@calebgonsalves2970]

its an old comment but no replies so ill chime in. I dont remember what video but James did elaborate, its basically up to incorporating proper posture. when your handlebar is too high james noticed that riders would tend to 'perch' on the bars, theyll put their upper body pressure on the handlebars. when the bars are lowered it encourages riders to use their core, which alleviates hand pressure.

[@allenincabra]

@@calebgonsalves2970 cheers for the answer

[@MrPeperoni79]

An important factor to reach is also how it is accomplished - by moving the saddle back or by having a longer stem. While this is only my personal experience, increasing reach by moving the saddle back causes more pain since you have to move your hip far behind your legs. Although is likely the same angle between legs and torso, it increases the tendency for lumbar flexion and makes it more difficult to have a "straight back". However, the disadvantage of having the saddle forward and a longer stem to create reach is that it shifts load to the quadriceps and makes it harder for the glutes and the hamstrings to contribute.

[@alanheath5740]

Interesting vid again. I was getting lower back pain on right side for ages and saddle discomfort again on right side. So lowered my saddle 5 mil seems to of done the trick. Looking forward to my fit with Andy on 30/10.

[@esmec4928]

Woah - so useful. Thanks Francis. Look after your back people!

[@davidv6803]

New episode of Ted Lasso and Bike Fit Tuesday on the same day? It’s like it’s my birthday not James’

[@milanb.6022]

Happy birthday James!

[@m4ximusprim3]

Can we do a one off episode where James walks us through his espresso setup? I see a mignon grinder in the background so someone there knows what they're doing, and given the obsessive personality traits and caffeinated nature, dollars to donuts it's James.

[@darrengarvie8832]

Happy birthday James hope you have a good day. I really enjoy your bike fitting Tuesday's 😁

[@kyriakostheocharous3442]

Happy Birthday you legend! 🎂

[@cb6866]

Happy Birthday James...many more to come , eh ! Thanks Francis.....Peace

[@kevinlyon9501]

Happy birthday James, enjoy a tipple or three.🍻

[@elmerrichardson6413]

Happy Birthday James!🎂🎉🎈

[@radoslawmroz9729]

Happy Birthday James

[@lizziecade1902]

Happy Birthday James 🥳x

[@mikekaras1502]

As someone who lives in Texas I take offense to James' no hills in Texas comment. Come to Austin and you will have hills for days haha

[@jackriley1989]

Be great to see a video on the theory for fitting a gravel bike vs a racey road bike. Especially since we've all now drank the industry cool aid and got them

[@_________4292]

Hellooo and Happy birthday James

[@petereyles3322]

Happy Birthday James have a great day 🥳🥳

[@orthooffice7560]

Happy birthday 🥳🎉 James !!

[@mattmitchell8796]

I watch this all the time and Everytime James says lower the saddle it's like he's talking to me yet I still won't lower it because it looks better 🤣

[@user-cx2bk6pm2f]

Texas has hills! Lots of hills 😀👍 You are looking for Kansas.. no hills!

[@andycorso8498]

Nice one, so many bike fit problems go back to saddle height……..Can you do one on wallet pain..,.. mines in agony at the moment 🤪

[@mvp_kryptonite]

A video on achilles pain would be great, I had to stop riding due it and not been back on the bike for months

[@linesided]

BFJ single handedly keeping the Ralph Lauren factory in business....😂

[@DziamxD]

Feet numbness is the topic I would be grateful for

[@seano8102]

Would love to see a Time trial bike fit Tuesday

[@erickozokas]

Love this series. You guys are great. I recently switched from a narrower traditional saddle to a wider short nose saddle with a relief channel on my gravel bike. It completely got rid of my soft tissue numbness. Problem is my sit bone areas now hurt after only about 5 miles or so. I have been trying to adjust a number of different things on my bike and body position but can’t get rid of sit bone pain. Any suggestions?

[@breach_x2178]

I have experienced this on my road bike and my wahoo kickr bike (indoor) the solution has been to make sure I had the correct saddle width to support my sitbones (you need to add 25-30mm on your actual sitbone width) as well as lowering the saddle a few mm as a high saddle height has more pressure on the sitbones and less on the feet and this needs to be balanced. Hope this helps

[@RafaelFaenir]

I also noticed some discomfort on the sit bones area when i switched to a sattle with pressure relieve channel (which also solved my soft tissues numbness problem, so I'm never going back!). It's not so bad in my case, but one thing i changed that did improved things a lot is a GOOD bib short. I got one from Isadore ("Alternative bibs") which has a firmer padding than the ASOS one I used before and and thus is better at spreading the pressure (which was concentrated on two small points). It feel MUCH better to ride on them, I even bought a second one, since I liked them so much :) Also, with time the region slowly starts to get used to the extra pressure, I still get some discomfort after some time, but not so bad. It haven't stopped me from doing some 180km+ rides this year

[@MikeSmith-qu5ew]

Both legs are fine now but I was ridding on a stationary bike last winter 50 miles a day and by the time spring came around I could not lift my left leg, the problem was between the knee to hip. I am now ridding and going for long walks and things are fine. I stopped all biking and walking and did stretching for two months that seemed to fix the problem. Yet what do you think caused the problem it was a smart trainer riding on line with power meter.

[@hjwatso1]

Happy birthday James!!! What to do with very different length feet? 🦶🦶

[@luisandreferreira3427]

Great video Francis & James! Question, How to deal with different length legs? any tips?

[@sociallypersonal]

Can I sheepishly suggest that if the pain is on one side of the back then that side leg maybe shorter than the other? I don't seem worthy to highlight James's omissions if that is indeed what it is?

[@arlauskasm]

First of all thanks for really useful content! Would be really interesting video on how to transfer measurements from road bike to mountain bike? Are there any general rules to apply when doing so? Thanks

[@tooongs]

Happy birthday James! What do you do with someone with chronic back pain in a bike fit?

[@unknownKnownunknowns]

Thanks!

[@gapping3000]

I would like to hear some tips for Bandy-legged people whose knees go inwards, ITB strain has been an issue for me even with insoles. Also who love to know a bit about the SMP saddles and are their pros and cons?

[@jaycollins6792]

Happy cake day James

[@31.8mm]

sometimes i got pain on my chest whenever i sees nice bikes i can't afford. any bikefit tips?

[@DantetheHell]

🤣 same here

[@hfpr18]

A question to James related to a collapsed saddle. I have recently noticed that the right rear part of my SI SLR Boost SF saddle is lower by 2 degrees. In points closer to the center the level is even, but the difference in the rear part of the saddle is noticeable with a naked eye. I do not have issues with my lower back but suffered from the saddle soreness for quite a while until the saddle high was decreased by 5mm following the suggestion of a bike fitter. Should I replace the saddle straight away or that discrepancy is tolerable? That saddle is relatively new, was bought in February. Thank you in advance and happy birthday!

[@michaeldavis7996]

In addition to proper fit (say that you are NOT overreaching), could regular exercise to strengthen one's core help relieve lower back pain?

[@daniels.2720]

@Michael Davis > Absolutely has/is working for me ! Big improvements even when I was wasn't having really an "fit issues". Good Luck

[@matthewbrett3135]

Happy Birthday James. BFT Question - How long after making changes to a position should your body adapt to them e.g. for any muscular or positional compensations you developed over a long time to disappear?

[@aragaomrcl]

Hey Guys, Great video as usual. One question, could low back pain be caused by excessive saddle tilt? Currently I am using -3 degrees.

[@AJTno4]

Ooh good timing for a back pain video. I just got set up on the indoor trainer again for some winter training, and started to feel pain in my lower back that I wouldn't normally feel when riding outside. I think it's because I am working harder when riding inside compared to outside. Or could it be fit-related?

[@mirama1990]

I get lower back pain when I put a lot of power out for a longer period e.g. climbing up a hill or fast rolling in flat terrain for 15 minutes and more. Any idea why this happens?

[@bleckandbleck]

I've adopted many of the tips from this site with positive results. I've eliminated foot, back, knee and hand pain / discomfort. I have however developed hip pain. Might I have lowered the saddle too much? Should I add washers to increase stance? (cleats are max inward already). Should I get my hips x-rayed as hip dysplasia unfortunately runs in my family. Or am I just 62 years old?

[@CarbonRider1]

Here is a question, and yes I have had a bike fit. I don’t have back pain training on my bike, long rides or short rides, but when I am racing, and putting in long efforts or repeating climbs, my lower back hurts. I’m completely puzzled because I don’t even get this training in the hills. Thoughts?

[@jimmykershaw1482]

Another awesome vid :D I am interested in what James thinks about brooks leather saddle's? I have had one on my winter bike for years and is lovely but when I switch from race bike to winter bike (about this time of year) it does still take me about 2-3 weeks for almost my body to get used to it again. Just wondered the thought's on that ?:)

[@kacy750]

I got s topic for bike fit Tuesday's! I get a pain in my wallet every time I buy a bike or get it worked on. how can I stop this from happening? thx for your help!

[@ronitdebnath]

Very nice and informative video. ❤️

[@finncox23]

Any chance y’all can put together some tips for those with foot length discrepancy? Should it be handled the same as a leg length discrepancy, or are there other potential solutions?

[@Ephemeralkazu]

Yo So I got a question. Bike fits are expensive. And there are a few around. James is sometimes quite critical of other bike fitters. And I was wondering. How to trust a bike fitter. And should you always follow your bike fitters advice. Or take it more as a guidence. I ask this because I have talked to a a few bike fitters and they all came with the train your lower back muscle myth and told it as fact.

[@Ephemeralkazu]

Also Happy birthday James

[@bleckandbleck]

If they mention Steve Hogg from Australia in their philosophy, then you're on the right track. If they mention motion capture, calipers, measurements and angles, I'd steer clear. Those fitters are observing formulas rather than your interaction with the bike.

[@Thomas-y3w]

Whats the deal with that old adage, 'you should be able to extend your leg fully with your heel flat on the peddle' as a measure of saddle height setting? Maybe why a lot of people set it too high

[@nickmannerings3574]

Try peddling fast with your heals on the pedals. If you can do that the saddle is probably not to high. When putting just one heal on the pedal you can fool yourself by canting the pelvis. Pedal at over 100rpm with both heals.

[@Draculapin]

Hey James. How about pain under the shoulder blade only on the right side ? Slightly under the shoulder blade and close to the spine.

[@donnyo65]

Interesting video. I suffer with sciatica but not when I m on my bike. I have a gravel bike and a flat bar touring bike and have found that very different saddles work on the two bikes. My tourer uses a Brooks B17 (Or B19 when I use it in y work as a cycle instructor!) and my gravel bike uses a Prologo road style saddle. I can pedal all day on either bike and not feel much different which has always puzzled me as the saddles and seating positions are very different. My Gravel was fitted for me by a local bike fitter but the tourer wasn't. I thinking of treating myself to a hand built semi fast tourer - is it worth building the basic bike with the help of the bike fitter?

[@jeanfernandes2955]

Thank you for your videos. Just wandering, could I get lower back pain from being to close to the handlebars? I also have occasionally hand pain.

[@christosandreev6392]

Thanks for the video. I had to stop cycling as a result of a bad disc herniation which hits the sciatic nerve in the L5S1 disc (I'm crying daily about it). Is there any way I can get back to cycling? According to my doctor I should look for another sport, which is a hard pill to swallow and in my mind I've not given up on cycling yet because I love it so much. Please anyone who can give any advice based on either expertise or experience is appreciated.

[@Larmondra]

Could one singular 90 minute ride with a wobbly rear wheel (broken spoke) cause back pain? I don’t usually have back pain from riding, but have been keeping the chiropractor busy the last three weeks after developing sudden pain following a ride.

[@julianludorf5885]

Hey James, what is your opinion on the Time Atac pedal system, which offers quite a lot of float, even lateral float?

[@jdslfc]

I get lower back pain on steep climbs out of the saddle

[@zygimantas5461]

What a great video!

[@alexcollins5150]

BFT drinking BINGO - Excessive saddle height 🍺

[@chrisridesbicycles]

Reach too long

[@johnmccrossan9376]

Any tips for shoulder pain on flat bars? I have a ghost 1300 trekking bike that I use as my road bike, the flat bars are lovely and I feel much more in control but I often suffer shoulder pain on longer rides. Is there a correlation or are my shoulders just wierd?

[@Sir-Prizse]

I have had many problems on the bike over the years, but never back pain. I don't know why, but no matter how crappy I sit on the bike, my back doesn't care.

[@unfab]

BIEK FIT TUSDEYSSSS

[@cleanq3]

Hi. They say not to wear underwear when riding. How does lack of, or presence of undees improve my comfort?

[@10flyingdutchman]

Does James ever partner with any chiropractors? I've shared his stuff with my chiro and they love it.

[@3m1lw1k2]

I got a problem with pain in lower back and collarbone pain can a narrower handlebar help with this?

[@SIvers-or2ke]

So……………………………………….. what you’re saying is……….. Get a f¥€|

[@amosnoon7126]

Whilst I am comfortable on my TT bike outdoors it doesn’t feel the same when riding on a turbo. The front end feels further away and I get saddle numbness. Have tried raising the front wheel more/less with no real gain. Any thoughts? Cheers!

[@moytheboy22]

Lol Texas has hills. No mountains but hills. We have “hill country”

[@JayLato]

I’m reducing my reach 2cm, my hip angle has always felt fine just feel I need less supermanning. How low can I go on the bar? I’m thinking 2cm reach reduction = 1cm lower bar height? Thanks

[@iansmith5601]

Brilliant

[@smoore5540]

Quick Q, if the old method of saddle height is the heel on the pedal with the leg straight( and is still recommended to this day by some) how much of a reduction on this measurement would be a recommended height to have the saddle? At least to start with or should that measurement be totally discarded?

[@LeConcerto]

2y old question, but if you think about it, the heel method cannot be accurate since it does not account for cleat position. If the cleat were on your heel (impossible), then saddle height is too high. If the cleat were under the tip of your toe, saddle height too low. In other words, the heel method doesn't know if you plan to put the cleat under the ball of your foot or several mm behind the ball of foot, the latter which requires a lower saddle height than the former.

[@smoore5540]

I would have to assume that if your using the heel method, then, from the same era, it would probably be assumed that the ball of the foot above the spindle, which was the "norm"?? This was the case when I was a junior. Bike fitting wasn't what it is nowadays. I love all the different

[@dannytwiss149]

Can cycling cause osteoarthritis ?? My hips are shot after riding my road bike

[@ashleyscarth8363]

any tips on mtb bike fit is james get the new yeti ebike

[@tomislavaleksic2528]

House MD!

[@Wretcho84]

Q: Why am I slow on the bike?

[@Yes-sc1pb]

Two Tuesdays in a week? 😄

[@bugrutch]

It’s sounding like a Radiohead song … don’t leave me high and dry till next week

[@Cade_Media]

everyday is Tuesday at bicycle in Richmond

[@BorjaAOS]

How much can we lower the saddle?

[@AQucsaiJr]

Mountain bike bar width?

[@samhall1452]

You are confusing flexion and extension

[@jimnad6479]

I have a serious pain in the wallet. Do you think James could fix that?

[@yavorl4147]

doctor James