Injured back and high pressure tyres

[fritz42]

I recently over stressed my lower back (not cycling related) which is proving very slow to repair. I tried to get back to cycling after a couple of weeks but it seems evident that having a road cycle with very high pressure tyres was hammering the very joints I was trying to repair. Consequently I have had to give up cycling at the moment, and virtually everything else except walking. Now it seems I am on the mend (the older you get the longer this takes!).

I have a Giant Rapid 2 fitness cycle that uses 700x23 tyres at 100psi. Whilst the coefficient of friction is very low, it does give a spine shattering hard ride. Normally this is not an issue, but until I get fully fit again (could be months!) I cannot use the bike in this configuration.

I would appreciate any advice regarding which way to go to get back cycling again. Most of my riding is in country lanes on roads that are rougher and more uneven than town roads;

Severely reduce the pressure in these tyres, Not sure how far I could go before the rims start contacting the road?

Fit the largest tyres the rims could take, 700x28? These could presumably run at a lower pressure.

Consider going over to a cycle with suspension, have not seen a road bike with suspension so I guess this only means a mountain bike?

Colin

[anniesboy]

A suspension seatpost might help, not cheap but worth a punt.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/seat-posts-s ... pt293_pg1/

[irc]

I've had lower back issues in the past. A suspension seat post helps. I have one where the preload is set so that most of the time it isn't working but moves when I hit bigger bumps. It is a parallelogram design. I've tried the type where an inner post slides inside an out post compressing a spring. Again worked Ok if set with the preload hard but had the disadvantage of allowing some irritating side to side movement of the saddle nose. Only if money is tight.

This is what I use.

http://www.rosebikes.com/article/suntou ... aid:614120

All else being equal wider tyres at lower pressure must improve the ride. A bit slower perhaps but better slow riding than no riding. Going as wide as you can with the current bike is obviously where to start. Then making sure the pressures are no harder than needed. The usuall suggestion is the rim 15% lower to the ground after you sit on it. So go to the lower end of this range 15-20% rather than around 10%.

http://www.bikequarterly.com/images/TireDrop.pdf

PS Re the Thudbuster seat posts. I have the long travel version on an MTB. Very plush but a definite backwards movement along with the up and down. OK for forestry tracks but overkill for road use. The short travel version might give similar performance to the post I use.

[mjr]

Alternatively, could you borrow a springy steel roadster with a sprung saddle and wide (1⅜") tyres from someone local to see if that helps? It'll be completely different to a alloy/carbon road bike with narrow high-pressure tyres.

I guess the ideal would be a recumbent with a nice seat but they're harder to borrow or hire.

[fritz42]

Thanks for the responses.
The suspension seat posts looked promising, but mine is already carbon fibre (supposedly with more flexibility than aluminium) and is a non-standard size compared to the suspension seat posts on sale.

It therefore looks as if my next best option is to go for wider tyres with less pressure. I have seen some on offer so will probably get some cheap ones to try as an experiment. If OK, I will buy this larger size in my favoured Conti Gatorskins.

Colin

[Mick F]

Poorly backs are terrible. You have my utter sympathy.
Get well soon.

People (usually non-cyclists) ask me how the heck I car ride a bike with such a solid hard leather saddle?
Mine is rock hard, and I love it.
Also, my tyres are narrow and rock hard too.

Now, here's a point I often make ............ some of my weight is borne on my hands and my bum of course, but it's mainly on the legs. I ride like a ski-er maybe? There's never too much weight on my bum, and never too much weight on my arms/hands.

If you need a soft saddle or suspension, maybe you should take your weight off the saddle a bit instead?
Is it worth a try to alter the bike's geometry a bit?

[mjr]

How do you take the weight off the saddle? Lower it a few mm?

[Eyebrox]

I know that skiing technique well. I once fell off my bike when trying out new clipless pedals. The bike keeled over and the saddle took a thump against the tar, snapping the top from the rails. I had to cycle six miles back to the car with no saddle - just a seat post pole sticking out the frame. I managed to pedal while hovering over the protruding post but now and again old habits caused me to try and sit down on the nonexistent saddle. I soon learned how to maintain the skiing stance!

[Young@Heart]

If you're frame can take 28mm tyres I'd suggest going tubeless. There are lots of cheap conversion kits out there and this will allow you to run quite a well performing tyre at much lower pressure. You could probably get away with 40psi and still get a decent ride in. If you can afford it, I'd seek out a good personal trainer from a reputable gym and they will help you work on your core, which will in turn provide a stronger 'cage' for your spine and ward off future back trouble. I trained with a friend who had similar back trouble and via a 6 month light weight training and resistance regime he's pain free and much more robust and confident in that area.

[hamster]

I'd suggest a secondhand rigid mountain bike, probably it will cost you £150 for a really good one. Add 2" slick tyres and you will have a very comfortable ride. You will get your money back when you sell it.

[AJ101]

Sorry to hear youve been having the same trouble as me. Suspension mountain bike has been fine, upright city bike not so much. Interestingly I found a stretched out road position at a gentle pace was just right for opening me up a bit but any sort of energetic riding undid the benefit.

However, before you start tinkering with the bike I'd suggest a trip to an osteo or physio to get a complete diagnosis and treatment plan. You might find it takes more than alleviating the harshness of your bike to really fix the underlying issues. Good luck.

[bigjim]

I suffered for a while with a bad back and could not get rid of it. I, having being advised to,reluctantly attended Pilates classes at my gym. Lots of genteel stretching in different positions, attended mostly by women, but fun. It actually appeared to work. All pain went away and has not returned. That was three years ago. I now do a lot of regular stretching at the gym. Chin ups and wide pull ups stretch the spine and work/strengthen the core. You only need a bar which is easy to set up at home. I'm very into stretching. Our cat is always doing it and he never complains about anything. Unless I forget to feed him