Cycling UK Forum

hello all.

I am hoping you can help me here. I have tried a myriad of things to try and fix this situation, my bike looks like Frankenstein nightmare now.

The pain I am having is incredibly intense and lasts for days after the ride (suffering with it right now for example). The pain is specifically between the spinalis thoracis and serratus posterior superior like this diagram here. https://www.yogajournal.com/.image/c_li ... atomy.webp

here is a little video of me riding my bike in the back garden just to show you just how upright my posture is on the bike. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pbTpz7 ... sp=sharing

so far, I have adjusted the saddle in height and tilt and on the slide forward and back. I have lifted the handlebars extending them beyond reasonably recommended by the manufacturer, I have installed these butterfly handlebars to bring the handle bars back as far as possible without them clashing with my knees. Here is a picture of my Frankenstein bike. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q-iWSr ... sp=sharing

Any help would be incredibly appreciated. I really want to ride but I physically can't push through this pain.

I am not in any way shape or form a medical specialist and any advice you are likely to get on this forum will be anecdotal. You should get yourself examined professionally. That said, from a “yea canne change the laws of physics” angle, the more upright you are the more weight your rear takes. Moreover, the bumps on the road take a direct path up your spine which compressed as if it were suspension in a way it would not if your back position were more horizontal.

Suggestion: this is your first post and there's a rich tradition on here of people posting a single question which opens a floodgate of opinion and advice, and they then never show their faces again. Could I suggest you do a follow-up post and use it to upload your video and photo in a different format. (For cyber-security reasons, I will never download a file from a file-sharing website unless I am 100% certain of what it is and who it's from.) The easiest way to do this is upload the video to YouTube and use the 'image attachments' tab (below the box where you type your post) to embed your photo into the post itself?

As PeeTee says, physiotherapy via forum is never a good idea, but you might get some helpful solutions about bike set-up options to move your weight around.

Is there any particular reason you can’t lean forward from the hip and relax a bit?
That screen capture shows you sitting bolt upright braced by your arms every bump must go directly straight up your spine.
IMHO your saddle is too high that’s almost a straight leg there and your saddle looks to be slammed forward also.
If the handlebars were lower and forward with the saddle back would allow you to cantilever your body and spread your contact over 3 places in place of what must be 85% presently going up from your bum.
Your yoga link didn’t work for me but googling your medical terms could the pain you are getting be from tensed muscles?

Bending your elbows would allow your arms to absorb shock and limit the transfer to your neck and the top of your spine where it looks as though you've got the problem.

Paulatic wrote:391D7775-082F-418D-B054-0C47F4CB3B7C.jpeg

Is there any particular reason you can’t lean forward from the hip and relax a bit?
That screen capture shows you sitting bolt upright braced by your arms every bump must go directly straight up your spine.
IMHO your saddle is too high that’s almost a straight leg there and your saddle looks to be slammed forward also.
If the handlebars were lower and forward with the saddle back would allow you to cantilever your body and spread your contact over 3 places in place of what must be 85% presently going up from your bum.
Your yoga link didn’t work for me but googling your medical terms could the pain you are getting be from tensed muscles?

+1 you seem to have made a very good job of making things worse! In the process you've reduced your ability to control the bike on anything other than smooth surfaces. If you tilt the butterflies at about 45 degrees you will also find thats more relaxing than having to over extend your wrist to hold the outside/forward part of the bar.

It could be just the photograph angle and the way you're sitting. But it also looks as if the bike could be slightly too small for you.

Your saddle is way too high, that’s the source of your back pain !

Seagoon wrote:Your saddle is way too high

I agree. Your hip may be dropping with each pedal stroke and that could be oscillating your spine in a way it can’t deal with.

Saddle way too high. I don't know about reach but elbow against nose of saddle how are fingertips in relation to bars?

For saddle height, sit on the saddle and straighten your leg with the foot at 90 degrees to your shin. Have the crank in line with the seat tube. Your heel should be about 20-30mm below the middle of the pedal. It appears that you are pointing your toe a little at the bottom in the picture.

(It helps to have an assistant during all this, or position yourself with a wall to lean against.)

peetee wrote:

Seagoon wrote:Your saddle is way too high

I agree. Your hip may be dropping with each pedal stroke and that could be oscillating your spine in a way it can’t deal with.

Hip rock - not a good thing on a bicycle!

spark0 wrote:hello all.

I am hoping you can help me here. I have tried a myriad of things to try and fix this situation, my bike looks like Frankenstein nightmare now.

The pain I am having is incredibly intense and lasts for days after the ride (suffering with it right now for example). The pain is specifically between the spinalis thoracis and serratus posterior superior like this diagram here. https://www.yogajournal.com/.image/c_li ... atomy.webp
.

I have your exact pain right here and right now. I'm guess I'm getting old but its slowly reducing as I put some spacers in to raise the handlebars. (road bikes)

You saddle might be high as suggested, when your leg is fully extended downwards look at a 30 degree bend behind the knee .

DevonDamo wrote:... there's a rich tradition on here of people posting a single question which opens a floodgate of opinion and advice, and they then never show their faces again...

So what are we all thinking about this one now? Will the OP ever read, let alone acknowledge, the advice given? Lay your bets ladies and gents...

Hello All, thank you so much for all your suggestions. Apologies about the late reply, I thought the forum would notify me if someone replied, I thought it got buried.

Okay so the general consensus is I have made things worse by trying to be more upright!

I am going to go on a long ride tomorrow and I will try all of your suggestions at different parts of the ride.

i will try Paulatic's suggestions and drop my saddle a little, I raised it that high because I was having knee pain but I can drop it a little, I can take a bit of knee pain and keep going, the back pain is unfathomable and forces me to stop for a few days.

In terms of the butterfly handlebars, foxyrider suggested I bend them at 45 degrees, I am hesitant about doing this because I find myself literally leaning on them when I am coasting, TT stylee (yeah dreams of grandeur I know) I will try it if dropping the seat doesn't work though.

DaveBeck said the bike might be too small for me, someone did mention this to me before, it is an 18 inch hybrid bike and I am 5'9 which according to all the charts online is the exact right size for me. (they could be wrong though, so for the next bike I think I will be buying it with a bike fit).

PeeTee, I have been to a physiotherapist but I'm sorry to say they were completely useless, they didn't believe me about the location of the pain, they went off on an explanation about it being impossible for me to have muscle pain in that particular area. (I wasted my money on those few hours consultation I think).

Again, I can't thank you all enough for taking the time to look through my post and give me suggestions. I will keep updating this post with my battle with upper back pain.