It should be pointed out in all of this that the angle of the back isn't the only variable that will be affected by moving the seat forward. Seat position also determines how well your are balanced on the bicycle between your butt and your hands, and the reason that GP suggests starting with the saddle all the way back on the rails is because it gives you the greatest chance of starting out in a position where your butt is taking most of the weight and your hands/arms are largely unloaded. Now, if that position is well behind your balance point, i.e. the point at which you will start tipping forward and needing your arms to support your torso, then you can move the saddle forward slightly and not change overall balance. But if you are just at that balance point now, curing lower back pain through moving the saddle forward is a bad idea IMHO since it means you will just be shifting the stress to another part of your body--namely your hands and arms. Better to reduce back angle by reducing the reach.
I'd agree with Jim T's suggestions on this one. Try lowering the bars first since it's the cheapest and easiest change to make, and sometimes our body is asking for more reach, not less. . Do it slowly and incrementally, measuring your position before and after so you can revert to the original if the new one doesn't work out. But if lowering the bars makes it worse, I'd also agree that shorter reach bars might be a good idea. Noodles are great bars but they're big in terms of reach and drop. Try something more compact like the Soma Hwy One. On Thursday, January 17, 2013 11:36:36 PM UTC-8, Michael wrote: > > My lower back has been killing me for the last month or so from riding. >> >> I think it may be that the bars are up too high (~6cm above saddle). The >> view is great though. >> >> I have been using the Just Ride PBH-11=Seat Height fit method, and the >> bars as high as one likes method. >> I have shoved the Brooks saddle all the way back Riv-style, which my >> knees love, and my hands love, as this makes my weight further back and not >> on my hands. >> > Now I just have to work out the low back issue and I will be good to go > again. > I am gonna try the RivReader fist full-'a-seatpost method with bars > 1.5-2cm above saddle and see if that feels better. I'm gonna keep the > saddle all the way back for the above-mentioned reasons. > > It is odd, that yes, it is the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden, > like riding a cushy sedan, but one part of my body always seems to complain > no matter how I set it up. But I'll get there, I hope. I really love this > bike. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/SD_hQ920S8wJ. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
