Pain in the neck and back, wrong frame size?

[Herman]

I'm a motorbike , ballooner & muscle bike guy , but the most comfortable and painfree bike I ever had was a thrift store ( $8.00 ) Schwinn Breeze 3 speed , mattress saddle and northroads type handlebars

 

[retrobuilder]

I am experiencing pain in the lower back and in the rear of my neck. Perhaps my bicycle frame is too small, however i am not sure this is only problem - see street bikes riders ride facing down a lot like in swimming you keep your head down, i cannot do that, i tend to look ahead of me 100% of the time (sometimes i ride on sidewalks, also there's holes in the road i want to spot to ride around) it just feels natural to me to know where i am going.

I currently have mountain bike, but handle bars are flat, i was thinking of installing medium hi-rise handle bars but it might look stupid plus not sure how it will affect steering.

Currently i am in the market for new light weight bicycle 15 pounds, so road bicycle is the number one choice, i obviously don't need a drop down handle bars just straight or medium hi-rise.

Need more info how to select correct size frame also and any advice on the situation with the pain i get after several hour ride.

My ride style is commuting, i am doing food delivery on a bicycle, i don't care much about, top speed and aerodynamics, usually i ride for 8 hours a day.

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Fit is more important than many factors..fit-fit-fit.

A goot fit can be found on 26" or 700c rim bikes

Sounds like your stem is too long and handlebars are too low..given the present bike.

A riser bar with shorter is my suggestion.

Fit starts usually in this order.

leg fit over top tub should be ~2" for MTB or road bike
Saddle positioned with about 15" degrees..in racing that is usually less for pedal power strokes.
Saddle selection should be where your sit bones are mosty centered with the padded area..."comfort" starts here.
You want ultra light weight.. A 17-19 pound bike is viable for steel bikes or aluminum to save $$ and "steel be pounds less than your MTB.
If you just want to road ride- set the bike up for a little more upright back and handlebar settings.
Use a "fit check" to avoid a too small bike, or too long top tube, etc..avoid Triathlon or "criteron" bikes.
Handle bar controls shoulbe be wider than your shoulders as well.

Take care,,

,

 

[dnc1]

You mentioned you do food delivery all day; is that using a rack with a box, or with a big courier bag over one shoulder?

 

[retrobuilder]

Forgot to mention i am 190 pounds so dont think buying lightweight road bike will do much difference, plus i am not into speed, more comfort.

Currently my bicycle is not set up for much speed at all, its MTB with the front suspension and i have put offroad tires, rusted bearings in the back, and converted to single speed (fastest one) so acceleration requires a lot of effort, with traffic lights it exhausting to ride. I thought i modded it for speed, but after reading today i actually made it a torture/excersize machine for myself rather than a bicycle.

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Perfect advice i come to same conclusion after many hours of research i need commuter or city bike (hybrid) with 700c no suspension.


Its more practical to buy this handle bars, i see them often riding trough south central LA, some even have them twice as tall so their hands are over their hear lol.

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a riser bar setup I have..helps with a more comfortable grip angle and width. Also the stem is not tall and odd looking,,

1. Check Risaer bars at least 2" tall- maybe 3"
2. Check Riser stems at least 30 degree angle and at least 50 mm shorter

Get a good bike fitter to help..sounds like you are on bike a lot and you should not have neck nor back pain from bike..

Better riding....Wayne

 

[PimpMan]

You mentioned you do food delivery all day; is that using a rack with a box, or with a big courier bag over one shoulder?

Yesterday was a first day and i had no choice but to use one over the shoulder, had no backpack or rack installed yet. Even hanged it over my neck for ease one time, it could have added to the neck pain.

 

[retrobuilder]

Yesterday was a first day and i had no choice but to use one over the shoulder, had no backpack or rack installed yet. Even hanged it over my neck for ease one time, it could have added to the neck pain.

Here is pic of one of my RetroTreks..

It has a riser bar..could use a stem about 15 degrees more. but far bettter than before..suggest also the stem/handlebar to be even or a bit higher than the saddle..

fit fit fit..

 

[PimpMan]

This is my new bicycle, 700c city bike will put seat from beach cruiser and handlebars are already bent back i ride in upward sitting position which is nice.

 

[Saving Tempest]

Look in the Parts and Ephemera section of the Classifieds for the ad with two 60s Troxel comfort seats. Don't worry if it's now cool looking.

 

[kwoodyh]

Look in the Parts and Ephemera section of the Classifieds for the ad with two 60s Troxel comfort seats. Don't worry if it's now cool looking.

Great advice! Once I was wandering around in the big city and I ventured into a bike messaging service because I honestly thought it was a repair shop, all the bikes they used were ugly as sin scarred up and stripped down with a hodge podge of mismatched components! The one thing that all the bikes had in common was they were well maintained mechanically and outfitted so the rider could accomplish the job by the most efficient method, I wonder how many of those services still exist in this digital world? I guess I'll just google it!


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[morton]

I hear a lot of people say they do not like "skinny tire," i.e., roadbikes. I think this is because they envision a racing rider position, thinly padded and painful saddles, and fear that the frame will not be up to the task.

I learned otherwise because of my height and back maladies. I just couldn't find a middleweight or balloon bike with a large frame (23"). Plenty of road bikes this size and usually cheap to buy so I did some experimenting. Went with riser bars/stem and a more comfortable saddle and my problem was solved. Had to change out the brake levers and installed indexed trigger shifters I got from a donor bike ( hated those stem friction shifters). Bike weighed in at about 35 lbs, heavy for a road bike but light in comparison to a ballooner.

I used 12 speed World Sports because the are easy to find and have cro-moly frames, which are quite strong. When I did my first conversion I weighted about 210 lbs. I also mounted a heavy Wald Newsboy basket to carry my best friend, Lucky Dog. He weighed about 15 lbs and with the basket I figured my rig with rear carrier and tool bag weighed well over over 50 lbs., but the frame fit me well and the gearing was perfect.

Even with all my back problems (and artificial hip), I experienced no pain and riding was very enjoyable. I didn't always have Lucky Dog & basket with me but one year we did 250 miles together and overall I probably put close to 2000 miles on the bike. We did mostly rail trail rides and had no mechanical problems over the years except 2 broken spokes. Yeah, those frames are strong enough.

And if you are worried about skinny tires, I purchased a few sets from Niagara last year that are as wide as those on my Hybrid (27 x 1 /3/8+)

Lucky Dog has passed and I've since retired the bike because it is a 25" frame and really too big for me, so I went to a 23" frame and a lighter saddle and I think the weight is now closer to 30 lbs, and my now riding addiction got me down to about 179 lbs.

The conversions are cheap and easy and no collector bikes are harmed and I highly recommend it if you have back issues. Back pain is no longer a problem and in fact I feel more comfortable on the bike than anywhere else.

Final note: I also changed out the front sprocket assembly to mountain bike gearing so I ended up with gearing that I liked much better. I found this assembly at a yard sale, brand new in the box for $2 !!!!!

First pic is the original and the second is my current ride.