Bike Adjustments for Back Pain

Sheri,

Back problems on bike typically come from two things...1)Improper Fit or 2) New to cycling and not conditioned.  Since you've already been cycling a while I'll assume the fit is the problem.  I'll have to assume your bike is set up properly for you, meaning the ball of your foot is over the pedal spindle, your knee is directly plumb with your pedal axle when at the 3 & 9 position, your leg is almost straight when your heal is on the spindle at the 6 & 12 and your saddle is level and no more than an inch above the handlebars.  This being said, the most common cause of lower back pain is "reach".  It is possible that you're reaching too far.  One way (although not exact) to check your reach is to sit on your bike just like you ride.  Look down at the hub of your front wheel.  If the hub is obstructed by the handlebar then your reach is about perfect.  If there is a several inch gap between your handlebar and the hub (your hub will be behind the handlebar) then you might be reaching too far.  One way to fix this is to get a shorter stem if that's possible.

I also assumed you were referring to a road bike.  A mountain bike's geometry is different.  I guess a shorter answer to your question is that most likely you are reaching too far and this is causing your back pain.  I'm sure there's others here that have some tips? 

If you have any other details on your bike fit post them or email me and maybe I can offer a little more advise.

-Michael

One other thing I should mention.  If you discover that your reach is too far, don't make adjustments on your saddle fore & aft to solve this problem.  This will throw your knee alignment off, which may lead to knee problems.  Again, this is assuming you're fit properly to height and fore-aft position.

-Michael