Discomfort from seat back

[castlerobber]

After two months of getting used to the Quest, I finally felt confident enough to try riding with other people. I put in 14 miles on gently rolling terrain with a beginner-cyclists group last Saturday, and 20 very flat miles yesterday at the Bikes, Blues and Bayous ride.

On both rides, after about 10 miles/45 minutes, I became uncomfortably aware of the top of the seat between my shoulder blades. The seat back is at a 45-degree recline. Would having it a bit more upright help? What else should I look at?

I have photos of me on the bike, but the forum won't let me post them. Let me try it in a separate comment.

 

[castlerobber]

Aha!

Odd...when I try adding the images to a comment on my original post, it works:

 

[richa]

One possibility ...


I think maybe you're arms are too far back. If they were forward more, I think it would rotate your shoulders forward, and you might be more inclined to pull a bit on the bars occasionally (like everytime there's a hill) removing some of the weight from the back of the seat.

So, you might want to try moving the handlebars forward more. It looks like the stem is currently pointing backwards. Maybe you should try pointing it forward. Of course, that creates the possibility of your knees hitting the bars (namely the gear shift lever), which maybe is why you have it pointed backwards. However, you can get a longer stem, maybe one with a 45 degree angle as well, to move them forward and up.

I personally put a longer stem on mine and both myself (with the extension at 9.75") and my wife (with it around 1 or 2 ), can ride it relatively comfortably. I've gone 4 hours with only a slight break, in relative comfort.

Or, it might be something else entirely. Just providing a possibility.

Rich

 

[scabinetguy]

Sore Back

What stands out to me is that your arms are bent way too much. I would do everything you can to straighten your arms, such as moving the seat back and reversing the handle bar stem to point forward. Get the bars away from you so that your shoulders are not pressed against the backrest.

 

[ReklinedRider]

Also...

I agree completely with the above two suggestions; also, it looks like your bars are positioned a bit low on the steerer tube but it's hard to tell from the pics. If so that low bar position will make it harder to get leg clearance if you move your bars further out.
I'm sorry if I seemed a bit frazzled yesterday at the end of BBB or we could have looked at it a bit at the time... I got distracted listening to Watermelon Slim at the rest stop in Money and sprinted a good bit of the last 10 miles to catch up with my little group.

if you reposition your stem to point forward and find you can't get leg clearance you might consider an angled stem to point upward.

Anyway if you can't get some relief you and Robby are welcome to come over, or I'll meet you, and see if I can help. I'm for sure no expert wrench but I built that Silvio up from the frame, did a lot of mods to my Sofrider (which was already heavily modified when I got it) and nothing has fallen apart so far ;-). Just let me know, always happy to help another Cruzbiker.

Kline

 

[castlerobber]

Hmm

OK, I see what all of you mean about the bent arms.

Yes, the stem is pointed backwards, but it's positioned at the top of the steering mast. I rotated it backwards about a month ago to relieve major tension in my trapezius muscles, as per the advice in this thread:

http://cruzbike.com/setting-seat-angle

It definitely helped in that regard. It helped with knee clearance as well, and I feel like I have better control overall.

I do pull on the handlebars when going uphill or putting on speed. There were NO hills yesterday, only one minor incline when crossing a bridge.

I may try rotating the stem forward again as a first step. If that brings back the original problems that caused me to point it backward, I'll hunt down an adjustable stem and experiment with the angle.

Kline, I've tinkered with my road bike and tadpole trike for years, but this Cruzbike is a whole new critter. If I can't come up with a workable solution, I'll take you up on the offer of help.

 

[Eric Winn]

I would try moving the seat

I would try moving the seat top back to the first set of holes in the metal straps from the seat back to the seat post. E.g the holes closest to the seat back.

See how your elbows and upper arms are back along you sides and even sticking back a bit past your back? In the first photo you are turning a bit so that is pulling your left arm even further back but I bet even straight your elbows are probably sticking back a bit.

It looks like the additional seat recline would put your arms forward just the bit more you need. Now that you're more comfortable with the handling a bit more recline may work better for you if you've already got the knees clearing the bar comfortably.

Before changing anything, you can probably get a feel for what you need by sitting in the bike. First, grab the handlebar grips normally and then rotate your shoulders back and lean back and arch your back over the back top of the seat. Then, hold your hands a bit in front of the grips so your shoulders are rolled forward a bit and then lean back and arch your back over the back top of the seat again. If it feels better, see if the distance that your hands were held forward of the grips matches about what distance the further recline will give you.

Generally, with John's seat design you want your shoulders straight when holding the grips or just a wee bit forward.

-Eric

 

[super slim]

I agree with all the others

I agree with all the others in that the body needs to be further away from the handle bars.
I think the seat pan is too far forward, as the the seat post to seat back extension at full extension to achieve a seat back at 45 degrees.
I would move the seat base back one position, and put the seat back as laid back as possible.

This will also bring the bottom bracket up higher, so slightly higher than the seat base.

I have increased my seat comfort by replacing the existing three layers on different hardness, with 4 off (NOT three as the extra layer makes a LOT of difference) 10 mm thick VERY open weaved strong (does NOT compress completely with 110Kgs on it) padding like the ventrilst seat, fitted inside the existing seat covers, and hot melt glued together!

http://www.empind.com.au/shop/item/drainage-mesh---acs-10

 

[billyk]

I also agree, need to experiment with the stem

Agree with everyone else, your elbows are too bent and far back.

It's tricky to balance out the arm position and knee clearance at the same time. I got a cheap adjustable stem from my local secondhand bike parts shop. That let me play with the angle and height until I got it right, then bought a good stem that fit. You could otherwise spend a LOT of money buying stems.

BK

 

[Robert Holler]

Good advice on here. Take

Good advice on here. Take things one adjustment at a time and I concur to start by reclining that seat a bit to the first set of holes.

Another idea is to rotate the handlebars down in the stem so your wrists are more natural. In the picture it looks like your wrist position is causing you do a bit of a "shoulder shrug" which is not a natural thing to hold for a long time even if it is very subtle.



Robert

 

[castlerobber]

First step taken

I put the stem back to its original forward position, and rotated the handlebars to point down more. Rain is impending, so I only got a couple of miles of test-riding in. I'll try again Thursday.

The reach feels OK. My arms aren't straight, but have at least gone from an acute angle to an obtuse angle at the elbow. There is a little bit of interference between my right leg and the gear shift. One of the LBS was having a clearance sale on parts a week or two back, and I think I saw adjustable stems in one of the boxes, so I'll check that out this week.

@Super Slim--

I think the seat pan is too far forward, as the the seat post to seat back extension at full extension to achieve a seat back at 45 degrees.

I'm completely lost...could you rephrase that, please? At any rate, the seat pan can only go back one more position. I can't recline the seat much, if any, without annoying my neck and starting up a different set of problems. I learned over several years of riding a tadpole trike that 45 degrees is about my limit.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll take a few days to get used to one adjustment before I add another, and report back on progress.

Betsy

 

[ReklinedRider]

Any better?

Any improvement in the back discomfort?

Kline

 

[castlerobber]

Better!

Yes, it's better. I rode for an hour Saturday morning without upper-back pain or significant shoulder tension. It took a few minutes to get used to the change in steering caused by the stem's being farther out, but it was fine after that. There was no interference between my right knee and the DualDrive shifter--it just barely clears--so I may not need the adjustable stem after all.

I'm going to have one of my family members take a picture of the new position, so y'all can see.

Thanks for checking!

Betsy

 

[ReklinedRider]

You're welcome....

You're welcome, glad it's better!

 

[castlerobber]

Updated pics of position

Rode nearly an hour this morning with no problems from the seat back.

Had my 14-year-old take pictures of the revised position at our little town park (hence the lack of helmet). Believe it or not, I don't have a death grip on the handlebars--my hands look like that even when they're completely relaxed.

 

[Robert Holler]

That looks much

That looks much improved!



Robert