How do i fix lower back pain on my endurance bike: reach or saddle angle?

[JosephL]

I’ve been trying to dial in my riding position on my new endurance bike, but I can’t seem to get my lower back to feel right after about an hour in the saddle. My saddle height and fore/aft feel okay, but I’m wondering if the issue is actually with my handlebar reach or the angle of my saddle.

[Frank_J]

I had a similar thing on my endurance bike. The saddle height felt fine, but after about an hour my lower back would start to nag. I played with the saddle angle in small increments and noticed the pelvis position changed a lot more than I expected, which in turn changed the back comfort.

[Andrew_P]

I swapped to a shorter reach bar and a bit of a shallower drop. It didn’t fix everything overnight, but over a few rides my upper body could stay relaxed longer and the back felt better without forcing the spine into a hollow. If your fore/aft is good, it might be the bar reaching you rather than the seat.

[EmmaD]

I kept chasing the saddle angle, trying nose up then nose down. Tiny changes can alter how your hips rotate on the saddle, and that seems to ripple into the lower back. Not a slam dunk fix, but it did change the feel a bit.

[Chloe.C]

I did get a fit check at a shop. They nudged the saddle a few millimeters forward, added a spacer to lift the cockpit a touch, and checked knee over pedal. After that the back felt more supported on longer rides.

[Nicholas63]

Maybe it’s not a single fix but fatigue stacking. I added short core routines and neck/upper back mobility between rides and noticed the back held up a little longer. Not magic, but it helped enough to ride deeper into the century.

[James70]

Do you have a way to test one variable in isolation? Like swapping the bar reach for a ride or adjusting saddle tilt for a week and comparing impressions? I’m curious if you can pin it down.