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I've been trying to understand why my times up long (20-30 minute) steep, but not too technical (i.e. seated) climbs seem to be slower on my Dude fatbike than they were on the 5lb heavier Ice Cream Truck I had before and also why I seem to suffer much more with lower back pain a day or two after.
Both could just be a sign that I'm getting older, but I wonder if there is something in the geometry of the bikes. The Dude has a longer effective top tube by 12mm (642mm vs 630mm for a size large) and I ran both with the same (35mm) stem and had the bars around the same height (roughly level with the saddle).
The strange thing is that back in my road cycling days (and following a bike fit) I used a bike with a 570mm top tube but with a 120mm stem. So bar plus stem length was longer than the Dude and I used to run the bars 100mm lower than the saddle, yet could ride that all day over mountain roads.
Anyway, I just wondered if anybody else found that a longer lower bike was slower on the climbs and/or caused more lower back pain.
I did find this quote online:
"A long top tube, or reach made long by a long stem, can increase the chance of lower back pain. So too can an overly large drop from the saddle to the handlebar – often created by a short head tube or removing all your spacers below the stem, creating a low stack."
Told you that you were selling the wrong bike 😉
I've had lower back pain for years, sometimes temporarily cured and sometimes worsened by riding my bike. All I can say is that when I'm doing long, steepish climbs - which is when it hurst the most - my natural inclination is always to lean back and sit more upright. Makes me think that longer top tubes wouldn't help me in this respect.