Still swithering - shorter cranks on road bike for low back pain?

Lower back pain for me was fixed by reducing the reach (shorter stem, bars). Makes you more upright. Less aero obviously.

I had lower back pain early this year  (it would flare up particularly when pushing hard on the pedals). Yoga has sorted it out - the issue was tight hip flexors and hamstrings, rather than my back itself. Followed a youtube video and did it about 3 times a week . This was the video i followed at the start, although i've now adapted it a little for it to be a shorter routine

I've actually gone to 165mm cranks on my race bike since then to allow a more aero position. I see no drawback other than now wanting to convert my other bikes to it too...However as a first step i'd give yoga a go. Took about 3 weeks for me to notice the improvement and the pain gone.

Dunno, but,

I’ve recently moved UP to 175 from 165 via a new bike and this is the first time I’ve had lower back pain bothering me during recovery…

my partner has strongly recommended yoga and it does seem to be helping but it wasn’t there before the longer cranks (and whole new bike and geometry so uncertain)

165 cranks and a couple of washers to take the pedals out a bit made a big difference for me. Much better.

It might help but I doubt it'll fix the underlying issues that I guess are tension from imbalances. I have 170s and 175s with different Qs on my bikes and it makes no difference, I get the same aches and tension on longer or hard rides on either. It may be that riding the 175s causes the issues but I think decades of long rides, desk work, lack of stretching and being 40-odd are more to do with it.. as it probably is for you. Having said that I don't see any negatives to shorter cranks so if you can try them at a reasonable cost, why not. 

I fit 165s by preference but a couple of bikes have 170s just due to lack of availability of the shorter option. I can't say I've noticed any difference in lower back pain issues. 

Higher bars is much more likely to make a difference.  IIRC you ride mainly road / gravel on drop bars?  Its a horrendous position for your back flattening the lumbar curve and hyper extending your neck  Get a few stems to experiment with or even one of those adjustable stems just to try it out.  I have long standing lower back issues.  Mo pain on my bikes because of the riding position set up to be upright

Even my road bike is on bullhorns not drops and set up with the bars at seat height

The correct answer further up was yoga.  Or core and AB’s work off the bike generally - including hams and flexors.

Of course 165 on a road bike probably isn’t a bad thing anyway.  And an upright position won’t hurt.

But strengthen and stretch the core.

Thanks all. Doesn't sound like anyone has experienced any revelations, and I'm beginning to think that in terms of 'marginal gains' in reducing fatigue in the low back, I would probably be better off investing in a better seating arrangement for the ~40hrs a week I spend at a desk rather than new cranks for the pitiful amount of time I spend on the bike in an average week 🙄

You probably won’t notice the difference. Position on the saddle over the bottom bracket is more important. Are you well-balanced or leaning too far forward using your “core”?  Try moving the saddle 0.5cm forwards and lower by about 0.25 cm. I have 165 to 175 and couldn’t tell you without knowing which bike first, the crank lengths are. And that includes track bike fixed wheel.

the ~40hrs a week I spend at a desk

I try to be as active as possible during my break times. Even if it's just going down the stairs sticking my head outside for a couple of minutes and going back up again. Lunch times I walk or ride around town taking in the sights and find somewhere to sit and eat my lunch. Sometimes do a bit of stretching at lunch time if at a quiet spot. Sitting outside to eat my lunch might start to become a little more challenging now seasons are turning, but I'm going to try to keep it up.

When stretching, don't forget quads as well as hamstrings - especially with all that sitting - the anterior chain all needs activating more. Go easy on hamstring stretches with lower back pain.

yours, self qualified internet doctor.

Do deadlifts.

I've just invested in a Varier Balans kneeling chair for desk work following a two month bout of debilitating pain ( long term L4 + 5 disc degeneration). The effect seems to have been remarkable, although correlation isn't causation so can't be sure. Interestingly I've recently changed roles and spend much more time at a desk after three years of more active days - again correlation etc, but I didn't have an acute episode during that period. Time may tell.

You probably won’t notice the difference. Position on the saddle over the bottom bracket is more important. Are you well-balanced or leaning too far forward using your “core”? Try moving the saddle 0.5cm forwards and lower by about 0.25 cm.

Yeah, I've found a surprising amount of mileage in fore-aft adjustments! Problem is, I don't know if tricep fatigue/hand numbness is due to saddle too far forward and tipping me on to bars, or just weak core. I seem to have hit a sweetspot at the moment but will continue to creep forward incrementally. Thankfully not planning any epic gravel miles in the near future so have time to toughen up over winter and hopefully eliminate 'weak core' as a possible cause

Do deadlifts.

Check! I'm building up to them, just need to introduce the back gently, I'm perfectly capable of deadlifting (albeit not much weight yet) but need to manage the fatigue and recovery in my back, trying to deadlift real weight whilst the back is a twitchy fatigued mess just ends up in disaster. I have a 10km run in a couple of weeks and after that all cardio will be short bike sessions or short walks, give the back maximum respite so I can work on strength.

When stretching, don’t forget quads as well as hamstrings – especially with all that sitting – the anterior chain all needs activating more. Go easy on hamstring stretches with lower back pain.

Yeah, I've already been told I have better than average hamstring 'flexibility' for a man my age, I suspect because they're just floppy and loose from too much sitting! Will definitely be incorporating more hamstring work over the winter. I'm slowly getting into the habit of getting up and doing gentle activation stuff during the day, just climbing flights of stairs or doing standing calf raises/butt squeezes in a quiet corner of the office 😎

I can see the value of a kneeling chair as it opens up the hips and reduces flexion. I'm hoping to achieve the same if I invest in a Hag Capisco (instead of the shiny new cranks I think) as it would allow me to use it as a sort of stool with a back rest. Might look in to kneeling chairs if I thought they might be cheaper!

Hip flexor stretches and strengthening helped me reduce lower back pain, in a combination with shorter cranks. No idea which had the biggest impact. The former I imagine

Shift from a mixture of 170/172.5/175 to 165 across the board (still got some on longer, but slowly getting through them) has fixed knee issues that i didn't really know i had, and some mild hip stiffness and lower back pain.

Can instantly tell the difference, even changing bikes at the same time.
Have been doing regular stretching/massage and foam roller work for 2 or 3 decades as well.

say-the-line-Bart question but: have you had a bike fit? Sounds less necessary in that you have lots of bikes you are comfy in, and also a fitter will tell you each bike needs fitting (though they will give you the numbers to do so).

I ask simply because things that a younger, more flexible body might have got away with might now rear their head and it could be all sorts. (For me: arch support was what solved a lot of knee issues, stem and saddle position solved a lot of back issues, hip flexors/bursors are just down to me not warming up enough. Yoga is the answer there...)

Oh, i've also played around with fit, cleat wedges and patro cleats as well...

Oh yeah, should have mentioned that I put on the 165 cranks and washers after a bike fit who told me to do yoga too and some other bike specific exercises / stretches to create more strength in quads, knees + ankles. <br /><br />

Calf raises, stretches, pistol squat and deadlifts basically. Yoga pidgeon pose helped a lot too. <br /><br />

Basically it all compounds and you may as well throw the kitchen sink at trying to get rid of pain if it’s stopping you from cycling in any way. <br /><br />

Many people have different hip anatomy and simply can’t stretch or move in ways that other can. In my trip around physios I’d say half didn’t even acknowledge this and were a waste of space. Where that is the case changing cranks / Q factor makes a decent difference. <br /><br />

Don’t ever work looking down at laptop over proper screen or sit on hard metal / wood chairs. That also kills your hams / back. I’m at the point I refuse to even sit at a restaurant if the chairs are not soft these days. Only reason to make them hard is to speed up table turnaround or to look good on Insta, neither of which I’m supporting over my legs.