Might also be the reach or reach angle.

More upright should translate to an easier ride on your back I believe

Of course everyone says core work should help that ... I’m remiss myself.

Mark Taylor said:

I was at Cunningham two weeks ago on the MTB , the next day I woke with back pain ,after this weekend it rescuers , it actually seems to be more muscular , the are at the top of my buttocks,
any idea , saddle height, was a thought

Depends on where the back pain is.  If it's lower back, it could be that your saddle on one bike is too high or that the reach is too long.  Or even that the cleats on one set of shoes puts your feet further forward--as in the cleats might be farther back on your mtb shoes rather than your road shoes.

Not sure where you measure then "top of my buttocks," but that could be because you're engaging your glutei more on the mtb.  perhaps the saddle is a bit farther back relative to the bottom bracket, or you're pedaling differently on the mtb.

So many possibilities.

I'd start by looking at the shoes, making sure the cleats put your feet in relatively the same position in relation to the pedal spindle.  Chances are the mtb combo is a taller stack height, so not much you can do there, though it does change muscle engagement.

Then move to the saddle position relative to the bottom bracket.  Then the reach and drop to the bars.  

(FWIW, I've been doing 2-minute planks followed by 25-second side planks just about every day for the past several months. (I skip on race mornings and some long ride days).  I think it has really helped, not only for bike riding comfort, but pretty much everywhere.  Standing, even sleeping.)  Been doing some other exercises as well, also helpful.  

Thanks JP , saddle is defiantly way back , I’ll look at that and the cleats , it’s odd because I’m actually feeling more discomfort off the bike than on , I did a sold 5000 ft of climbing to day which out to much trouble , well apart from usual trouble I have with climbing😬

Well shit I guess we're all buying rear facing bike cameras now.

https://www.velonews.com/2019/09/news/qa-andrew-bernstein-on-hit-and-run-i-came-very-close-to-death_500293

Jules said:

Well shit I guess we're all buying rear facing bike cameras now.

https://www.velonews.com/2019/09/news/qa-andrew-bernstein-on-hit-and-run-i-came-very-close-to-death_500293

assuming you live in a place where front license plates are required.

Hey peeps!
I've been told that I'm still cancer free after one year, so I'm still going to race bikes Goddammit!!!

right on!!!!

I crashed pretty hard today on the belt parkway bike path. Slammed my noggin for the first time in my life, always thought I knew how to fall correctly from years of park skiing. After hitting up the emergency room no concussion or broken collar bone. I think I'll follow up with an orthodontist or someone if my shoulder continues to hurt like it does when I move, I had times where the ER says I'm ok only to find out my entire thumb is shattered. Any good orthopedic recommendations in the area?

Oh geez @cpulvidente I hope there's nothing else serious from the crash. I don't know any orthopedic docs but if you think i can help in any other way, let me know. Feel better.

@cpulvidente feel better dude

Glad to hear your noggin is ok. Shame about the crash.

Feel better @cpulvidente! Glad it wasn’t more serious. 

@cpulvidente sorry to hear about your crash. I hope you recover quickly.

hope you heal up quick buddy

Feel better @cpulvidente, rocketman! You'll be back on the bike in no time.

This August my right triceps area started to ache regularly. I went to acupuncture which didn’t really help. I went to a PT in September and said something like “don’t tell me to take time off the bike”. It was CX season after all. 

That sucks Patrick! I have a hard time imagining how riding a bike (even mtn bikes) could f-up your rotator cuff without a bad fall - but for *sure* you should be ale to protect it just fine on the trainer. really sucks to fight with something like that for six+ months.

Sorry to hear the news Patrick... maybe a few months on the trainer is a good idea.

I posted back in December of 2019 about a partial tear of the rotator cuff. The cortisone shot helped with the discomfort, but the symptoms re-emerged this summer. I did another round of physical therapy which helps with strength and range of motion. A second MRI in December (the first one was a year earlier) revealed that my rotator cuff went from a 30% tear to a 50% tear. I had hoped that a year without cross racing and with a healthy dose of PT would have at least minimized any ongoing deterioration. If that had been the case I would have just managed the pain/discomfort with some naproxen. 

Ironically, my shoulder doesn't really get inflamed by riding - even on with the mountain bike on the trails. Everyday twists and movements cause more pain and while I have been primarily relying on my good arm for lifting, I get sore and wake up with dull pain every day. 

After giving it some thought (and getting a second opinion) I decided to get rotator cuff surgery next month. Why now? The big incentive is that if my shoulder continues to deteriorate then the surgery become more invasive and takes longer to heal from (and presumably has a higher chance of a poorer outcome). Given that racing season is on hold and its still winter, this is as good a time to do it as could be hoped. Unless I had done it two months ago. 

The odds are that I will make a full recovery and will be racing cross again this Fall. The recovery sounds painful and the length depends on how messed up my shoulder is when they open me up. I hope to be on the indoor trainer in April and hope that I get clearance to ride on the road in May... although this may end up being delusional. 

So, I hope to help distribute jerseys on the weekend of the 6th. Afterwards, you won't see me on the road for a few months... Ironically, I have been vaccinated. Oh, well

Major bummer, good luck Patrick. 

That sucks Patrick. Shoulders are complicated creatures. I hope you heal up quick.

@PatrickGrehan

That sucks.  Aging isn't kind.

What Jules said.  Shoulders can be complicated.  Strikes me that being proactive might be the smarter course of action.  

Good luck Patrick. I know a couple of people from rugby who have been through this (and the umming and ahhing about whether to get the surgery), and although no fun, they have always been able to get to a better condition after the op. 

One thing that is in your favor Patrick is that you take good care of yourself, so I foresee your recovery from surgery to be quick so we're all looking forward to competing with you this fall.

good luck, Patrick!

Good luck Patrick, shoulder injuries are tricky to deal with. Hang in there.

I had my shoulder surgery on the 11th and saw the Orthopedic surgeon for the first follow up  this morning.

The news is generally positive. Turns out that there wasn't as much going wrong with my rotator cuff (as previously believed) but instead that my pain was caused by a shredded bicep tendon. I saw pictures of my tendon. It looked like rope that had been torn to shreds. What caused it? He couldn't say. Wear and tear? shouldering my bike in CX? Who knows.

The tendon was so bad that they didn't try and reattach it and instead chose to sever the tendon all together. Whoa. This is generally good news. While I may never get full bicep strength back, the recovery is much shorter than if they had reattached it. I should be at 80% in 2-3 months. 

Don't I need a bicep tendon? I was wondering that as well. Apparently, there are two bicep tendons that connect the bicep to the shoulder area. So I guess I don't need it. See the diagram below. The inflamed tendon is the one that was cut.

Another advantage of having a bicep tenotomy (the medical term for severing a bicep tendon) is that I have less pain than I would otherwise. Mornings are still pretty painful, but I am back to work full time and its definitely better than the first week where I was taking Oxy and Naproxen. I get sore during the daytime and need to ice the shoulder regularly, but it isn't awful. 

One side effect of having only one tendon is that I might end up having what the doctor called "Popeye muscle" where it will be narrower and taller than my other bicep. Time to eat my spinach.

I start PT this week and intend to ride my bike indoors while I mumble curses at the rest of you who get to enjoy the glorious Spring weather outdoors. The good news is that much to my wife's dismay my doctor did not say that I couldn't ride my bike outdoors. In the end it is really about managing muscular weakness, fatigue and arm pain, so I can ride a local bike path, but will probably be in pain and fatigue my arm on an easy ride. I am hopeful that I can slowly build enough strength to get onto longer outdoor rides come May. Hopefully by then I'll be joining you all on group rides and coffee stops in Piermont. 

Wow @PatrickGrehan that sounds intense but... good? Glad that it sounds like a very workable fix to something that's been a pain for a long time.

Looking forward to some Popeye "thunder & lightning" photos soon

Glad it sounds like recovery will be faster than expected. Keep taking good care! You know this, patience will go a long way here!