Recumbent - Recumbo butt

On the last trip I found the glutes getting pretty sore after an hour. The soreness goes away immediately when I get off the seat for a few minutes, ..and even just shifting a little bit while riding helped some, but long stretches got pretty uncomfortable (needed break after 10-20 miles).

Maybe I'm sitting wrong, but it happens pretty much the same whether I'm more upright with pressure low on the butt, or stretched out with pressure way up high near the lower back.

Is this something one gets used to?

I had recumbo butt until I reclined my seat back a little more. It's better but I'm still getting used to the different riding position.

As I understand it, recumbutt is caused by a combination of seat to crank angle and seatback to seat angle. Simply, the lower the pedals below the plane of the seat and the more upright the seatback, the more pressure on your glutes. Generally, you can't raise the pedals to get them more inline with the plane of the seat, so you have to incline the seat more towards the pedals, ie lower the front or raise the back of the seat so that its plane aligns more with the centerline of the crank. Lowering the angle of the seatback also helps as it takes some of your weight off the glutes and puts it onto the back. Hope this helps.

Michael

This works on trikes, maybe on high bb bikes. You must be clipped in and coasting. I start on left leg, push knee across center line of seat with left hand. You can feel your butt stretching out. Repeat with right hand and leg. Watch balance so you don't do an 'Artie Johnson' (you are old enough to remember "Laugh In", right?) Effect seems to last longer than stopping and stretching, but maybe that's just me.

Tailwinds and looong downhills!
Tourezrick

Closed cell foam like they use in high end auto seats the ticket....

I put a Rans seatbase (from Calhoun Cycle) on my Burley to replace the hard hard seat it came with! Now it's heaven and I can sit in it all day without any problems.

Just like any other seat, you have to fit in it properly. Every recumbent has different seat philosophies and each has its plusses and minuses. Two ways to fix your discomfort... Try every seat on the market or make a pad that fits your butt. You probably have a lip on the seat that hits you in the wrong place at a certain position of your stoke. Maybe you have a little to much reach on your boom or seat, maybe shorter cranks will match your particular shape better, whatever it takes, make it right and your endurance will go up with it. I'd start with trying the couch's throw pillows to see if they'd help just to get a new baseline.

After 70-80 miles, I had some problems with the lower back and upper butt. I put a padded kneepad in that area, inside my shorts. It helped a lot.

I only have problems with my left buttock. The right one seems happy enough. I figured I just needed to get used to the position.

Az