Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Saddle/Padding/Whatever help for my wife

My wife just got her first bike about a week ago. She's been off a bike for 16 years, and she definitely qualifies as an Athena. She picked out the Townie 3S, which I think has a nice saddle on it. It's a wide, slick-fake-leather saddle with a little strip of gel in it, and plastic/rubber bumper suspension between the saddle and rails.

Like any new cyclist, it's hurting her a bit. She's wondering if anyone has a suggestion for what to do to help alleviate the pain. It's mostly where the saddle narrows. Will padded shorts help? I don't think she needs a new saddle, but she wants recommendations on how to break herself in gently, if such a way exists.

Thanks!

BTW, bike and kitty pr0n:

http://www.focushacks.com/photo/2007-07-15-townie.jpg

I'd go with padded shorts.....

She'll eventually need them anyway, as she rides longer distances.

You could try adjusting the angle of the Saddle to alleviate pressure points.

Often times when I'm off the bike for a long time, the only way to get over the saddle pain is to keep riding. It isn't always pleasant, but usually your muscles get used to it and stop hurting.

Padded shorts are also great, and there are many styles for women in the baggy style if she doesn't like spandex.

Good luck.

I will never stop wondering why cats insist on being in so many bike portraits. ;) I'd start fiddling with the saddle angle to start with. Also, that's a pretty poofy saddle. If an angle change doesn't work, it may be that the poofiness is pushing into her soft tissue in that area. if that is the case, a new saddle would be a very good idea. The last thing she wants is restricted blood flow to that particular bit of tissue. :eek:

Brooks B67

I will never stop wondering why cats insist on being in so many bike portraits. ;) I'd start fiddling with the saddle angle to start with. Also, that's a pretty poofy saddle. If an angle change doesn't work, it may be that the poofiness is pushing into her soft tissue in that area. if that is the case, a new saddle would be a very good idea. The last thing she wants is restricted blood flow to that particular bit of tissue. :eek:

We have two cats, and it's not just in the bike pictures. They LIVE under our bikes for some reason. I usually have to threaten to run over my cat with my road bike every morning to get him out from under my bike so I can pack it for my commute.

I'll try angling it down a bit more and see if that helps. The "poofy" part of the saddle isn't where it's hurting her, but the angle could be putting pressure on some sensitive areas.

It could be the angle of the picture, but that saddle seems to push way up in back, which would really crowd the rest of the seat, pushing her forward onto the narrow part (ouch!). I personally like my cushy saddle (may feel differently when I'm riding longer distances), but that one looks like it would be difficult to move around on. Maybe something without that particular padding, if it's not just an illusion in the picture.

That saddle looks like it mounds up* in the crotch, and would really bum me out.

I'm new, so take what I say with a grain of salt (listen to East Hill!), but I think the trick to women's saddles is that we don't have as much "junk" to worry about. So nice spots for our sitbones to sit on, and a bunch of empy air in the middle is good. Nose maybe* 1/8" lower but that might cause one to slide forward. In other words, flat is good, if not slightly concave.

I don't like biking shorts because the chamois fills in that nice air gap I get from my brooks. But there is a nice biking skort at REI that comes in large sizes (the XL fits a size 16-18) for $60 that has a nice thin padding that covers my sit bones. It's modest, too, covering up the bike shorts.

The guys in the bike stores can't bear to look at how Fred I am, but I don't care.

The other thing is to work up the miles slowly, and then her sit bones will only hurt the first 30 seconds on the saddle, and even then only for a few weeks. They don't grow calluses, but whatever happens is similar. I think the muscles pad them.

Also, I was thinking the other day that Clydes are kind of lucky with seats. We have our own padding, that wears off as we cycle more!

Narrow saddles aren't meant to allow the the thighs to glide alongside the saddle without irritation aided by the black slick spandex shorts. Those big tractor seats can only be irritating. My wife insisted on trying big seats. After tons of failures, I finally convinced her to try a somewhat narrow saddle. The Specialized Dolce women's gel saddle, about $50 at the shop. Some shops like Performance will let you return it if you are unhappy, maybe 30 days or so.

Along with womens' short (Terry), she's been more than happy on the bike. Here she is at the end of a 42 miler and still smiling. Well, somehwhat! Now if I can only find a protable air conditioner to take along for the ride!:D


http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/SARTGina.jpg

Thing is, Mr. Beanz, your wife's and ax0n's wife's bikes have very different geometries. The pelvis is going to be in a different orientation on each of them. I am shamelessly borrowing this body positioning from the blog of a LBS here (http://clevercycles.com/?p=193) in town, so you can see what I mean:
http://clevercycles.com/blog/images/bikefits.png

The "semi-bent" is a bike like an Electra Townie. You see how differently the figure is positioned from the figure on the road bike? The Dolce sounds like a great women's saddle, but it may be too narrow as you progress down this scale of "uprightness".

Ax0n, one thing to also consider (not obvious), is that the nose may need to be tilted upwards. I know it seems counterintuitive, but that's where my saddle's ended u (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=4030956&postcount=1648)p - much to my surprise! I was having similar pain issues where the saddle narrows. Having the B-67 and tilting up made a huge difference. Then again, a saddle with a cut-out may be where you end up going. I understand the Specialized BG line of saddles has a great variety to choose from.

Please offer your wife our best wishes and assure her that it takes many of us a while to get it right. She's just a super special woman, but you knew that already. :)

I will second Mr. Beanz's recommendation about BG saddles. The saddle from my only aluminium/carbon frame bike (a Dolce Elite) has been wonderful. No matter what bike I ride, from the Raleigh upright mixte, to the raciest Rodriguez, the saddle from the Dolce has been perfect. Actually, it seems that Body Geometry has me pretty well dialed in no matter what--I have three Dolce saddles, and a BG saddle for every bike in the stable, and they are all so comfortable that I don't even really need padded shorts, or at most, a very thin chamois.

Yes, first step is padded shorts. Second is to fiddle fore and aft, nose up/nose down. She may need a saddle with a cutout, as well. She may still be at the 'my rear is sore because I've only ridden the bike three times', too. But riding, and getting used to a less 'seat'-like saddle, is where it's at.

Oh, how many miles does she plan on riding at any given time? If she's planning on riding 10 miles or less any time she's on the bike, it may not make much difference about the saddle, or shorts. If she starts enjoying riding that much though, she may want to get a road bike, rather than the comfort bike, and then the saddle/shorts issue becomes much more important. When she starts getting into my range, around 30 miles daily, and more on weekends, the saddle becomes really important.

Nice set up on the bike, by the way! And the kitty photo is a nice bonus :) .

East Hill

First of all, tell your wife, very nice bike. Did the rack come with the bike or did you add it on later? The saddle does look kind of high in the center there. I ride a bike similar to that style with the pedals (cranks) forward like the Townie. My seat looks flatter on the nose and seems to be set level or almost a tad up. The first week I rode I felt slight pain on my inner sit bones, but then, no pain since. The only time I had problems like your wife's is when I wore a pair of jeans (pedal pushers). The seam was way too thick for bike riding. The padded shorts or any pants with very thin seams should really help. Please tell her to hang in and keep riding. Standing up periodically helps too.
PS - donnamb, love the chart of seated figures.

this seat really did it for me no more numbohhhs! do a search on this site on "derri" and there's some details on what else is helpfull with this seat, but i've got one on 3 bikes and it's totally changed my riding endurance!

http://www.derri-air.com/easyseat-bicycle-seat.htm

First of all, tell your wife, very nice bike. Did the rack come with the bike or did you add it on later? The saddle does look kind of high in the center there.

We got the bike helmet, gloves, rack, trunk bag, computer and bottle cage all at once. So it didn't come from the factory like that, but I put all that stuff on before she even took it out on its true maiden voyage.

We'll try some experimenting with saddle angle and position next time we go out. Padded shorts are always a winner, so that won't be a "buy it and hate it" deal. If that stuff doesn't pan out, we'll go hunting for saddles.

I would tell her to ride it for a few months with shorts and chamois cream, then reassess the saddle situation.

Hell, it takes me a few weeks every season before my ass breaks in.

By the way, my new toupe is feeling pretty good!

axOn, am intrigued by the rack on your wife's bike. May I ask what brand and model it is? The way the brackets attach near the seat post look like they might work on my bike. Thanks for any info.

self edit: found the rack that fits Townies at basicallybicycles.com for about $40.

Also, any updates on your wife's comfort in riding?

My wife raves about her Brooks B18 Lady saddle every time she rides her bike.

http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/7061/2414855690068014369S500x500Q85.jpg (http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2414855690068014369CRiJPB)

Just can't get over how beautiful that mixte is, Dirtdrop.

East Hill

Just can't get over how beautiful that mixte is, Dirtdrop.

East Hill

Thank you. The only thing I don't like is the rim color. I think silver would look better. Those are good Mavic rims, so I'm not going to change them.

Will padded shorts help? I don't think she needs a new saddle, but she wants recommendations on how to break herself in gently, if such a way exists.

When I started getting my wife back on the tandem, we hit the same issue. Big comfy saddle wasn't enough. Yes, padded shorts will help. You can look around for padded shorts, not Lycra style but look like regular shorts with the padding if that suits your wife better. I also bought a shock absorbing seat post to take up additional road shock and the missed hole or bump you ride over that makes a sore but scream. These things together did the trick, more the seat post than the shorts.

Thank you. The only thing I don't like is the rim color. I think silver would look better. Those are good Mavic rims, so I'm not going to change them.

My opinion, the dark rims give it a sporty look. Looks great!:D

I bought my wife one of these to put on her old 3-speed cruiser. She had a lot of discomfort from the original saddle that came on her bike - it's an old Huffy women's frame bike that she bought as a teenager.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=14747&subcategory_ID=10051

She said it really made a difference, and she's using the bike for short spins around the neighborhood now, where before she refused to ride at all. I'm hoping to talk her into buying something a little more up-to-date.

How are her hands holding out? My wife has been on a recumbent for years. Yesterday we went on an MTB ride on pavement and hard packed dirt. She was in tears after 1.5 miles and her palms were bruised. Gels gloves and new hand grips for her.

[QUOTE=donnamb;4905361]I will never stop wondering why cats insist on being in so many bike portraits. ;)

About the cats. Engineers tend to gravitate towards bikes more then some other activities. The engineers I know prefer things that work right the first time likes cats, rather then things that need constant control/maintenance, like dogs.:) Besides if you want something in the pic for scale and to humanize it cats are small enough to not block the view of the bike. Or maybe you can order the dog out of the picture while the cat will ignore you.

My wife also has a Townie. She really didn't like the saddle and I replace asap with a large plush gel saddle--the widest I could find (something like this (http://www.amazon.com/Kent-Super-Cruiser-Gelite-Bicycle/dp/B000BT9VSW/ref=pd_sbs_sg_4_img/103-9604362-8047806)). The sitting position on Townies is far different than regular bikes, more like a semi-recumbent. I also used a handlebar mounted bottle cage because the tight clearances on the downtubes.