General Cycling Discussion - Higher cadence --> sore butt?

About a month ago I started working on my cadence, trying to up my average over a ride from the low 80s to about 90. I managed to make the change over the course of a week or so to the point where I no longer had to think about pedaling faster, but the past couple of weeks I've noticed that my butt gets sore sooner than it used to. I find now that after about 2 hours the area of my sit bones is quite sore and I find it hard to sit still, having to stand up and shift positions much more frequently to relieve the discomfort.

Can the move to a higher cadence have caused this, or is it just a coincidence? Has anyone else noticed a similar effect? Do I just HTFU and wait for my body to adjust to the new cadence or is there something more to it?

Yes, it sure can cause this. You're bouncing on the saddle. Keep it up and you'll eventually get better at riding at that cadence and the pain will most likely subside.

Had the same thing happen to me when I upped my cadence a few years ago. Now 90 - 100 is about normal for me and doesn't seem that fast.

When at max cadence, if you're bouncing, chances are your seat's too low. raise it a mm or two and try again. If you're hips are rocking, chances are your seat's too high. drop it a mm or two and try again.

Either of these can cause cause pain, so you have to evaluate your technique (or see a fitter if you prefer) and decide IF you need to move the saddle.

But if you're literally bouncing on the saddle versus rocking you're probably in too low a gear. .

I don't think I'm bouncing - I can comfortably maintain a cadence of about 110-120 without really bouncing, so an average of 90 shouldn't cause me to do that, but I'll keep an eye out for it on my next ride. Also, I sometimes feel like I should be raising the saddle a little bit - not based on any theory or anything, just based on how it feels. Maybe I'll experiment with moving the saddle around a bit and see how it goes. Thanks guys.

Move it by the mm or you might hurt yourself.

or just a sign you need chamois cream and lots of it. high rpm = high friction

ease the friction, your skin and junk don't take a beating, making circulation and everything
else able to handle things better.

that is, if the seat is correct height