skidive25

I just recently made the swap from recumbent to an upright road bike and I am having issues with the bruising of my keester on the seat. I imagine my weight is making it difficult for me to get use to it and I am wondering am I better off riding each day or taking breaks to allow the bruising to heal some in order to make the adjustment?

TrojanHorse

What kind of bike, what kind of seat and what kind of clothes are you wearing? Pictures would be good. Not of your bruises, the bike & seat.

skidive25

I am at work so I wil try to get some pictures posted soon. Plus I am still learning and not up to speed yet on all the options and brands. I have a size 54 2012 giant cyclicross with a high spoke count and a rx i.c.s. seafas infinite comfort sys saddle. I was told it could take several weeks to get use to riding a upright road bike to allow the seat and me to get acquainted. I am just not sure if I should be taking breaks between riding to allow the pain to subside. Don't get me wrong, I am not hurting when I am not riding. It only hurts after riding 5 miles or so each time I go out. Keep in mind, I am use to doing 15 - 25 miles on a tadpole recumbent. I want to ride more often but don't want to make the pain worse.

magohn

Hello skidive,

I struggled with bruising and pain in the first six months of riding - Im 280lbs. It COULD be that you have to break-in your kester but it could also be that the seat is wrong for you. i eventually switched out to a Brooks B17 (British Leather Seat) that was a true blessing. The pain instantly went down 75%. I then won a Titanico X seat in a Facebook competition. The Titanico X is just as comfortable as the B17 but is weather resistant and looks a little more 'sporty' than the B17. Between the two, I would go for the Titanico.

These saddles arent cheap but your saddle is #1 in priority for us heavier people

https://www.selleanatomica.com/produc...ico-x-details/

TrojanHorse

Which model bike? It looks like many of the Giant cyclocross bikes are configured just like a regular road bike and that seat you have looks like it's suited for a very upright riding position. Most roadies will tell you that a cushy saddle is deadly to your butt so it looks like you may have a mismatch between your bike and your seat and that may explain your issue. Notice that the saddles magohn is referring to above have very little padding - they support your kiester on the "sit bones" which is generally a relief to the rest of your bun.

skidive25

I was using the saddlepictured here on the left as stated above. After reading some of these articles i replaced it with a less cushy saddle and went for a ride tonight. I did not get sore as fast but still found myself in pain after about 5 miles. Not sure if it was because I am aggrevating an already sore rump or if i am still using the wrong saddle. I am willing to give the either one a try for awhile if needed. Any suggestions of which I should try first? I will post a picture of the bike next. The one on it it now is the one that came with the bike.

skidive25

Size 54 TCX

magohn

Are you wearing padded shorts too? They are a must. Getting sore after 5 miles could be part of your break-in period. Its hard to tell until you get a few weeks saddle time in. It probably will never be 100% pain free until the likes of me and you get down into the low 200's . Im 280lb and last week rode 100 miles for the week. My riding was quite painless on the rear-end but especially on hills, the discomfort is there, but minimal. I have to expect some discomfort after 4-5 hours in the saddle. Its nowhere as bad as it used to be as I used to almost cry out on a dismount - it was that bad. The brooks took all that away. I also wear Specialized Roubaix bibs - I love them.

skidive25

Yes i got a pair of diaper butt pants from Performace Bicycles and let me just say I will cheer when I hit 280. I am 6'2 and hide it decently I guess. I am just depressed because I am use to riding 20-40 on the recumbent and want so much to make the change. I will probably have to split the differance and ride both while I break it in. I will probably look around and see it the B17 is available at any of our shops so I can examine it.

magohn

Stick with it
I cant tell you how frustrated I got in the early days. I felt like I had been hit by a truck but the main help for me was the forums. Great advice here by many older members.
I also think there is a online store that "borrows" you a B17 and if you like it you can buy it - if not, send it back at no cost. I forget the name but I will try to find you the link.
I started at 320lb two years ago and my weight loss has been slow due to my poor diet habits. However, I get a kick digging out shirts that had not fit in years that now do - best reward ever.
How long have you been riding? Including recumbants?

EDIT:
On a sidenote - https://www.facebook.com/SelleAnAtomica is the FBook Selle site. They run fairly regular 'contests' to win free saddles. I won a Titanico X by being the 50th person to like the site. They just gave away another Titanico X for the best short response on why you would want a free saddle - only 8 people entered. I definitely would monitor the site as there seem to be frequent 'contests' that arent that hard to win a $189 saddle in

skidive25

Riding off and on for awhile but not regularly. I bought the recumbent years ago but could not get anyone to start riding so it was just a casual rider that I would bring out for fun. My brother recently stopped running due to knee problems and took up riding for a replacement exercise and has got the bug big time. I was excited. Now i got the upright so that he and I can ride together easier. But anyway back to the origional Q. Sticking with it is the deffinate thing but which saddle do you think I should try first. Narrow and hard or soft and wide (although it is not really wide just wider than the other one) And the wider one does flex quite a bit on either side. thanks for the website

vic303

So why did you quit the recumbent? What specific recumbent was it?

szewczykm

There are a lot of "me too" messages on this subject, but the reason I feel I need to add is because when I was first starting out, what helped was the deluge of "me too" messages. I'm 6'2". I started at 333, I'm down to 295 in 2 months of riding.

I first started riding, using the stock seat and it was misery. I got a good pair of padded shorts and it helped about 33%. I tried a couple of seats and got a Brooks B17. It was a huge difference for me and it improved another 33%. The last 34% that got me to 100% was riding often.

What helped me push through the pain and continue riding even though it hurt was the other 1,000,000,000,000 someodd messages that said, "it gets better, keep going." It was a little easier to have faith and realize that I wasn't unique or alone and that if I put in the miles I would be rewarded.

I would say a few weeks of riding and you'll be to the point where it may still be uncomfortable, but it will be much further down the road when the discomfort seeps in and it won't be nearly as bad.

Hang in there, it gets better, I swear.

PhotoJoe 

Do you have a Specialized dealer nearby? They usually have an "ass-o-meter" to measure the width of your sit bones. If it were me, and I couldn't decide between narrow and wide, I'd go get measured before throwing good money after bad. Once you have the measurement, you can narrow down your searches to the saddles that would actually fit you. And, I too have heard great things about the Titanico X.

magohn

I tried the 'ass-o-meter' at my specialized dealer. They then sold me a $150 spec. saddle that I then excitedly rushed home to test. I rode that saddle for 100 miles or so over the next couple of weeks and all the time telling myself it felt better. It didnt . I finally gave up on the saddle but my riding had rubbed off on of the emblems on the nose of the saddle - so i felt bad returning it. I now have a $150 saddle gathering dust on my shelf.

Im sure the 'ass-o-meter' works for people who are more inline with the 'normal' weight range but at the time I was 300lbs.

If I were skidive, Id go for a brooks as most heavier people have success with them though its still not a guarantee. The brooks does need protection from rain (plastic bag will do) and the odd 'proofing' to keep it supple - your rearend will thank you for it


This site claims to have the saddle at $92 shipped:

https://www.cyclocamping.com/proddeta...a_7cB211A07203

sstorkel

In my experience, if your saddle is downright painful you'll never get to the point where it will be comfortable. Shorts and adjustments might get you to the point where it is merely uncomfortable, but that's about as good as it gets.

If a saddle is merely uncomfortable, then riding more or tweaking the position/adjustment or wearing good shorts might help. If you haven't ridden in a while, then you might need to get your butt accustomed to siting on a saddle again and that may involve some minor discomfort.

In terms of whether you should ride or rest, my rule of thumb is that if you sit on the saddle and think "Ouch!" that means you shouldn't ride. If you're in pain or uncomfortable at the beginning of the ride, it's only going to get worse from there...

sstorkel

A Brooks B17 is good if your bicycle allows you to sit in a fairly upright position. If you have to lean forward, the B17 probably isn't the right saddle. At least it wasn't for me. If you're going to buy a Brooks, you should consider purchasing from Wall Bike. They have a 6-month unconditional guarantee on Brooks saddles they sell: if you're unhappy for any reason within that 6-month period, return the saddle and they'll you a full refund (less shipping).

Rx Rider

how many long rides have you tried so far skydive?
have you ever rode horseback before? nice saddles on those horses, big, wide, perfect fit for many a rears. the next day after a long ride on a horse for the first time in (?), your butt won't like you. and if you try to get back on a horse the next day your butt will hate you. so it doesn't really matter the size and shape of a saddle at first because your butt hates you. hate it back. give it a few days between rides but give it a reason to hate you.
while you ride try to imagine if the seat would do any better for you, if you were to move it around a little, or a lot. some pains can be attributed to seat position unfortunately it sounds like you are suffering from your butt hates you. just like on a horse you'll adjust and the pain goes away. rule #5 I'm afraid.

skidive25

A terratrike cruizer. tadpole style

magohn

I use my B17 on my Spec Roubaix all-carbon bike (road bike). I gladly ripped off the razor blade stock saddle and the B17 was a 1000% improvement. However, the link you kindly supplied was the one I was trying to find for the OP - thanks

skidive25

many long rides on the recumbent. cant do more than 6-8 on the new bike yet

magohn

I use my B17 on my Spec Roubaix all-carbon bike (road bike). I gladly ripped off the razor blad stock saddle and the B17 was a 1000% improvement. However, the link you kindly supplied was the one I was trying to find for the OP - thanks

The B17 on my Roubaix:

ZippyThePinhead

Another recommendation on this saddle. I'm only 200 lbs, but I have ridden on this saddle for nearly a year (about 2300 miles), and it's great. It's like a hammock for your backside when properly tuned. The videos show why:



Saddles are one of those personal things; one person loves a particular saddle, and it feels like an @ss-hatchet to another. YMMV.

vesteroid

I own one of the selle anatomica saddles, and i admit its comfortable...its also heavy and clunky. I relegated it to my town bike and picked something else for the carbon.

And that top video grosses me out

skidive25

OK the store nearby has the brooks b17 and I stopped in to look at one to possibly buy it. Unfortunately they had 2 differant types of them. The standard seemed to have a long nose cone and was tan (which I cannot have, must be black) and the black one they carried had a shorter nose cone. Which one do I want?

I checked out the wallbike site and will probably buy from there since they do have the 6mo guarentee. Only way I will buy from this store is if they can match that guarentee which I do not think they will.