corrado33

I recently adjusted my cleats so that my knees don't hurt (thankfully.) I had to adjust the cleats backward and toe out a bit. The next ride after I did that, my knees didn't hurt (great!) but my hands were killing me. Killing me enough that I had to try to shake them out every few minutes. They just feel like they're bruised (possibly.) I can't tell if they are, I don't visibly bruise. (Never had a black and blue mark.)

I adjusted my seat nose up a bit. I haven't felt any pain "down there" yet. (Only one ride in.) Ladies, please skip this next part. I did notice when I came back that my "berries" were inside of me when I came back today. Don't know if that's normal or not after a bike ride. EDIT: I lied, the saddle is going back to where it was when I didn't have any sort of pain down there.

Basically I'm fighting a few different problems with my saddle.

1. I get really bad saddle sores.
2. My balls hurt (pardon the insensitivity.)
3. My hands hurt.

Out of all the problems above, I'd prefer to have my hands hurt. I had problems "down there" for a while. That was NOT pleasant. I don't think I could do a cutout saddle, as that puts more pressure on my sit bones, which would cause really bad bumps (saddle sores.) They're not friction based sores, but pressure based sores. (The worst kind.) (I do wear chamois and only chamois when I ride.)

I'm not sure what to try. Are there any adjustments that I can do with my handlebars that may ease hand pain? I do have to rewrap the bars soon 'cause the cork tape is a little torn up, so I could put some more padding on the drops (where I spend 90% of the time.) The only other adjustment I could think of making on my bike is lengthening the stem. This was my first road bike and when I bought it I felt I was bent "too far forward," mainly because I had never ridden a road bike before. I had the stop put a shorter stem on it (I think it's an 80 or so now, probably came with a 90.) Should I just STFU and HTFU? That's an option too. Would strengthening my core (attempting to, I hate core exercises.) help?

jyl

My guess is, by adjusting your cleats rearward, you effectively moved your body forward, causing you to sit more on the nose of the saddle.

Saddle sores:
- wear well padded cycling shorts (there are also padded cycling undershirts you can wear under "regular" shorts)
- do not use a squishy extra padded saddle
- increase riding time gradually.

Crotch pain:
- tilt saddle nose up a bit, so your weight is carried on the rear, wide part of the saddle (nose down saddle causes you to slide forward and perch on the narrow front of the saddle)
- padded shorts
- stand up on bike every now and then, pedaling or coasting
- increase riding time gradually
- try different saddle (if all else fails)

Hand pain:
- padded gloves
- padded bar tape
- change hand position on the bars frequently during the ride (assuming you have drop bars), even ride hands off briefly
- increase riding time gradually

A picture of you in riding position on the bike might suggest other things to try.

Dave Cutter

+1 jyl... an excellent post.

I might add that you need to bend at the elbows when cycling on a road bike (that will take the pressure off your hands). When road cycling the cyclist should be "perched" on the 3 contact points of the bike (bars, saddle, and pedals)... with the weight/balance properly distributed. That might not feel completely natural at first.

pakossa

Pain in hands could mean the seat is too far forward. Try moving it back 5 - 10 mm, see if that helps.

Rich Gibson 

With all those issues I'd recommend a professional fitting. Getting it all sorted out is like a string tied in a circle; push on one point and the others move. Right now you're 'grasping at straws.' Have a pro objectively help you figure this out. I did and it solved two years of a painful knee.

Rich

Carbonfiberboy 

Do not tilt the saddle up. It should be level. You probably do need a cutout. You may need tighter shorts. They should be tight enough to cup your balls up and out of the way. Before you saddle up, reach down inside your shorts, pull them up and get everything arranged. If you look down, no one will see your face.

Yes, all the pressure will be on your sit bones. That's the way it has to be. Yes, they hurt right now. Try this: ride 1/2 hour every day but no more than that. After a couple weeks of that, the worst of the soreness should pass. Your tissues have to adapt to the pressure. They will. Everyone goes through that. The alternatives are worse.

If you have sores now, don't ride until they go away, then start over with the short periods on the saddle.

philbob57

Check this out for hands: https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...umb-hands.html. This has helped me greatly. I have no numbness up to 20 miles (max so far this year) in one hand, and vanishingly little numbness in the other - but I have to wear a thumb brace on that hand, and the brace is the cause of some pain.

Check this out for saddles: The Four and a Half Rules of Road Saddles - Cervélo. If it makes sense to you, great. If it doesn't, all you've lost if a few minutes, and you'll have gained some knowledge.

corrado33

Thanks for the advice everybody. I'm honestly thinking about a pro. fit. There's only one shop that does it in town (and it's the shop that overcharges for everything!).

Let me clarify a few things.

I'm not entirely a new rider. I've had my bike for a few years now. I've just never paid much attention to what was hurting on me. My knees always "outhurt" everything else, so I never noticed everything else.

My saddle IS level. I'm tilting it up and down in very small increments. It always looks level before and after adjustments. The saddle isn't overly soft. It's what came with the bike, and it's not the saddle that has given me problems. (I believe it's a Fizik however the heck you spell it.) I got saddle sores from my other bike which has a cutout saddle (which I've since replaced.) But since I've originally gotten saddle sores, I can get them much easier now.

My elbows are bent when I ride. They're certainly not "straight."

Lastly, when I moved my cleats forward, I also moved my seat forward. (I had to, or else I was seriously crushing everything down there.) If I recall correctly, the seat is positioned forward and backward to position your knees correctly. Considering my knees don't hurt right now, I'm not sure if I'd want to change it much.

Honestly I think my hands hurting has a lot to do with me starting to mountain bike a ton lately. I think I may have bruised my hands to tell you the truth. (They hurt right now and I haven't even ridden more than 10 miles today.)

One last thing. When I adjusted my cleats, my lower back pain also stopped. Now this is great, but it may be part of my problem. I think the lower back pain was because my lower back muscles where holding me up, therefore keeping pressure off of my hands. I never cared much about it. It never bothered me THAT much, it was just a "pain of exercising type thing." Now that I've adjusted the cleats, somehow my back isn't working as hard anymore and I'm putting more pressure on my hands?

70sSanO

My wife had a number of the similar issues. I ended up getting her a Serfas RX saddle. I also raised the handlebars with a steeper angle stem and shortened the stem a bit. You need to get the weight off your handlebars so you are not propping yourself up with your hands.

Wrong seat, wrong angle, handlebars too low, and too much reach, can be easily fixed. Good, not cheap, padded shorts are great.

After 25 years on a Brooks Professional, I decided to go with a mountain bike saddle on my road bike. I use a WTB Pure V on my mountain bikes and it works great on my road bike. Don't just buy one as you need to do the research for what will work for you. Find something with a channel, but don't let anyone talk you out of a saddle that will work because it is in the wrong aisle. You'll probably find a number of takers for your Fizik.

There is a chance you are on the wrong sized bike, but that is another issue.

John