sld35

My wife and I are new to tandeming. We picked up our burley tosa less than 2 weeks ago, and have about 150 miles already and love to ride together. The biggest problem/question is that my wife is having soreness in the seat area, and its the most uncomfortable part of riding. My wife is brand new to cycling, so this is to be expected, but I was wondering how long it usually takes to break in a back side. A little history, I have been racing triathlons for 4 years and to me 112 miles on nearly no bike pad is the norm, so I am not one to understand a sore back side, in addition I am male, and I have no idea what it is like for females. We have a quality suspension seat post, and decent shorts, but am not sure about the saddle quality, so my wife thinks it may be the shorts or maybe the seat, but i think saddle time will do the trick, is this me being unpractical? She survived a very hilly 55 tonight, but the butt was sore for at least half the time, worse while we climbed. So general question, how long will it take on average for a female new to cycling be comfortable in the saddle for extended rides (50+ miles). Thank you very much for your time and input! Tandeming is great!

stapfam

I've found it takes about a month for a saddle to wear in, but in general the saddles supplied on all new bikes are not that comfortable. On top of that, female posteriors are a different shape to us males and do require a different saddle. There are many women specific saddles made, so go to an LBS that has a wide range of saddles to try out.

Brian

Has the new Specialized Body Geometry line hit the stores there yet? They actually have a guide that you sit on, to determine the width of your "Sit bones". That may be an option you'll want to have her look into.

TandemGeek

I believe the saddle used by Burley is the Selle Italia Lady which is a pretty good saddle, noting that it's one of the few saddles that my wife has found to be quite suitable. A couple of things to consider:

1. Yes, it will take some time but 150 miles in two weeks should have her coming down the brake-in curve UNLESS she really over did it, damaged some tissue, and hasn't been able to recover given subsequent riding activities.

2. You say "sore in the seat area" which covers a lot of ground. Sit-bone soreness, chaffing, a rash? I'm assuming sit-bone soreness but if it's something else please advise because time in the saddle will not fix a problem with moisture management or chaffing.

3. Are you sure she is properly fitted for her riding position? Noting that she is not a cyclist and that you are a Tri-Geek, her riding position to include the reach, fore-aft adjustment, and nose orientation can significantly affect where her weight is distributed over the saddle, could be causing some hip rocking, or perhaps an excessive amount of fore and aft movement... all of which will contribute to a perpetually sore bum. Again, if she's not a seasoned cyclist or Tri-Geek her riding position may need to be less aggressive to start with and an hour spent with a fitting specialist could be well worth the $75 bucks or so.

4. You mention that the bike has a suspension seat post. My experience with these is that not all stokers like or benefit from the added shock absorbsion and are, in fact, bothered by the lack of a firm saddle position. Even after going to 100% pre-load on our first suspension seat post Debbie could never adjust to the post's subtle up and down and side to side movements so it was replaced with a rigid post and she's been happy ever since. However, we tend to ride on very smooth roads here in the south. If we had to contend with chip-seal, expansion joints, or weather-worn and patched roads a suspension seat post might be more help than hurt. Thus far, the only place we've experienced truly annoying expansion joints was on a bike path along the river in Dayton, OH. Everything else we've encountered, to include chip-seal, could be managed with a larger diameter tire running with lower psi than what we use on smooth asphalt roads.

5. If she is having a problem with chaffing or skin irritation, a chamois creame could be the solution. Remember that the purpose of a cycling short and its chamois has more to do with wicking moisture away from the body than providing an extra layer of padding. If the shorts are too big and don't fit the body like a second skin then they can actually cause chaffing. If they fit properly but aren't 100% effective at pulling moisture away or stiff leave your stoker chaffed, the use of a chamois creame (A&D Ointment, Butt Butter, Assos, etc..) may be needed.

Just some thoughts.

LuisB

We’ve also been using our Tosa about a week and ridden a little over 100 miles together. Here’s some observations:

(1) My wife also complains that she’s uncomfortable on that SI Lady. On our previous C-dale tandem, she used a Terry Butterfly mounted on a suspension post and did not complain as much. It may not be solely due to the saddle but may be the combination of the rigid Ritchey post on the Tosa and the limited time she’s been on the tandem so far. We’ve also noticed that there’s a lot of patch work on the road we’ve been riding in.

(2) I also ride solo and have a few hundred miles already on the saddle but I also get pains using the SI Initiale saddle on the Tosa which I don’t get on my other saddles (Terry Fly and SI Trans-Am). Our order for a Terry Butterfly and Fly saddles came last night and I’m installing them on the Tosa plus a Rock Shox post for her. We hope our comfort level will improve and so do yours.

Enjoy you tandem!

K&M

Everyone has their own saddle preferences ... and tandems can put riders (especially stokers) in different positions than they have on their single bikes. My stoker uses a Terry Zero on her single bike and likes it fine, but was in agony using one on the tandem (which forces her into a slightly more upright position). For her, the SI Lady supplied by Burley has turned out to be the most comfortable tandem saddle (she demanded that a Specialized Body Geometery saddle be taken off the tandem after only a few hundred yards).

cedo

I want to second Mark's point. The vast majority of posterior pain issues can be solved, not by changing the type of seat, but by finding the appropriate cycling position. Too often people initially prefer a more vertical position, which puts excessive pressure on the behind.

Senojev

My wife swears by her Terry Butterfly seat on her single and also has one on the tandem. I also use the men's version - the Fly on my single and it is a great seat once you break it in. It took both of us about a month of riding (about 400 miles) to break our new ones in but we also had a three month winter break from cycling which does not help. If you look around, you may still be able to find some good discounts - paid around $60 each for our seats in the Spring - not bad for a $110 seat.

Good luck with your new seat and butt toughening!

mtbcyclist

I would definitly try and tweak the position a bit. The saddle I now have on my Litespeed single is the most comfortable I have had in 16 years of cycling. Its a Selle Itilia Trans Am (2002 model?) When I first got the saddle and had it on my old lemond road bike I could not stand it and was about ready to throw it out. I pulled the saddle foward less then 1/4" and tweaked the angle about 3 degrees (a guesstimeate)and it suddenly took on the life of being a very comfortable saddle in which I road two centures. One of the centures was in the mountians with some henious climbs so I spend 7 hours in the saddle and was still comfy. I also attribute it to a breakin period too. I tweaked the position after three weeks of using it.

I also agree with the other comments. She is a new rider too so it may take her time to get used to riding for long periods of time in the saddle. My advice is to tweak it, and bring an allen wrench with you on the next ride. Do a tweak and let her ride for 10 miles or so and then break out your handy dandy allen wrench and tweak on the fly in the middle of your ride. Do this a few times and if it does not work try another saddle. Saddles are a very individual thing and often take trial and error to find one you like and the position you like.

galen_52657

Fiddle with her position before ditching the saddle.

Not to paint all with a broad brush, but most tri-geeks who take up cycling from running have their saddles way, way too high. Make sure she has 15-25 degrees of knee bend at the bottom of the stroke.

Also, since she is a complete noob (like my girlfriend) it will take some time to for her butt to adjust. Also, try to make sure the angle of the saddle puts her on the wide part of the saddle, not the nose.

Also, take 'butt breaks' by lifting your butts off the saddles on downhills and try to stand and climb as much as possible.

If there is no improvement after a few weeks, try another saddle

lmzimmer

if all of the above have been tried and still have problems consider a brooks seat- consider model carefully depending on wether she has an upright or more forward leaning position

cornucopia72

My 2 cents:

We usually start the season with short 1 to 2 hour rides. Even after 4 months into the season we both have sore butts after long rides (5 or more hrs.). We take butt breaks every 15 minutes wheter we feel that we need it or not. We think that butt breaks are as important as hydrating... if you wait to drink until you feel thirsty it is usually too late. My wife uses a Terry Buterfly and a Tamer "pivot" suspension seat post. She loves both.

zonatandem

All good advice!
Time in the saddle, correct saddle position, minute saddle adjustments (take that allen wrench with you on the next ride), shorter distances, etc, all play part in fitting the rear part of the anatomy onto a leather perch called a saddle.
Stoker does sit a bit more upright usually and puts a bit more pressure in spots. Suggest buying a sheepskin saddle cover. Do NOT put it on the her bike saddle right away, but stow it in your saddle bag/jersey. When her butt start complaining, install the sheepskin pad. It will give her, momentarily, a bit better riding comfort. At end of ride, remove the sheepskins. Repeat as necessary on the next ride.
Just another suggestion that has proved helpful in some cases.