Old 10-03-11 | 09:42 PM
  #23  
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oldbobcat
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Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Boulder County, CO

Bikes: '80 Masi Gran Criterium, '12 Trek Madone, early '60s Frejus track

Let me back up and explain myself. First, the Navigator is a comfort bike. The frame has slack angles, it has long head tube that allows the bar to be set quite high, and the reach from the saddle to the handlebar is quite short. It has padded, sprung saddle that, while being mattress-like, is not the super-wide pillow of a cruiser. It has soft 26x2 tires.

I'm focusing on the fact that you're creeping to the nose of the saddle as the source of your discomfort. The widest part of a Navigator saddle is about one of the most comfortable places I know to seat my pelvic girdle, and for your perineum to be perched on the narrowest, least cushioned part of the saddle there must be a compelling reason. I'll run through the common ones.

I have to reach to far for the handlebar. This is most common with road bike riders where the rider's back as at a 30-60 degree angle, the back or neck feel overextended, breathing is cramped, the hamstrings are over-stretched, or the hands are getting numb. With the Navigator's short reach this seems unlikely to me, but you never know.

I am trying to push the pedals harder. New riders often try to get their weight over the pedal they're pushing, believing that the harder they push the faster they'll go. Bikes are designed for the rider to be balanced over the pedals and saddle with minimum input from the hands on the handlebar. Personally, I went through this phase when I was just starting out 39 years ago. Shoved the saddle as far forward as it would go, raised it til my knees stop hurting, and pushed around a big gear, finishing my pedal stroke by extending my ankles. And when I got off the bike my crotch hurt and my knees hurt so badly anyway, I had to stop riding for a few days.

The saddle is too high. I see this in many of the road riders on my Saturday morning rides. They creep to the front of the saddle to because their legs are telling them they want to be closer to the pedals. And then they'll tell me that some expensive fitter told them this is how high their saddles should be, and I'll say, just try it for a few days and see if the pain goes away. Sorry, that's only way you can test this. If you're worried about your knees, the only advice I can give is use lower gears and a lighter, more supple pedaling technique for the duration.

The saddle is tilted down in front and I'm sliding off. Many riders of road bikes do this deliberately to reduce pressure on the perineum, and that comes from the forward leaning angle of the torso of the road bike position. And then some riders slide into this position simply because the back of the saddle is too high for them to sit on. Still others like to push against the back of the saddle when they're pedaling hard. Not only is this uncomfortable, it puts pressure on the hands, wrists, shoulders, and an knees. The Navigator is upright and soft and made to be ridden with the body in balance over some point between the hips and feet.

There is something painful back there that I'm trying to avoid sitting on. If it's on the saddle, see a dealer for a new saddle. If it's not on the saddle, see a doctor.

So there you have it. What is compelling you to sit on the least comfortable part of your saddle? Only you can answer that.
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