Originally Posted by
Cyclingforthe22
Hi! Good morning. I did a Century yesterday, and I was great until the last 2 hours when it was getting dark and my lights died 🤦🏽♀️ So I was cycling as fast as I could. It was then I started to get sore in the seat. Today it’s like two golf balls under there 🥴 I tried to google what might help and it was only tips to make my seat more comfortable, well, a little late for that lol. Might anyone have a suggestion! Or do I just have to play it out. Thank you!
Do you have actual swelling or is it just sore to the touch? Is the skin abraded? Different answers depending on the details of your condition.But for general saddle comfort and adjustment: there are 7 factors in preventing saddle numbness and pain:
1) saddle adjustment - tilt angle is very important and very small changes are noticeable
2) sitting properly - a lot of people ride too far forward on the saddle. Your "sit bones" should be perched on the rear, wide part of the saddle
3) standing up - you should never let things go numb or get painful. At the first sign of any lack of feeling or pain, pedal standing up for a short distance and repeat as necessary to bring the feeling back and prevent further numbness
4) easing up - you want to lift your rear end off the saddle any time you are going to hit a bump or sharp edge. It's easier on your anatomy, your wheels, your tires, and the rest of your bike.
5) bike fit: in addition to saddle height and tilt, there is fore/aft adjustment, reach and drop to the bars, and cleat position.
6) tires: proper width with the right PSI for your weight and roads so you don't feel every single road imperfection.
7) saddle - there are some people who can ride most any saddle if it is properly adjusted (see #1) and there are some people who have problems with nearly any saddle. It's hard to predict which type you are. Work on 1-6 and if that doesn't help, THEN consider a new saddle.
Standard advice on saddle sores: ride in clean shorts, wash yourself (get into the shower) with anti bacterial soap ASAP after a ride, dry your shorts in the sunlight to let the UV kill anything the washer/drier didn't get, use mild detergents and/or rinse twice after washing. Second tier advice includes using chamois butter (or equivalent), bag balm, zinc oxide ointment, or other creams; washing before each ride (plus after); antibiotic ointment on the sores; different shorts and/or saddle. Randoneurs
swear by Lantiseptic Skin Protectant (but NOT Lantiseptic Therapeutic Cream!). I'm a fan of popping the pimples before they turn nasty, while others swear you should never apply pressure (standard advice from doctors) as it can drive the infection deeper. In any event, the key is to treat early and often, as if you let things go, you're looking at some time off the saddle for full healing.