Originally Posted by
geepondy
This year I've been biking more than many and have done a few two hour 30 plus mile rides and my butt is getting sore! I have been wearing the Chinese Sponeed gel shorts and thought they were ok, certainly a good value at less than $40 a pair but now I'm wondering if I should do better. Several years ago (decades), I used to buy the Performance bike chamois shorts and recall they were ok but my butt (and body) was much younger than. I have a Specialized Roubaix and the seat is supposedly rated very well and I'm not interested in changing that. Any shorts recommendations to try next or thoughts on gel vs chamois?
Also, are you supposed to sit back on the saddle so that your sit bones are definitely on the rear wide part of the saddle or should I be sitting more forward?
I'm not a big fan of gel as padding, particularly for saddles/chamois. As I see it, foam compresses, while gel acts more like a liquid, and if you compress it in one place it will expand in another. They sell it with the idea that it distributes the load, but my experience has been that it distributed the pressure from my sit bones to my perineum. Sure, my butt was comfy, but my junk was numb from the pressure on the perineum!
The shorts I prefer don't have a very thick pad, but I set up my saddle very carefully so that I naturally sit at the back of it most of the time AND the angle is such that I don't slide forward or back.
Regarding the saddle, if it doesn't work for your sit bone width, flexibility, and riding style then the high rating is meaningless. BUT it shouldn't be the first thing you change. Get the position right first, then fiddle with the saddle, but realize you may never find a way to make it work.