Cycle Goon

Riding regularly on avg about 8 mile each outing things seem ok. After a couple of longer rides I have felt a bit of discomfort.
I have been riding on a trainer 45min to an hr 4-5 days this last week and by the end I am so sore. I use a chamois butter, but it doesn't seem to help.
My legs feel good after riding and I'm about to increase distance.

My question is. Would it be the saddle not fitting properly or would it be my massive amount of weight on top of it?

brawlo

Could most likely be saddle or chamois. How much do you weigh. I went from being 140kg and am now down to 120kg fighting fit. Still a bit to lose, but pretty fit. I have found that as the rides get longer then the importance of the chamois and saddle increase. I have found for my personal use, the longer rides get better with a better quality chamois and a seat with less padding. The other thing about using a trainer, is how much do you get out of the saddle? If not at all, then get your butt up and stand on the pedals every now and again. 45min-1hr in the saddle would get anyone sore.

Cycle Goon

Currently 133kg and steadily decreasing. Good point about getting out of the saddle while on the trainer. that didn't occur to me that might be the problem. I have a fairly good saddle that came on my Specialized Allez .
And, I always ride with shorts with a cool max gel chamois. So ,I'll start with getting up off my arse a bit more.. seems to be the same problem that got me back into riding in the first place.

Hairy Hands

It could possibly be both! It usually takes several weeks or months to get your rump used to riding, and then every time you increase time spent on the saddle the rump hurts again. Once you have built up to your goal mileage and stay there consistently for a few weeks if your rump is still hurting start playing with the multitude of angle adjustments, then look for another saddle if the adjustments dont work.. I have gone thru 20 saddles over the years, and I found the one I like. Just takes time and experimentation.

Also as you loose weight the adjustments will change and you will have less rump width, as well as less pressure on your sit area. As I lost weight my flexibility changed which allowed me to lean further forward, and the rubbing between the thighs got better.

Mark Stone

To add another possibility, it could be the saddle adjustment. It takes some time to dial in the right clothing, saddle, and adjustment and the best thing to do is patiently adjust each issue until you find the right combination. The easiest is to find the right saddle adjustment. For example, if the saddle is adjusted too far back you may be riding up on the nose and therefore putting a lot of pressure on your sensitive soft skin. Try moving the seat forward a bit so that your sit-bones contact the wide part of the saddle. If you're happy with saddle adjustment, next is look at your shorts - and then at the saddle itself. Knowing what combination (saddle, shorts, adjustment) works for you takes time and patience, but once you find the right recipe it will be like riding an easy chair. Every serious cyclist goes through this process.

I can't speak for others, but in my heavier days I don't think my weight was a factor in saddle comfort, but ymmv.

bwilliams

I was having troubles recently,it was the seat adjustment...
i went to the LBS i bought the bike at(last yr)told them what was going on and they did a seat adjustment for 15 bucks(on a seat i did not buy from them!!!)....i would have paid 100's more i was in so much discomfort..

so in order to show my appreciation i bought a trainer from them

TrojanHorse

What kind of shorts have cool max gel chamois in them? Generally speaking you don't want padding in your chamois that's excessive. Go look at a pair of $100 shorts on the shelf next time you're in the bike shop to see what a chamois should look like. Excessive padding is a potential problem.

And of course, your butt may just hate that stock seat, see if your shop will let you borrow test saddles to see if there's something better out there for you.

jon c. 

I recently found that by lowering my saddle a little, I had less tendency to sit too far forward and keeping my butt toward the back of the saddle decreased the soreness immensely. Decreasing the height just a little had the effect of moving the saddle forward.

Cycle Goon

I bought these off of Nashbar. https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...83_-1___202491

I know they were cheap. but it was all the budget would allow me at the time.

Cycle Goon

I'll start here and go from there.. Thx a bunch

TrojanHorse

I think you're probably fine -those don't actually have gel in them. It's counter intuitive but you don't want a gel saddle or gel shorts.

Pro Max chamois with CoolMax layer is pre-shaped for an anatomic fit and uses multi-thickness foam with 2-way stretch to maximize comfort

Esteban58

Whats the difference between 'gel' and 'foam chamois'?
Will it be listed as 'gel' on the materials list?

TrojanHorse

I imagine it would be... if you're looking at the shorts, gel is much heavier & squishier. The foam tends to be pretty thin.

The chamois doesn't exist to provide padding, it's there to help you deal with moisture (sweat) and prevent chafing.

Cycle Goon

Well, I followed Jon C's Advice and lowered my saddle a bit.. rode the trainer for an hr and feel pretty good... I'll give it another go tomorrow and then maybe tweak it some more. I also adjusted my bars some to allow me to be a bit more upright which seemed to help.

Beachgrad05

Interesting. I just got thes bibs at PB on sale for $50 and the description mentions "Multi-layered Tequila Gel chamois with ergonomically positioned gel evenly distributes pressure for more comfort and freedom of movement "...Wore them on Saturday for my solo metric (first time wearing them too) and they felt REALLY comfortable. If only they could have helped the hip pain.

https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...32_-1___400065

fietsbob

Gel will be inside a 'sandwich' of 2 covering layers .
the other will be a non woven fabric.

Chamois is the skin of a particular Goat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamois

Daspydyr 

My bike came with a 130cm width saddle. It hurt. I switched to a 146 and love it. Saddle width is important to have it fit your sit bones. I also have some decent shorts, essential.

RubeRad

+1

Learn to feel when you are sitting on soft parts, and change position so that you are supported by sit bones. Of course that's just going around the block so you know what to feel for. For the long run, you need the inverse process; instead of moving your body to where the seat is (and possibly injuring yourself by riding in an unnatural position) you need to move the saddle to the position where you can naturally, comfortably, ride on your sit bones. And this also might involve buying a new seat.

Nobody can tell you "this is the magic saddle", what worked for one skeleton may not work for yours. Although I hear no end of raves about leather (Brooks, An-Atomica Titanico), since it supposedly conforms to the shape of each and any rider.