What a pain in the...
 

Butt.

Lemme explain...I bought my bike back in March and have been commuting as much as possible. I have over 1100 miles on it already. My butt hurts when I ride. I expected it in the first few rides and I expected it to get better over time. It hasn't. I even bought padded shorts. They seem to delay the pain but I still end up sore right on my bones.

My current saddle is the one that came with the bike. It is a WTB Pure V Saddle. It has padding, which I think might be part of the problem.

What techniques have you all used to test saddles for fit? Would a shop just let you borrow a saddle for a 15 mile ride? I can't drop a bunch of coin on testing saddles. I would like a Brooks B-17 but can't convince the wife it is a good idea. I'm not even sure that a Brooks is the answer as I have not even sat on one of those.

Thought, suggestions, etc?

TIA

As someone who bought a padded saddle to replace the stock saddle on my bike and ended up with a B17, I can tell you I wish I would have just bought the B17 to begin with.

Ya, I certainly don't want a padded saddle but can't convince my wife nor can I really pull the trigger on a B17. A hundo is a lot of $. I was hoping that the shorts would alleviate some of the butt pain of the crap saddle.

I spose I should just start saving for the Brooks.

Get a B-17 from wallbike.com. If your butt fits, you'll be happy. If not, Bill will take it back within 6 months.

Be prepared to fiddle with the height, tilt, and fore/aft position a bit. But if you get it even close, it will be pretty good on the first ride. Then it'll get better.

Saddles are so much dependant on the individual that it's hard to say that your saddle is crap. I think the saddle on your bike is actual decent and retails for about $60, so it's not a low end saddle. It may just not fit your rear very well. From what I hear these things are wider than normal (for MTB seat) and some people have more issues with a wider seat than with a standard seat.

Depends to some extent on the type of bike you are riding and how your weight is distributed. More upright usually means some padding. Flat back, less to none. You may need to try lots of different saddles to find one that works. Larger bike shops are usually more accommodating. Stay awy from gels. Keep in mind that leather saddles don't like rain.

I discovered that I don't like wide saddles. The Specialized Targa seat on my bike is stock, and while not extremely comfortable, its not terrible either. Short rides, I don't even notice it. I noticed that my bum got more comfortable when I flipped the stem on my Sirrus, since I had more weight on my hands. Try something like that and see if it works?

Butt pain is not necessarily caused by the saddle itself. Sitting upright places more pressure on your sit bones, which may cause pain.

Have you experimented with changing your seat/bar height ratio? Often, lowering the bars may help.

If you've already ruled that out, perhaps it's time to begin looking for a saddle.

Personally, I have a Brooks B.17 on both my bikes and I do swear by them. I don't like padded seats, for the reasons mentioned by others already. I do recommend this saddle, but not everyone finds the Brooks suitable.

As for padded shorts, the padding isn't really intended to absorb shock or relieve pressure. The padding is mostly there to reduce chafing and to wick moisture away from your body, reducing friction.

Good luck and keep us up to date.

I'll try to flip the stem for the ride home and see how that works. I may be sitting to upright for what my butt wants. I have tried leaning over but the hand position feels weird. Maybe flipping the stem will help.

I'll let you guys know.

Brooks saddles are not the answer for everyone. You should definitely try one for a long ride before buying, or at least buy from a shop that will let you return it.

REI is pretty lenient on returns/exchanges.

If both hipsters and retrogrouches can agree on the B-17, it's as close to the answer for everyone as you can get. But yes, it's definitely a possibility that you won't like it. Still, they've become so popular that it's pretty easy to find one that's lightly used for half the price. If you can get one for under $70 or so, you can probably sell it without any loss if it turns out you don't like it.

I flipped the stem. It was a little better I suppose but my hands hurt now and my pinkie and ring finger went numb half way through. I may drop the bars a bit using the provided spacers and might move the controls closer to the center of the bar. I think I might have my palm pressed against the end of the bar. I'll trial and error a little.

Are there any measurements I can take that I can relate to a seat, B17 or not, to give me an idea of how it will work?

B-17 isn't necessarily the answer if you sit more upright; in that case, the answer might be a B-67 or B-68.

But I do think that the vast majority of people would benefit from a leather saddle, and I think that Brooks makes the best leather saddles. But they do make different models for a reason.

I'm going to have to try lowering the stem. After about 15 miles, I start getting sit bone pain pretty hardcore. I'm on a Trek Allant, a hybrid, not exactly bolt upright but pretty close. I'm on a Selle Royale saddle, has some cushioning but is hardly squishy. The chamois liner shorts push the pain threshold to about 30 miles, but don't eliminate it.

I have seen leather saddles on ebay, not brooks, but very cheap. Dunno if that will help though, I mean, I doubt leather is the only factor. But maybe you could look for reviews of those saddles online.

I have a box of saddles, then decided on a Brooks Flyer. Its on a fairly upright hybrid bike. I used to have constant pain from the box of saddle, and numb toes from standing on the pedals constantly trying to stay off the saddle. The Brooks Flyer let me sit on it without any pain at all. Never once had pain, a little discomfort until I had fit perfect though.

A b17 or flyer is labelled as being for bikes that have handlebars higher than seat. Mine is about level.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/bik/3189839753.html

Two for $100! If I had two more bikes that needed saddles...

I have the pure V, it is an awesome saddle. But like everything else bicycle wise, it may not be for you. You may just need to do some more research and find the right saddle for you, your butt is your personal business.

How far are you from Chicago? I could let you try my old specialized gel seat (it's similar to thishttp://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftb...dles/sonomagel) to see if you liked it, and sell it to you with the BF discount if you like it.

I agree. I love my Pure V.

I rode all my bikes comfortably until I bought a road bike with a selle san marcos saddle I tried to ride it for around six months thinking it would break in. It never got comfortable, got another saddle and never looked back. I would say try a different saddle, it doesn't need to be a brooks just one you can ride in comfort. Some bike shops will let you demo them for a minimal cost, mine charges $25 to try as many as I like then if I buy one that money goes to the purchase. Then you can sell you current one to offset the cost.

b-17. my family owns three and are all on the bikes!

spend the money or sore butt. hmmmmmmmmmm

I'm sure this doesn't apply to you, but this post is just crying out for a link to my joke.

I recently replaced a soft saddle with a Bontraeger Affinity for $30 from the LBS. It's firmer and narrower. At first it felt too hard on the taint but now I seem to be getting to like it. I only ride 8 miles each way.

I'm in Southern California. No worries. I think I am going to work on messing with the bars and stem and see if I can relieve some of the pain. I felt a little better on Friday's ride home but my fingers went numb. Gonna see what I can do to remedy that with what I have for now. Thanks for the offer though.

Reporting in to say that lowering the stem helped! Even though it was only about 1/4", evidently that was enough of a drop to take pressure off my sit bones. While they still hurt, I could still manage to stay in the saddle for 50ish miles. I might drop it another tiny bit, we'll see.

As others have pointed out, padded saddles are the absolute worst - as well as any saddle with a fuzzy fabric or any surface other than absolutely smooth.

A good leather saddle is the best. Better yet, in my opinion, is a leather saddle with springs.

Yes, Brooks makes an excellent saddle, but there are other leather saddle makers like Lepper of Holland, etc. The problem, of course, is that as the value of the dollar falls, these beautiful European leather saddles are getting a lot more expensive.

You can also keep your eyes open for used leather saddles. A lot of the old leather saddles I have seen have most of the life weathered out of them, so the old saying "buy cheap = buy twice" still stands.

The good thing about buying a good leather saddle is that you can transfer it to your next bike. A good leather saddle will literally last your lifetime as long as you take care of it and don't leave it outside.

A note on leather saddles - all of them are better than just about any synthetic saddle.

However, Brooks, Lepper, and other high-end saddle makers use high quality leather from the neck of the cowskin hide.

I have seen, bought, and used Chinese leather saddles. They are often made of pigskin or some kind of leather composite. They are cheap and "interesting", but they do not hold up for very long as the leather quickly starts to sag and eventually tear.

My sister bought a gorgeous Brooks leather women's saddle some years ago when money was very tight for her. She was going to be spending a lot of time on her bicycle, so she made the investment. That saddle was and still is very precious to her. Still, she never thought twice about the money after she got the saddle.

Personally, I think that it might be a wise idea to spend more money on the saddle and less on the bike... After all, it is what connects you to the bicycle. If you invest in the areas where you contact your bicycle: ie a good saddle, comfortable handle grips, and good quality pedals, your riding experience will be exponentially better.

I dropped the stem 3mm and rolled the bars a little more forward. I moved the controls further in a little, it felt like the outside of the palm of my hand was just off the bar before. It felt OK for the 5 mile ride to work. More will be revealed on the 11 mile ride home.

I noticed that now that I am leaning a little more forward that my quads get a little more tired than before. Maybe position or maybe I am just using them a little more trying to keep weight off the saddle.