Buckshot77

I highly doubt you're losing much energy on the suspension seat post. Most tandem stokers use a suspension seat post to reduce the shock load they recieve since the ride is a lot rougher in the back. The places you'd be losing a lot of energy would be in fork or full suspension mount bikes as those are made to soak up a lot of the terrain, not just the big hits.

Rick

superdex

if you change the saddle angle, you want to make it more LEVEL, not tilted further down. Just want to be clear

banerjek

I agree with the other poster that your saddle angle looks like it's a bit down (i.e. needs to be leveled somewhat). You should carry a multitool and just tweak it until it feels best.

A decent saddle makes a difference (having said that, mine are all modestly priced), but I'm a huge believer in the right shorts. I have several different pair, and the only ones I'll wear for a really long ride have gel in them. Even on climbing rides, it's well worth the extra couple ounces.

Have you checked your saddle height adjustment? Unless there's something strange going on, spinning while sitting on a properly adjusted saddle shouldn't result in rocking.

morea

gotcha.


I had adjusted it myself but just couldn't get it comfortable, so I went back to the shop and had them fit it 'properly' right before the century.

I'll check into the gel shorts. Mine are supposed to have an 11mm chamois, but I can't remember if it was gel or not; I'd imagine that the gel would be more comfortable over longer distances.

I also normally wear underwear under my lycra shorts, which may have contributed to the problem.

USAZorro

Thanks. I learned something today.

banerjek

I'm a huge believer in gel. It does a much better job of dealing with road vibration than non gel IMO.

I also wear underwear. People say that it will cause problems, but that's not my experience.

If they fit you for saddle height at the shop, it's probably very close. When you mess with the saddle tilt, you may need to tweak height if it changes where you ride on the saddle. I would recommend doing very fine adjustments -- just a couple mm at a time tops and only adjust one thing at a time. Be sure to ride a considerable distance before evaluating the effectiveness of the change. You will ride in different positions, so you want to make sure what you choose is based on what's optimal for what you actually do -- not for a short test where you may be riding in a slightly different position.

Scummer

I think it depends on the underwear. Mine have seams and I can always feel them rubbing against my inner thigh skin up to a point were it becomes a real annoyance. The 100 miles I rode a week ago without underwear, but with plenty of chamois creme felt great. Butt muscles were hurting, but that's it.
Just try it out once and go for a moderate ride of 40-50 miles and you will feel the difference.

spyder

You can never go wrong with Butt Paste. (I'm not joking). This stuff is amazing. I used to run before I got into cycling. Butt Paste is great for chaffing.

Aloyzius

I second the mention of Bag Balm. I like it. It's fairly cheap, and I can get it Walgreen's.

100 miles on a mountain bike? I can sympathize because it makes my butt hurt just to think about it. Especially when I think of MY mountain bike. Nice work.

superdex

NO underwear. please.

morea

thanks. It still makes MY butt hurt to think about it... though I doubt that will stop me from doing it again.

songfta

Yeah, be careful with Bag Balm directly on anything other than natural chamois (i.e. pretty much every pair of shorts, as natural chamois hasn't been used in years). Bag Balm, on its own, will destroy most chamois pads in shorts, as it's petroleum-based.

I find that Chamois Butt'r and Assos Chamois Cream work really well on their own, without Bag Balm: rub some on your posterior, and some more on your shorts' pad, and you're good to go.

Post-ride, after you've cleaned up (hint: keep a pack of non-scented baby wipes in your "traveling to the ride" kit) , you want to change out of your riding shorts as soon as possible after your ride to prevent a rash from all the sweat that will find its way to your sore butt. So doff the shorts and make sure your butt is clean - then you can use Bag Balm as a soothing tincture to relieve any latent chafing or pain.

And definitely no underwear with proper bike shorts, as it almost entirely defeats the purpose of the padding. If you don't like the look of lycra, you can get padded liner shorts (essentially really thin-gauge spandex, not something you'd want to wear without another layer on top).

As far a gel shorts are concerned, I'm not a huge fan because they feel "wobbly" on my saddle. Then again, it's my butt and not yours, so try various types. Performance sells nice shorts for the money, and their Century line gets high marks and comes in gel and non-gel models.

marcoocram

i don't know about the Bag Balm personally. I think it softens your skin too much. Diaper rash cream like (Desetin type stuff) on the other hand is formulated to block out moisture which is what you need. I hear God Bond powder works well too, haven't tried it, but it makes sense.

I have to wear the same shorts home after work and had bad experiences with Bag Balm.

marcoocram

i just realized, the forum I was in, my comment may not be relevant to the occasional long ride.

truman

It should also be mentioned that Performace will take the shorts back and refund your money should you not like them for any reason - even after they've been worn several times.