dough1967

I'm 42 years old and bought a road bike last Thursday with memories of effortless 50 milers back when I was in high school, but something's changed since then. In addition to getting tired a lot faster, my butt hurts bad, almost prohibitively bad.

Is this something that will go away in a few weeks or am I just doomed to painful bike riding? Do I need to drop more cash for a new seat?

Any advice from anyone else who's managed to get through this phase would be appreciated.

Lacking

it will go away. but make sure you buys some bibs. spend around 80 bucks for some cheapies. I have PI and they work good, also can survive a 30 mph crash rather well. A good chamios will help you out alot as well as making a few adjustments to your saddle. Just play around with things, super small incriments mind you, and see what works. It took me 2 months to dial my saddle into the right position and i had a wreck 2 weeks after getting it there. Make sure you have a helmet as well as some gloves to pad the hands. Glad you are with us welcome to BF

crazyskillz07

Drop the cash on a pro fitting and a new saddle after you read this...

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

hshearer

It will go away in about a week, guaranteed. Those bones just aren't used to carrying weight at that point, and the tissue around them is swollen and sore, bruised feeling. Your body needs to adapt, and it will. The feeling won't be back, either, as long as you ride at least once every couple of weeks.

rumrunn6

depends on what is causing the discomfort. I suspect you have 2 things going on:

1 - the muscles are sore from taking that time off
2 - the seat area in general is sore because it is a new position to get used to.

give both more time but feel free to experiment with saddles. this one seems to be very comfortable to some including my kids. I liked it on my hybrid before I roadified it. now I use something more streamlined

https://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-Adult-.../dp/B000DZD3DI

maybe you can use something like this until to toughen up a bit

also, lined bike shorts are helpful

Scottluebke2004

Yup. Just log more regular miles in the saddle and you'll feel fine. Took me about 2-3 weeks of regular riding to get over the hump. Now I can sit on the saddle the next day after a 30 miler and feel just fine. But at first it's so painful you can hardly even touch the saddle. At that point I just take Tylenol about 45 minutes beforehand!

mkadam68

It's possible that you have a really cheap saddle. What kind do you have? Sometimes, cheap ones come with the bike to help cut costs/improve profit margin, etc...

But, more than likely, it's what everyone else said: you need more miles. Was high school the lats time you rode? And then you just jumped on for 50-miles? Whew. Not me: I'd need time to slowly adjust to the new activity.

dperreno

Oh boy, do I hear you on this one!

Do a search and you will find endless threads about saddles. The general consensus is that a firm (hard) saddle is best for comfort once you are used to riding. However, it takes time to get your butt in shape. Primarily, your "sit bones" need to get used to supporting your weight on the saddle.

I was so sore after the first 75 miles of my first MS150 that I had to buy a gel saddle just to be able to get on my bike the next day. However, after riding regularly for a few weeks, I found that after about 5 miles the soft saddle was putting pressure on the nerves in my groin and my butt and groin were going numb. I swapped back to a firm saddle and everything has been great ever since.

Riding shorts/bibs have padding ("chamois") which is there mostly to ensure that it is your shorts that are rubbing against your saddle, and not your butt rubbing your shorts. More padding doesn't equal more comfort! Using heavily padded shorts with a padded seat is going to be much more uncomfortable than using only one or the other.

My recommendation is to keep riding! Get riding shorts/bibs - name brand, don't worry about the thickness of the padding, it will be thick enough. If your butt is just too sore to tolerate the firm saddle, then swap it for a softer saddle for a week or so until the tenderness is gone. I find that as long as I get on my bike (on a trainer) at least a couple times a month over the winter, I am fine when I start riding again in the spring.

Enjoy your new ride!

datlas 

Assuming you have a good fit and a decent saddle, it should go away over the new few weeks. Frequent shorter rides (i.e. 30-60 minutes daily) are much better than weekend-warrior marathon sessions once/week....better for your butt AND for your cardiovascular fitness too.

mollusk

This might be the problem. It is a saddle, not a seat. As you get stronger more of your weight will be supported elsewhere and things will be much nicer.

rangerdavid

when I got my CAAD 9 last June, the guy at my lbs said "you probably won't like that saddle, most people have to replace it"

that just planted a seed, so I got a new saddle. My butt still hurt for several weeks until it toughened up some. Probably would have been the same with the OEM saddle too.

your problem, unless it's a medical issue, will more than likely be the same. put up with some discomfort for awhile, it will lessen, then go away, unless you need another saddle. then it won't go away til you get a new one.

...... i'm just saying...........




*edit**

just make sure you got good bibs with a good chamois, and some cream....

datlas 

+1

My commuter bike has a bottom of the line "velo" saddle that I am sure is super cheap (it's from bikesdirect) and as far as comfort goes it is fine.

So I agree the OP should probably try toughening up his ass for a few weeks before coughing up money for a new saddle.

Tsuru

OP... What saddle is it?

dough1967

I've got the saddle that came standard with my Felt F95:

FELT 1.3 Road Saddle with Carbon Injected Base, Embossed Cover and Hollow Chrome Moly Rails

Howzit

With all due respect to all the candy saddles people have purchased, and above all, with all due respect to any American saddles people have bought, and to all due respect to the saddle Lance Armsrtong rides, may it please the court, get a Flite saddle by Selle Italia.

This is the best saddle ever made, and is still the top selling design almost 20 years later, and it hasent changed other than a few cosmetics.
Dont get all the gel what-not crap or the one with a hole cut out of the middle, just get the classic design.




The soreness will go away like others have said dont worry about it. HOWEVER, if you have a bad saddle, the soreness wont go away for a while.

I have put in well over 100K miles in my lifetime, believe-you-me, and iv been given all kinds of saddles to ride on with no choice, and the Flite is THE best saddle bar non. Dont but anything else.
With all due respect, may it please the court.

shelleyspins

Give it a few weeks of regular riding before making a decision. (HTFU) If you do decide to change it out go to a lbs and have them find one that fits you. This assumes that you've spent the money to be properly fit on your new bike. That is money well spent and will likely do you more good than a new saddle.

Howzit

Fitting is a waste of money. Anyone with half an ounce of common sense can do a little research online for a few days and get all the info you need on how to fit yourself.

Even if you go sit on a fitter at a bike shop, you think thats going to give you a good position? I will tell you right now, the only way to get a good fitting for yourself is through a few weeks of adjustments after or during riding. When you sit on a fitter at a shop, it very different from actually riding on the road. Carry an allen key for a few weeks and tweak it yourself.
After reading online the basics and fundamentals, nothing beats what YOU feel, and it costs nothing.

May it please the court with all due respect. Fitting is a nice gimmick though.

Caymem

I agree. Your butt WILL get used to it. Takes a week or two.

chaos456

thanks for posting that article. i have been overwhelmed by the amount of info regarding fit and alignment. i am just going to ride and adjust accordingly. thanks again

Tsuru

Don't know that one, but it's probably okay. If it doesn't get better, if your ass don't toughen up to it, then yeah, I'd check the Fizik Aliante or Arione or the Selle Flite... and find what works for your, uh, crotch shape & ass!

dough1967

Update: Eight days into bike ownership, five rides total, pain is completely gone.

GarySMelbourne

I agree with getting a professional fit and a harder foam saddle. I was having the same type of butt pain and it went away straight away after the fitting and putting the new saddle on. I use the VMax saddle at Cobb Cycling. Great saddle. BTW....I'm 45 yrs young and feel fine.

ultraman6970

Good

Singh

It will go away. Didn't read everything in depth, but make sure your bike is properly sized for you and everything is adjusted according to your measurements.

With that said padded/gelled shorts might ease the weight distribution on your butt. This happened to me too when I first started road biking 3-4 months ago, it went away within a few days. I'm 5 8/5 9 and around 150 lbs...I'm thinking weight could change how long the pain takes to go away.

If the pain gets unbearable don't bike until it goes away. Once it starts to get better, go for another ride.

edit- I just read your reply. Good to hear