wens

Am i missing something here?

damnable

I'm not sure if people have made this point yet, but make sure she is perching on the correct part of the saddle. If she is sliding forward onto the narrower front part of the saddle and no longer resting weight on the sit bones and of course the weight is going to be supported by the soft bits.

You say the saddle it new, but did it come with the bike or was it purchased separately as part of the bike fit?

I would also be worried about the bruising on the hands. Was she wearing gloves? If the pain on the hands continues I would suggest the bike fit was not very well done, or that particular bike may not be the best long term bike option.

echappist

opps, i meant bend at the waist. the idea is that the bending at the waist should naturally allow your torso to fall forward (think hand of a clock going from 12' to 9') while your back should still be flat

wens

Makes much more sense, i was having trouble picturing a bent straight back

Machka 

Most Brooks riders ride with the noses of their saddles tilted up. The Brooks saddles are more comfortable that way.

Mine have a gentle tip up, and the saddle I had (before it was stolen) had almost 50,000 km on it. It was such a comfortable saddle.

Tsuru

Huh! Never owned one but always saw it that way on bikes (some at pretty extreme levels)... thanks! Sorry to derail the thread for a sec (curiosity and all). And I wonder if the OP (or better, his wife) went to that Team Estrogen forum. It was a great help for my wife's issues.

shelleyspins

+1 to the concerns regarding bruising. My first ride on my road bike (after a 15+ yr "vacay") was a long ride for a newbie (not sure how many miles but close to your fiancee's ride 45 - 50 miles) and I had no bruising. My bike fit was a mess, my form was awful and I was sore from top to bottom but no bruising; I bruise easily too - but not from that first ride. Come to think of it, I fell a few weeks ago and have bruises on both arms, both legs, one hip, a shoulder. I had a black eye but thank God that's gone. And even though I tore one of my gloves all to bits and had a small patch of road rash on the side/palm of that hand, I had no bruising.

She should definitely spend the $ to get her fit adjusted at a reputable LBS. And she might consider a visit to her doctor only because bruising on your palms from a 40+ mi ride seems like an acute reaction.

Good luck to you both! You'll get it worked out soon and be laughing about this later....honest!

Oh and FWIW I pretty much live in my drops now that I've moved to Dallas (it's windy here) and it's really quite cozy, not to mention way more aerodynamic. Don't discourage her from riding in drops entirely - just let her know she may need to work on flexibility/range of motion before spending a ton of time there.

gitarzan

About the bruising... FWIW. She's not on any anti-coagulents such as coumadin, is she?

deep_sky

A lot of things you don't think are anti-coagulants are. Anti-depressants have that side effect; I have noticed that it is somewhat easier to bruise, and that the bruises take months to fully fade (although the pain is gone in a week or two depending on severity).

steincy

I have similar issues with bruising in the 'front' and deeply sympathize. I've been riding 10 years, do core exercises daily, and still suffer from serious saddle pain. Ihad to put an ice pack on my pubic bone after today's ride. Argh!!! My old saddle finally wore out so now I'm on the saddle go-round which is why things are pretty bad right now. But I also had several spinal surgeries that have 'locked up' my back muscles and make it difficult to keep mypelvis tilted, but that's another story.

My real point for posting is to point out that where men are pretty much built the same anatomically (i.e. the 'package' sits on the nose of the saddle and you're good to go), women are all built differently. Some are 'high', some are 'low', some are fleshier than others, etc. This explains why some women need a cutout and others don't, why some find the chamois to be too thick and others don't. There are those of us who feel like the 'girlbits' are in a vise grip if there is no cutout, and those who are fine with a closed saddle. So in addition to the comments about posture on the bike, proper bike fit etc, there's going to be a bit of experimentation needed to find what works for your particular 'structure'.

I have an issue with women's saddles in that it is assumed that women are all about 5 ft 4 inches. What about us 'taller women'? I'm 5 ft 10 inches- the saddle is made for a woman with a shorter distance front to back in the crotch than I am. So what happens? The channel isn't long enough, or isn't in the right spot for me. A men's saddle is long enough, but not wide enough for my sitbones. I think it is time to start my own women's saddle company!

RosesnSunshine

From my experience, a seat with the center cutout and the right size for sitbones is the key. Your butt should be supported and the girl parts shouldn't be touching the seat if you are doing it right. Also you have to have your sitbones on the back part of the seat. If she feels like she's reaching for the handlebars shorten the handlebar stem or move the seat if it's too far back ( if seat is in the right place leave it - don't wanna mess up your knees). You don't have to go pricey for a seat either - I love mine gel padding/center cutout cost about $25-30 ( look at EMS, REI etc on-line ). I can ride without the padded cycling shorts as soon as my butt adjusts to cycling again after the winter off.

Inertianinja

thanks again to everyone for the responses.

she has a saddle now similar to the one Rosensunshine suggested, and i tipped it down. i'm a little concerned that it's going to put extra weight on her hands, but she says it's more comfortable so far.

Inertianinja

thanks again to everyone for the responses.

she has a saddle now similar to the one Rosensunshine suggested, and i tipped it down. i'm a little concerned that it's going to put extra weight on her hands, but she says it's more comfortable so far.

dperreno

+1 Applies whether to both women AND men!

al3Xa

dead on with the rotate her pelvis back and arch her lower back.she should look like a squating dog (in yoga terms).make sure shes sitting on the bigger portion of her seat so theres more pressure on her buttocks than other parts.only bruising i've ever experienced is ass bruising, until its as firm as a ****brickhouse.
i use a gel seat cover.helps