want2bike

Hello everyone!

I am new to the forums and to the world of road cycling. I recently purchased Trek 1000 (2001) and just starting out riding it.

Love the bike so far. One thing though bothers me a bit. Its the seat. I believe it is original (says made in italy on the bottom) black and not very soft, so after riding for last couple of days my behind kinda hurts. Is this normal? I dont think i will get used to this seat.. I went to the LBS and they had some decent soft gel type seats for 10$ in the used parts box..may be i'll pick one up and swap them. Not sure though why they would put such tough seat on this bike to begin with...

Any recommendations guys? How soft are your seats?

stien

First of all, welcome to BF. Racing (harder) seats are better for significant efforts and are narrower so you can spin faster without rubbing the inside of your legs.. Softer seats are more for cruising, maybe touring. 99% of us wear biking shorts which are padded also.

lansingmike

Get your butt measured and pick a seat that fits. Also you might want to invest in some cycling shorts, the ones you wear without underwear. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_shorts

tagaproject6

With that title, I was going to write that you should have stayed out of prison.





Ride more...you'll get used to it. If after a few hundred miles and there is still pain, get a proper saddle...one without padding. Go to your LBS and try some out.

mrrab

Your ass will eventually get use to the new position of being in a bike. Like you this is my first season cycling seriously. At the beginning of the season I bought a 2007 Trek 7.3 FX and did like a 20-30 mile ride with no bike shorts - ass was hurting. Then in mid-June bought a 2003 Trek 5200.

I eventually got smart, bought a pair a bike shorts and now regularly go on 30 + mile ride with no ass pain.

Just buy yourself a pair of bike shorts and a better more stiffer bike seat and I think you'll be good to go.

want2bike

ok guys thanks for the tips! i had no clue that shorts have padding for this purpose... are there bike shorts that have padding but are not as tight looking..? not a big fan of how they look on a guy...

wens

Mountain bike shorts

TnDiamondback

It's like going bearfoot, the more you do it the tougher you get, as for the shorts, you'll get used to the spandex, what else can a grown man do wearing spandex in public and get by with it?

want2bike

cool. found some. hopping to resolve this little inconvenience soon.

thanks again!

6erwebb

Its funny you should post this because I was thinking the same thing today after my first real ride on my trek 1100 (mines an 89 though).

Difference is I dont think the seat is right for me as my bones frikin HURT. like yeah my ass hurt but so do my knees but my butt bones? fuhgettaboutit. Im measuring right now making sure its the saddle and not just me.

clew84

Good luck - I am finding the same thing so far. It could be a lot of things - just getting used to the saddle, to improper fit, seat too far back, etc. I also figured out something for me that could apply depending on which part of your butt hurts and I have read about others having this issue as well.

I figured out that I am sitting incorrectly and it is very easy to do this. I have a little bit of a lean, having to reach a little for the bars. I also kind of rotate my behind back and therefore it is the smaller bones on either side of the perineum (taint if you will) that are killing me and my larger sit bones are basically fine. Figured this out tonight after a 30 mile ride and I am pretty sure I need to move the seat further up so that I can sit back on the sit bones on the larger part of the seat.

So, watch your position. But I am newbie so what do I know? Good luck!

want2bike

im going through various articles on how to properly fit a road bike. frame is my size, been playing with the seat height and bar height. dont think its the fit, its just seat is too hard for me, being fairly new to this does not help either... plus im not wearing cycling shorts with padding, as others noticed. we'll see. I will get shorts and ride a bit more to see how it feels. update will surely follow.

Loose Chain

Ride more.

Purchase a decent saddle.

Softer is not always more better-er.

Any saddle in a $10 dollars bin is not going to make your "butt" not hurt.

Pain is good, it means you are alive.

Walk it off, or better yet ride it off.

Randochap

You need to break in to a certain extent. But(t) you also need to make sure the saddle is right for you -- something that also takes some time and experience. Go to a cooperative shop and try a few out.

as others have said, softer is not necessarily better.

Bike fit is also the real key. Saddle too high or too low, to far aft or forward will cause problems. It's worth seeing someone who can guide you to correct fit, but ultimately you need to pay attention to what feels comfortable to you. Experiment.

Aussie_Al

hahah - thats awesome!

spry

Your right!Get used to looking like a fruity Peter Pan and passing cars saying,"get the f--- off the road.
It's part of your "rite to passage."Hope to see ya out there.

Carbon Unit

There are two kinds of saddle pain: First, pressure on the sit bones and this you can over come with padded shorts or more time in the saddle; Second, numbness from the saddle cutting off circulation and this is much more serious. If you are having numbness, get another saddle. This is the problem I have experienced in the past and it didn't stop until I bought a saddle with a large cut out down the middle. Specialized and SMP both sell these types of saddles.

mtalinm

I swear by these, and you can always take them back if you don't like them ... even years later: https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/48821?from=SR&feat=sr

Menel

You're not going to be staring at your own ass, so it doesn't matter. And you can't control what everyone else is wearing.

Wear the tight lycra shorts and ride in comfort, don't be all sissy and worried about what everyone else thinks, and sacrifice your comfort.

https://www.velominati.com/blog/the-rules/#5
Some good points scattered in the list here and there.

The chamois's primary purpose is for getting moisture/sweat out of your ass, sweat and rubbing motions down there cause friction, irritation via chafing. There's a high likelihood this is what your experiencing. That is the real benefit of the polyester/lycra shorts with the huge moisture absorbing pad.

Also provide compression on quads, helps with fatigue.

Don't get the fuzzy chamois ones, Canari? ew. Pearl Izumi makes some decent beginner ones off the top of my head that can be found locally. Any of their styles, quest, attack, etc.

Cat4Lifer

x2
Just recently, I stopped riding for about two months and when
I stated riding again, my ass hurt like it was my first time (riding a bike).
True story.