adanthang

In the summer of 2009, my wife was diagnose with a sarcoma (cancer) in her right gluteus maximus muscle. Long story short, she beat the cancer, but she had to have about 2/3 of her gluteus maximus muscle removed and a skin graft to cover/close the wound.

Before the cancer, we would bike weekly with the family (son - 9, daughter - 5). My wife has a female mountain bike with slicks. Usually we'd just bike to the park or maybe out for lunch, dinner or groceries. My wife is ready to bike again, but she is having issues.

The removal of most of her butt muscle has resulted in the removal of most of the "natural padding" that she had. She experiences pain after biking very short distances. She's tried padded shorts and that helps for a little while, but she isn't comforable long enough to even make it out of our subdivision.

She'd like me to get her a wide seat. The thought process being that her weight would be distributed over a larger surface area, and therefore, relieve some of the pressure/pain that she's been experiencing. She isn't looking to do any long rides. The most we would ride with the kids would be about 6 miles out and 6 miles back. She is just trying to rekindle a family past time.

Please help. Would a wider saddle help her? (I know that saddle preferences vary for everyone). Are we correct in our our thought processes? Can someone recommend a saddle? Is there something that I haven't thought of that might help her out?

Any and all suggestions are welcomed. Thank you.

RUOkie

I would suggest seeing an orthotist for a custom seat of some type. Without knowing which part of the GM was removed, we have no way of knowing whether a wider or narrower seat would be better.

Velo Gator

You may want to look into a custom clothing maker. I know there are some for women who have had masectomies that have prosthetic breasts inside the bras/tops. They may have some similar options. Just a thought.

Homebrew01

Maybe a recumbent ?

Oostal

Glad to hear she beat the cancer!!!

Probably a wider saddle might help a bit.

Terry makes some extra wide saddles with gel inserts:


Also Electra has some cushion like cruiser saddles.


I might also try tipping the nose of the saddle down, so that more pressure is on the legs. The suggested recumbent bike might be a good alternative.

patentcad

+100

slowandsteady

I think recumbent is the way to go here. She will eventually grow most if not all of that muscle back, but it may take years.

banerjek

Seriously.

Aside from the fact that the weight is distributed across much more area, she can get a mesh seat which will be way more comfortable. Since you have smaller kids that you want to ride with, a tadpole trike might be just the ticket. The Catrike Road is a good all 'rounder for this type of riding.

hao

Maybe DIY some custom padding and sew it into a pair of cycling shorts?
Good luck!

renton

That was also my first thought.

garysol1 

yup.....bent may be the best bet here

achoo

Yeah, bent.

Or maybe narrower saddle? When I'm on a bike, I don't feel any pressure on my glutes from the saddle at all. Sit bones? Yeah. Taint? Yeah? Butt muscles? Not at all. How much muscle is there over the sit bones, anyway? Depending on where the missing muscle is, it might work.

Carbon Unit

Congrats on your wife beating cancer. My wife beat it too and has been cancer free for 12 years.

The recumbent idea makes sense. Sitting on a recumbent is like sitting on a car seat. There isn't much pressure put on the butt. If you would prefer just to change the saddle, I have some ideas here. I have gone through a half dozen saddles to find one that fit me right. What I have now is great for eliminating numbness but does put pressure on the sit bones which is probably something you don't want. The saddle that was the most comfortable was the Selle Anatomica. It works more like a hammock so there is very little pressure on the sit bones. The down side is that the developer of the saddle died during a double century ride about six months ago. They are still selling the saddles, but I don't know if there is anyone at the company that can answer questions or help out since the founder is dead. There use to be companies that made mesh saddles which also worked like a hammock.

I would love to have a Calfee recumbent but it is a little too much money for me unless I picked up a used one. A Calfee recumbent can weigh 19 pounds and has the crank close to the ground rather than way up in the air.

jasandalb

+1 I am sure that there is someone else out there that needs this...If they can make a prosthetic leg, then they can develop something for your wife.
I'll keep you guys in my prayers.

Also...dont know if it would be of any "mental" benefit..but they do have those "bikes" that you ride standing up...you still utilize leg power. Maybe try that for cycling now?

wanders

+1 on beating cancer.

I may be totally off base here, but I was thinking going with a really narrow saddle that primarily hits the sit bones and take the gluts out of the equation.



I have an aspide on one of my bikes and although it takes a little time getting used to, I've done many 100+ miles on it with no issues. I find it very comfortable.

I think velo gator rides the womens version.

Good luck and feel free to ignore me. I'm probably wrong.

cmsuter

Congratulations to your wife for beating cancer!

Keep in mind that this is the first time that I've seen a serious recommendation for a bent on the Road forum, but with my limited knowledge that does seem to be a very good option.

surgeonstone

https://www.jimlangley.net/crank/seatrealseat_lg.jpg

The above web site has an unusual choice for a standard bike that may be comfortable. I echo the other suggestions, many different ideas with thoughtful approaches. It may be that a standard narrow saddle is good. Congrats on her success, I hope she does well.

collegeskier

If you trying to not spend a bunch of money, you might go to your local LBS and explain the situation a little. I bet someone would be very helpful and your wife would be able to test out a couple of bikes with different saddle setups, while the weight distribution would be different, you can get a real general feel is the wide (cruiser) saddle would be good, or a small racing type saddle and maybe something in the middle as well. They would probably be willing to swap out some saddles for you as well. Saves buying a bunch of saddles that don't work for her. If all else fails the recumbent would be good.

Velo Gator

I do, and you're right. I had a "wider" comfort saddle on the bike before this one, and it hurt my actual butt way more.

surgeonstone

I have a wide pelvis for a male and thought for decades that I need at least a 160mm saddle. Recently I bought a 144 Specialized Romin and absolutely love it. The first saddle that has been truly comfortable for me. So narrow is sometimes good.

adanthang

Thanks for everyone's input.