rumrunn6

bike shops have a thing you sit on, yer butt makes dents & they measure that

Dirt Farmer

When did you last ride? My first ride after a long, Wisconsin Winter = major ass pain. It goes away quickly.

EDIT: NM, I see you ride 60 miles a week.

rydabent

We both know that, but standby for grief for mentioning that on still.another my DF bike saddle makes my butt hurt.

Wattsup

Now I'm curious about these odd-looking recumbent bikes. Today I was riding in mud and icy slush, and several times I had to put a foot down to stop myself from ending up recumbent on the asphalt. Is it easy to put a foot down when required while riding a recumbent bike?

cb400bill

Word has it that Nashbar and Performance online will survive. The brick and morter stores are toast.

Wattsup

I sat on cardboard yesterday and made a couple of denst. My pressure points are 11cm apart.

jgwilliams

I feel your pain. I've spent years trying to find a comfortable saddle. Bought myself a new ride recently and it was all lovely except the basic Selle San Marco saddle - and I found that my favourite Fizik Arione had snapped across the middle.

I am very grateful for a nameless assistant at my local Evans Cycles store in London. He saw me browsing the saddles and we got talking. After hearing my tale of woe he suggested tilting the saddle forward a little - something I'd not tried before - in order to transfer a little weight from the saddle to my arms. Well, not sure about that but what it did do is make me sit a little further forward on the saddle and suddenly it was way more comfortable. I had to move it back a bit to compensate but I've put over 400 miles on the bike since then and seriously haven't looked back. The one currently on that bike, by the way, is an old Specialized Avatar - I still haven't dared go back to the Selle San Marco, which was very hard. Thought I might try out a Fabric saddle, though, as they seem to get very good reviews.

bakerjw

jgwilliams has a point. My seat post has front and rear adjusters to allow unlimited angles.

Sometimes, if I feel that my fit (our bodies change with age) has changed a bit, I will take some allen wrenches along, ride for a few miles, make a tweak, slide or adjustment, ride a few more miles and repeat. Sometimes adjusting the saddle forward, back, tilted more up or down or taking the seatpost up or down, will make a tremendous difference. For me with my leather saddles, I can even adjust the tension. too loose and it feels spongy, too tight and it feels like a coconut.

Wattsup

I have received my new 610 ERGOLUX® active and have compared it to my Brooks Cambrium. Although I haven't ridden on it yet, what I do notice is that the sweet spot on the SQlab saddle is much larger. I measured my sit bones, and they're 11cm apart. Using a tape measure on the Cambrium, there's only a small usable area....move a little bit, and my sitbones rest almost directly on the metal rivets along the edge of the Cambrium. And I often do shift my position on the bike, as I'm using a Jones H-bar. No wonder it hurts! I'll find out for sure tomorrow, as I have a 40 mile ride planned.

TimothyH

Wait a minute. Hold up.

Is this just muscle pain or is it saddle sores?

Saddle sores can be mild abrasions, folliculitis (which looks like a small, reddish acne) or a full abscess.

If it is saddle sores then see a doctor for immediate relief. Once past the abrasion stage a saddle sore becomes infected. Learn to prevent them in the future with good hygiene and proper chamois cream or body glide.

If it isn't a saddle sore then carry on.


-Tim

Wattsup

Neither. It's more like internal bruising, two spots that seem to be located right at the sit bone location. The pain goes away in a day or two.

TimothyH

Raised spots? Tender to the touch?

Saddle sores.

Lots of good advice online.

To prevent it moving forward I recommend scrupulous hygine. Change out of exercise clothing as soon as you can after riding and wash clothing as soon as possible. Don't let it sit in a pile to grow bacteria and mold. Bathe as soon as you can after exercise. Etc.

Body glide will help tremendously as well. Just about every triathlete and half the runners on the planet have a stick in their gear bag.


-Tim-

Wattsup

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. I don't have sores. I get what feel like bruises, and they correspond I believe to where my two sit bones are located. I measured my sit bones using cardboard. They span 11cm. Take a look at the photo. If I sit too far back on the saddle, those bones are just too close to the metal studs. I believe it's bike fit related as well. I am using a Thompson Elite seatpost, which has no setback. It came with the bike. I have the saddle adjusted all the way to the rear, but I think I find it's not far enough rearward, so while riding, I adjust my butt a few centimeters rearward. And then I'm too close to those metal studs. So two hours of bumpy gravel and my posterior hurts because it's being impacted by the hardest part of the saddle.

That's my hypothesis. I'll know more tomorrow after I try out my new saddle.

jgwilliams

How funny. In my post above where I talked about tilting the nose of the saddle down and moving it back, I had initially changed the seatpost from my old bike on to the new one as I was too streched out. The post in question was a Thompson Elite with no setback. After tilting the saddle forward I found I had to swap the seatpost back again as the PlanetX post that came with the bike had setback. The Thompson Elite is an excellent design which makes it easy to make small adjustments to the angle so I was a bit sorry not to be able to use it. I'm definitely far more comfortable now, though.

rydabent

Very on a LWB bent or a trike.

rydabent

A job I would rather not have--------------------measuring sit bones.

fietsbob

Leather Brooks wider rail had a shorter adjustment range , the rare narrow rail, Longer..

Tullio Campagnolo made his seat post to fit both only the clamping parts differed ..


Into long gravel rides on unpaved back roads, consider a suspension seat post ?



Posture chart Brooks offered : C or B 17 ride leaning forward 60 degrees , wider, like C 19 for sitting straight up 90 degrees,

narrower C 15, or Team Professional ( or a lot of classic road saddles; Rolls, Flite, Turbo etc. ) leaning further forward 45 degrees or less..





.....

Wattsup

Thanks all for the advice. My new SQLab 610 Ergolux is working out pretty well. It's firm, but the butt feels ok after a 30mi gravel ride. It's definitely a bit odd looking.

Wattsup

I spoke too soon. Today I did a 25 mi ride on asphalt, and the butt was SOO sore after about 15 miles. I don't get it.

Wattsup

And now an additional errant data point. Yesterday I rode 30 miles on mostly packed gravel, and the saddle was fine. My previous ride on 3/9 was 25 miles on glass smooth asphalt, and the butt was so sore I couldn't wait to finish. I don't understand. I can only guess that I'm adjusting my posture on the Jones bar, trying to stay low and out of the wind when on the asphalt, and taking a more upright posture on the gravel.

Sojodave

Have you considered a short-nose saddle? The three most popular are the Specialized Power saddle, Pro Stealth, and the Pro Logo Dimension Nack. If you have a Specialized dealer, they can measure your sit bones and give you a recommendation on size. If you are a 110, I would suggest a 143 Power saddle. It is 240 cm long, has a huge cut-out, and a flare at the end. The Pro Stealth is similar to the Power, but it has a wider nose and slightly flatter.

Wattsup

What is the benefit of a short-nose saddle?

Cyclist0108

Doesn't penetrate as deeply during a tragic accident.

Cyclist0108

I've had an SQLabs saddle now for almost a year, for my drop bar rigid mountain bike. I am still trying to make it comfortable. They did the sizing, so I am fairly confident it was done right.

Wattsup

I expect to figure this thing out pro or con long before the anniversary.