Reaaly sore @rse
Discussion
Now I don't get out too regularly on the bike but often enough to keep relatively fit. After a visit to Dalby on Saturday and abuot 3hrs riding it became apparent the main thing holding me back was a pain in my @rse rather than fatigue n the legs. It was akin to breaking up a cat fight between Dale Winton and Graham Norton, then losing to them both....f
king agony at times.
My legs/rest of me could do a good 4 hrs I reckon but my @rse is only good for 2 before getting really painful.
Anyone else experience similar agonies? whats the way to ease the pain, or fend it off for a good while?
king agony at times.My legs/rest of me could do a good 4 hrs I reckon but my @rse is only good for 2 before getting really painful.
Anyone else experience similar agonies? whats the way to ease the pain, or fend it off for a good while?
Padded short inserts do help but nothing beats a really good quality saddle with support in all the right places. I have a boney arse so my sit bones need some padding and over the years I've spent a small fortune on seats. The Specialized Body Geometry range are good but I currently have SDG Bel Air with Ti rails on both bikes and they are very comfortable. Titanium rails also help take the sting out of bumps so paying extra for them is definitely worth it.
I'd recommend determining the type of discomfort before going with the "time in the saddle/htfu" method of overcoming your problems. If it's just the meat between your sit bones and the saddle that is aching, then yeah, it'll adapt and eventually you'll get used to it and the pain will go. If the problem is that you're cutting off blood flow to your old chap or you're pinching your perineal nerve, then the last thing you want to do is to ignore the problem and hope it'll go away with time!
All important -
Shorts - proper cycling shorts, with chamois
Chamois cream - essential! (Udderlysmooth, mmm!)
Saddle - correct width for your sit bones (not directly related to the size of your arse, im not fat but use the widest width BG saddle). Get measured up and measure your current saddle.
A comfy saddle does NOT mean the most massive, saggy, sprung, padded thing you can find, in most cases quite the opposite.
Seatpin/saddle setup - fore/aft and angle adjustment makes a big difference, the important thing is to only change it small amounts at a time, and only change one thing - do a couple of rides, note the improvement if any, repeat.
And then after all of that - MTFU!
Shorts - proper cycling shorts, with chamois
Chamois cream - essential! (Udderlysmooth, mmm!)
Saddle - correct width for your sit bones (not directly related to the size of your arse, im not fat but use the widest width BG saddle). Get measured up and measure your current saddle.
A comfy saddle does NOT mean the most massive, saggy, sprung, padded thing you can find, in most cases quite the opposite.
Seatpin/saddle setup - fore/aft and angle adjustment makes a big difference, the important thing is to only change it small amounts at a time, and only change one thing - do a couple of rides, note the improvement if any, repeat.
And then after all of that - MTFU!
saddle at right height / position
time on the bike
the right saddle (you need to try plenty but be sure to include the www.smp4bike.co.uk range)
padded shorts
time on the bike
the right saddle (you need to try plenty but be sure to include the www.smp4bike.co.uk range)
padded shorts
Uriel said:
I'd recommend determining the type of discomfort before going with the "time in the saddle/htfu" method of overcoming your problems. If it's just the meat between your sit bones and the saddle that is aching, then yeah, it'll adapt and eventually you'll get used to it and the pain will go. If the problem is that you're cutting off blood flow to your old chap or you're pinching your perineal nerve, then the last thing you want to do is to ignore the problem and hope it'll go away with time!
I think this is a good point and although I'm too much of a beginner to have any solutions, the pain I have is different to the often quoted 'saddle soreness' -sort of top-of-arse-crack/coccyx. I'm limiting the riding to a couple of times a week currently, but if I sit down (at work/in the car) for too long, as I stand up I can feel my tailbone (or more likely muscle around it) 'clunking' back into place. Its tolerable at the moment, doesn't really hurt when I'm cycling (and I suspect it'll improve as I lose weight) but as Uriel suggests, the solution will be dependant on identifying the specific problem.
snotrag said:
All important -
Shorts - proper cycling shorts, with chamois
Chamois cream - essential! (Udderlysmooth, mmm!)
Saddle - correct width for your sit bones (not directly related to the size of your arse, im not fat but use the widest width BG saddle). Get measured up and measure your current saddle.
A comfy saddle does NOT mean the most massive, saggy, sprung, padded thing you can find, in most cases quite the opposite.
Seatpin/saddle setup - fore/aft and angle adjustment makes a big difference, the important thing is to only change it small amounts at a time, and only change one thing - do a couple of rides, note the improvement if any, repeat.
And then after all of that - MTFU!
How do you get measured for your bones?Shorts - proper cycling shorts, with chamois
Chamois cream - essential! (Udderlysmooth, mmm!)
Saddle - correct width for your sit bones (not directly related to the size of your arse, im not fat but use the widest width BG saddle). Get measured up and measure your current saddle.
A comfy saddle does NOT mean the most massive, saggy, sprung, padded thing you can find, in most cases quite the opposite.
Seatpin/saddle setup - fore/aft and angle adjustment makes a big difference, the important thing is to only change it small amounts at a time, and only change one thing - do a couple of rides, note the improvement if any, repeat.
And then after all of that - MTFU!
With an ass-o-meter! Specialized dealers should have their Body Geometry branded ones, I think WTB and other brands now do them too.
Its a piece of memory foam that you sit on in a certain position (legs off the ground etc)
When you jump off, you get two indents which is where the sit bones of your pelvis are taking the weight.
You take measurements off this, and match it across to the choose the correct width saddle. The Size is also dependent on riding style - the further you angle forward on the saddle the narrower the measurement gets as you the profile of your pelvis changes.
The idea is you end up with a saddle correctly sized so that your weight is directed straight into your pelvis and not through the fleshy bits of your backside.
Its actually a dead simple concept that makes perfect sense.
I was dubious, and working in a bike shop I had to try it before I could feel confident enough to reccomend it - I went with what the ass-o-meter told me, which was very different to what I expected, and its worked wonders.
See if your LBS has one and at least give it a try.
Its a piece of memory foam that you sit on in a certain position (legs off the ground etc)
When you jump off, you get two indents which is where the sit bones of your pelvis are taking the weight.
You take measurements off this, and match it across to the choose the correct width saddle. The Size is also dependent on riding style - the further you angle forward on the saddle the narrower the measurement gets as you the profile of your pelvis changes.
The idea is you end up with a saddle correctly sized so that your weight is directed straight into your pelvis and not through the fleshy bits of your backside.
Its actually a dead simple concept that makes perfect sense.
I was dubious, and working in a bike shop I had to try it before I could feel confident enough to reccomend it - I went with what the ass-o-meter told me, which was very different to what I expected, and its worked wonders.
See if your LBS has one and at least give it a try.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff