Adjusting saddle position to ease pressure on perineum

[lulubel]

Recently, I've been starting to get some discomfort when I cycle. It usually comes on after an hour or so. I've done some research online, and I think it's caused by my saddle putting pressure on my perineum.

I have a women's specific bike and saddle (with the cut out), and it's positioned slightly forward because this gives me a more comfortable riding position relative to the pedals and bars. This problem has started since I've got fitter, and I think it's related to riding in a more aggressive position - hands mostly on the hoods or drops, where before they were on the tops or bends more.

The saddle is horizontal, but would I benefit from moving the nose of the saddle down very slightly?

I'm not in pain or anything - it's just discomfort that makes me want to lift my weight off the saddle for a couple of seconds every now and then, and I can feel it slightly now sitting at my computer. I'm also wondering if there are any long term effects of putting pressure on the perineum (I googled it, but couldn't find anything).

 

[the snail]

I would definitely try adjusting the saddle, a small adjustment can make a big difference to comfort. If the nose is too low then you'll find yourself sliding forward on the saddle. Don't know about ladies, but the effects of pressure can be severe on the male anatomy

 

[jackthelad]

cycling active have a free dvd this month called the fundamentals of bike positioning,which explains why you get sore

hope this helps

 

[lulubel]

cycling active have a free dvd this month called the fundamentals of bike positioning,which explains why you get sore

hope this helps

It would if I could get it here in Spain. I'd have to pay for a 2 year subscription to get 1 issue!

I figured if I angled it down too far, I'd probably start sliding off, the_snail. I suppose, if I can't stay in the saddle, and it hasn't helped, I'll know that isn't the solution!

 

[ColinJ]

A very slightly nose-down saddle set-up is the most comfortable one for me.

I say experiment with the way yours is set up. I've had no end of people tell me that my saddle position is 'wrong' but I go by what is comfortable, not by what is theoretically 'right'.

Subtle changes can may a big difference. I certainly wouldn't recommend anything beyond nose slightly up or down.

 

[zacklaws]

As what Colin says, plus, are you sitting down for long periods of time, because I know from experience I suffer too if I sit too long just steadily pedalling away, mile after mile, and once I get that ache, its too late, it takes a long time for it to fade away.

I find that by getting out of the saddle and stand for maybe 30 secs every ten minutes to get a bit of circulation prevents me from getting the ache on long steady rides, but on my usual long hell for leather rides, I'm constantly up and down in the saddle so I do not have to worry about timing a rest break from sitting and having a stand, so prevention happens naturally.

You may get some ideas from the following three websites:-

http://www.jimlangle...cycleseats.html

http://www.sheldonbr...om/saddles.html

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

 

[snailracer]

...
I have a women's specific bike and saddle (with the cut out), and it's positioned slightly forward because this gives me a more comfortable riding position relative to the pedals and bars. This problem has started since I've got fitter, and I think it's related to riding in a more aggressive position - hands mostly on the hoods or drops, where before they were on the tops or bends more.
...

IMO that seems a bit counterintuitive - usually, positioning the saddle towards the rear improves comfort, so long as you don't have to stretch to reach the bars.

Positioning the saddle further forward puts more weight on the hands/arms. Could it be that, as your arms tire, that weight is being transferred to the nose of the saddle?

Positioning the saddle further to the rear results in more weight on your saddle, but the point of pressure is further towards the rear of the saddle i.e. more pressure on your sitbones, less on your perineum.

The other issue is, when your legs begin to tire, they support less of your weight:
1. In the saddle-forward scenario, the knackered legs, due to gravity, drag your torso harder down onto the saddle which results in increased pressure on the saddle/bottom interface.
2. In the alternative, saddle-rearward scenario, more of the weight of the legs rests on the pedals, so there is less weight dragging you down onto the saddle. One way to envisage this is to imagine yourself sitting on 2 chairs with your legs horizontally out in front of you, with your feet resting on the second chair - even if your legs are completely limp, there is still weight on the chair supporting your feet, which takes weight off the chair supporting your torso.

So, I would suggest moving the saddle towards the rear, and shortening/raising the stem to maintain your position. However, I agree with other posters that it's worth tilting the saddle, and it would be easier to try that first, and maybe only try my suggestion if that doesn't work.

 

[ColinJ]

I know from experience I suffer too if I sit too long just steadily pedalling away, mile after mile, and once I get that ache, its too late, it takes a long time for it to fade away.

I find that by getting out of the saddle and stand for maybe 30 secs every ten minutes to get a bit of circulation prevents me from getting the ache on long steady rides, but on my usual long hell for leather rides, I'm constantly up and down in the saddle so I do not have to worry about timing a rest break from sitting and having a stand, so prevention happens naturally.

I think you've hit the nail on the head as regards my current saddle sore problems. I'm unfit so I'm spending hours at a time just plodding along sat heavily on the saddle. I don't have the fitness to go much faster or stand up much.

I'll just have to get fit doing shorter rides and limit myself to 50-60 hilly miles, or maybe 100 mile less hilly ones until I am fit again.

 

[zacklaws]

I think you've hit the nail on the head as regards my current saddle sore problems. I'm unfit so I'm spending hours at a time just plodding along sat heavily on the saddle. I don't have the fitness to go much faster or stand up much.

I'll just have to get fit doing shorter rides and limit myself to 50-60 hilly miles, or maybe 100 mile less hilly ones until I am fit again.

Also if you use chamois cream, try making some from the following website, it cost me just over £14 for a kilo of the stuff and its the best stuff I have ever used. The antibacterial oil I used is tea tree oil which is supposed to be the recommended one, but it stinks like hell, my next batch, whenever I use my current batch which will last me yonks will have something a bit more pleasanter smelling.

http://www.lagazzett...mois-cream.html

A bit more info:-

http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2011/02/saddle-sores-a-pain-in-the-arse/

 

[jackthelad]

This is the guy here whos dvd was in the mag

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wd9YpU028c


hope it helps you might find more out if you google him

but he basically says that ladies saddles should be slightly up at the front so to push more pressure back on the seat bones

 

[aberal]

Saddles are designed to be set level. I've known this for years, argued it for years and in fact have said so on CC more than once. And yet a couple of weeks ago, suffering discomfort I stopped off and tweaked my saddle nose down a smidgeon. The relief was instant. I reckon it's too early to say yet whether I will keep it like that, I certainly feel that I am sliding forward slightly - but it feels so much more comfortable. Possibly, like you I had been getting fitter and cycling more and for longer distances, but I would certainly suggest experimenting with your saddle position. Either down or up, but I would suggest that you don't move it too much.

 

[lulubel]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll experiment a bit with the saddle position - only one change at a time! I know I don't have any leeway to move it up or down - up and I'll be rocking my hips to pedal, down and my knees start to hurt - but I may try moving it back slightly first. I moved it forward when I prefered to ride much more upright, so there might be something in that.

I think you have a good point, zacklaws, about getting out of the saddle. I do it very rarely - only learnt how to do it late on in my cycling "career" - if I need a bit more oomph to get over a hill, and don't want to use the granny ring. I'm still not confident getting out of the saddle at anything other than slow speeds, and I tire very quickly because I don't do it often. Some practice is probably in order!

 

[zacklaws]

Bear in mind too, that if you move the seat back, it also in effect raises it, and if you move the saddle forward, it too has the effect of lowering it, so depending how far you move it, you may need to adjust the height corespondinley a small fraction

 

[snailracer]

And yet another theory:
Is your knee over pedal spindle? AKA "KOPS".
It's a bit maligned in some quarters, but one theory is that, with a saddle-forward position, the knee is slightly in front of the pedal and so ends up pulling you forward onto the nose of the saddle when you ride hard. The solution, once again, is to move the saddle towards the rear (keeping zacklaw's useful comments about adjusting the height in mind as well) so you are KOPS or even further back.

 

[lulubel]

I moved my saddle back about 1cm before today's ride, and it was - er - different. (I didn't adjust the height at all because the saddle rails are angled slightly so that the vertical distance from saddle top to floor actually decreased when I moved it back, and my reach to the pedals felt the same.)

It's really humid today, which affects my asthma, so I kept it to 1 hour. I think I was a bit more comfortable in the saddle, but it's hard to tell because the discomfort isn't really noticeable until I get to the 1 hour point.

I felt as if the weight of my upper body was being pushed forward onto my hands more, which is the opposite of what I expected after reading comments in this thread, so that was a bit weird. I rode mostly on the hoods, a bit on the drops, but when I tried putting my hands on the tops a couple of times, it felt like a real effort to keep them there, and I soon moved them forward to rest my weight on the hoods again. (Could be due to weak core muscles?)

Anyway, I have a couple of longer rides planned over the weekend, so I'll leave it as it is and see how I get on. The new position might just need getting used to.