Do I need a new saddle

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sarahpink

New Member
Location
in devon
I have just got a new bike a specilized dolce 24 and yesterday went out on it for about 2 and 1/2 hours but when i came in noticed i have got what looks like mild friction marks. do I need to get a new saddle for it ie one with padding or will I eventually get used to it?
 

youngoldbloke

The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
Are the mild friction marks from the saddle or from your shorts chafing? Padding in the saddle is a bad idea, padding in your shorts a good one.
 
youngoldbloke said:
Are the mild friction marks from the saddle or from your shorts chafing? Padding in the saddle is a bad idea, padding in your shorts a good one.

I was just going to ask that. Do you have cycling shorts, I seem to remember you saying you didn't. If you do, do you wear anything underneath with seams in, because that will hurt over a few hours. Might be a good idea if the women cyclists advised on what they wear but on longer rides I only wear cycling shorts. Some use creams such as Sudocreme and Assos stuff.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
Did you get it from a specialized shop? Some of them have the bum measuring devices - I've got 2 Specialized saddles a Ariel and a Windle which I like both - I can't remember whether they are 155 or 143 for me. Looking at their website there looks to be a new saddle that I've not seen before - Lithia.
 
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sarahpink

sarahpink

New Member
Location
in devon
I do have cycling shorts but their are really cheap ones by avenir, i dont usually wear anything underneath the shorts think I remember a post saying you shouldn;t. do you think I should get a pair of decent cycle shorts? I bought them cheap as I really needed a pair and know I cam get things cheaper online. hmm may need to visit a cycle shop and get some decent shorts. silly question but how would I know if they were chaffing?
 
Is the chaffing on your inner thighs or in your seat area. If the first, it might be the saddle or saddle position, if the latter, it might be the shorts. Also, there is an element of toughening up but you shouldn't suffer too much.
 
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sarahpink

sarahpink

New Member
Location
in devon
more so in the saddle position, it didnt happen on my old bike with this really comfy gel sheet:sad: whihc made me think it must be the saddle, i really dont know how people ride in some of the seats I have seen. guess you must get used to it
 

Norm

Guest
You do get used to it and usually fairly quickly. Although I think surviving for 2 1/2 hours on the first ride is pretty impressive, you may well find that you don't notice it after a few more like that.
 
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sarahpink

sarahpink

New Member
Location
in devon
^thanks, going to give it another go this afternoon:biggrin: after done some studying:sad: will report back later!!!
 

PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
Specialized make a big deal of their "Body Geometry" kit.
Unfortunately not all cyclist's bodies fit their idea of geometry.
(I find even their 130mm saddles too wide for my sit bones, and I'm not exactly small framed at 6' 3")

I guess your body position is a lot more tilted forward on the new bike? It will take a while to get used to that - and to work out what saddle fits your contours whilst in that position.

Get some proper padded shorts, or padded underwear, or even wear both until you are more used to the new position..... then it's a long & expensive time trying out lots of different saddles until you find one that suits. Fortunately you can resell the unsuitable ones quite readily on ebay, at quite good prices if in tip-top condition.

One that might be worth a try is the Charge Spoon. Having read quite good reports from several females, I got one for Mrs PP (after trying several other big name models) - looking good so far.
 
Yes, give it a few more rides. If it gets worse or stays the same then you may need to think about changing the saddle (it's a long road once you go down it) but hopefully it will improve. One thing you should not suffer or put up with is any genital pain or numbness (sorry, no delicate way to put that).
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
summerdays said:
Did you get it from a specialized shop? Some of them have the bum measuring devices - I've got 2 Specialized saddles a Ariel and a Windle which I like both - I can't remember whether they are 155 or 143 for me. Looking at their website there looks to be a new saddle that I've not seen before - Lithia.

Having worked in Birmingham's jewellery quarter, is the 'Bum measureing device' similar to what I remember?

ringsizing.jpg


A Ring sizer.
 

GrumpyGregry

Here for rides.
of course you could try the old standby of touring cyclists the world over; a brooks saddle with no padding and cycling shorts/tights with no padding but a seat panel instead (bog standard non cycling lyrca shorts are no good they still have four seams meeting in an eyewatering place).

Once the saddle is broken in, provided it is the right size to start with, it is like wearing a decent pair of broken in shoes and padding anywhere becomes superfluous, atbest and at worse a source of chaffing. Or perhaps I'm just a pervert.

I'm always amused by the (huge) amount of padding in the shorts the female sporting riders in our club use when riding their fast road bikes on the latest hollowed out razor blade style racing saddle which they bought to replace the previous uncomfortable one.

But then it has been a very long time since Brooks won a TdeF stage...
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
jimboalee said:
Having worked in Birmingham's jewellery quarter, is the 'Bum measureing device' similar to what I remember?

ringsizing.jpg


A Ring sizer.

I've no idea what they call their bum measuring device .. but it was a sort of memory cushion to leave an imprint of your sit bones on (all my non cycling friends found it really funny the idea of getting measured for a saddle:blush:).

One of my bikes came with a saddle that I couldn't actually cycle more than 4 miles on without extreme discomfort - it didn't last very long indeed. Sarahpink if you lived around here you would be welcome to try them ... but I seem to remember that you are either London or North based????
 
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