Hello, Pain in the bum!

[bustergrey]

Hi everyone,
Im new to this forum which seems to be full of great advice. I am a runner and have decided I want to complete a duathlon but dont do much bike ridding. I brought myself a good road bike but am finding it very hard to ride as much as I would like because my bum hurts like you wouldnt believe. There is a very hard saddle on my bike currently and i use padded cycle shorts, can anyone recomend a good padded road bike saddle or is it just a case of getting used to it.

Thanks everyone

 

[Young Un]

i think most people will recomend just letting your 'sit bones' get used to it.

how long have you been riding for. most people say that it take 2 to 3 weeks for you 'sit bones' to get used to the saddle, and after that your 'sit bones' will be used to it and it shouldn't cause you any further problems.


just my two pence worth - might not be right as im quite new to the forum aswell

 

[Dayvo]

Young Un is right; it is generally a question of letting your sit bones adjust.

For further info this may be of help:

http://www.epicidiot.com/sports/bicycle_saddles.htm

Good luck.

 

[inspiration_is_cultivated]

Hi everyone,
Im new to this forum which seems to be full of great advice. I am a runner and have decided I want to complete a duathlon but dont do much bike ridding. I brought myself a good road bike but am finding it very hard to ride as much as I would like because my bum hurts like you wouldnt believe. There is a very hard saddle on my bike currently and i use padded cycle shorts, can anyone recomend a good padded road bike saddle or is it just a case of getting used to it.

Thanks everyone

As per above, it's probably only til your bum gets used to it I had the same problem; I only started cycling again about a month ago after a 15-year gap, and my perineum was KILLING ME at first lol.. just give it a day or two's rest, take it easy and build gradually

 

[RedBike]

Your sit bones will need chance to adjust; but if the saddles still hurting after a week or twos use then change it.

Loads of padding in a saddle causes the saddle to exhert pressure and rub in places you'd rather it wouldn't! Irronically most people are actually better off using a harder saddle for longer rides.
Most of the 'comfort' comes from flex in the saddle it's self and flex in the saddles rails.

The San Marco Rolls is a classic (and relatively cheap) heavily padded saddle thats comfortable over long distances. - Its all personnel preference really

 

[simon l& and a half]

Stop. As in stop reaching for the most readily available answer.

Hard saddles are not neccessarily the cause of arse-ache. Professional cyclists, generally men with fat free bums, do thousands of kilometres on saddles that have next to no give in them. Mrs L, who is amply proportioned, has just switched from a bike with a padded saddle to an ultra-lightweight bike with a saddle that looks like it's not there, and she's more comfortable than she's ever been.

It's as likely to be your position on the bike as anything else, and giving advice via the web isn't ideal. My suggestion is that you go out on a club run and take a look at the oldest, most experienced cyclists, and see what you can learn from them. Check out your local CTC group. They won't be fast, but they will have a lifetime of miles in their legs.

If you think of the bike as offering a kind of triangle of support then reckon on getting most of that support from the pedals and handlebars.

It may be that you've purchased a bike that isn't as good a fit as it might be. Very strong cyclists have the saddle laid back. Less strong cyclists can sometimes benefit from bringing it forward - but, as I say, advice over the web isn't really practical. Observation is a better bet.

(later edit) I typed this at the same time as Redbike - so, hopefully, this hasn't entirely cut across his contribution.