My bum hurts - please help!

[User32269]

Try this

 

[night cycler]

Easy Peez, I am quite new to road cycling but my opinion is this. I acknowledge your financial situation, but you are doing some serious miles. I wouldn’t scrimp on the quality of clothing or saddle if I was doing that mileage. Think of the health benefits of rides of that sort of distance, and the effort you are putting in. You deserve decent gear-you’ve earned it.

 

[Gert Lush]

I use the same Aeron shorts that @cyberknight linked to. Although I use the shorts and not the bib shorts. Very comfy for me and much better than the cheap aldi ones I started out with. Never gone top end though tbh and again, my milage is nowhere near yours so but I just wanted to plus one those shorts really.

 

[cooledit]

After 83 miles in the saddle today my backside is very sore. It was the same a couple of weeks ago when I did my first century ride. I only have cheap Muddy Fox shorts and leggings and they are fine for commuting. Until now they have been just about bearable on longer rides too, but now it seems it's reached the point where my long rides are being spoiled come the halfway point my posterior pain. Like most people, I am not flush at the moment and would prefer to spend as little as possible. That said, I do at least one long ride (60miles+) a week so whatever I buy (actually, it will probably go on the xmas list so it might not be me incurring the cost!) will be an investment I guess. I would rather spend big(ish) once and get it right than buy a series of substandard/easily perishable arse-garments. I figure I need at least one pair of shorts/bibshorts and one pair of warmer leggings here.

So, a series of questions which myself and my bottom would be most grateful for your thoughts on -

- Do I need to go for top end Assos/Castelli?
- Are there cheaper options that are nearly/just as good?
- I may be getting this arse about face - should I be looking at getting a better saddle first? (currently riding stock Genesis saddle on an Equilibrium)
- Can poor seat padding/posterior discomfort increase numbness in hands on a ride? (I was getting very numb hands on the way back today, much more so than normal. Does a pinched/numb bum have an effect on circulation higher up the body? Could have been me unconsciously leaning more weight on my arms to try to relieve the saddle pain I guess...)
- Does chamois cream help with this in any way? I would have thought that's only any good for chafing really?
(I have no probs with chafing, only pressure/bones pain)
- When buying shorts/bibs/leggings is it advisable (or indeed possible) to try them out in the saddle first? I don't see how this is possible from a hygiene point of view, but to splurge the best part of a ton on something that might not fit properly seems bonkers too.

Many thanks, Andy

hi EasyPeez

first Merry Christmas,

numbness in the hands, although you did not say anything about your body composition most of the times the hand numbness is due to upper body weight and how much of that you try to hold upright and how flexible your shoulders/elbows are might need to raise the handlebars up so you sit up more straight.

for soar bum we all know what you are talking about again question are you using Click Shoes ?
you did not mentioned anything about numb feet or so. Here saddle could be to far forward or tilted just a little downwards recommended is no more than 1 % downwards.

an easy bike fit you can do yourself is,

Cleat position:
click shoes place the cleat all the way down on the shoe so most of your food is over the pedal for each stroke, this is also what is recommended for triathletes so it is easier to run after coming off the cycling event.

saddle height:
try to stay seated and commence a sprint get up/above 120rpm if you do not have a Cadence meter I'll make it easy for you
use http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/ to find out the actual speed ex. 39x11 = 55km/h = 120 rpm.
here is the idea if you can spin any gear with 120rpm and stay in the saddle without bouncing then the height is ok.
If you are bouncing then the saddle is too low, You get the drift. Look at some of the Tour De france videos none of them are bouncing.
Also if you get soar Quads then possible to low saddle height you should get full use of the hamstrings.

lastly is the Handlebars:
Again make sure that you do not have to overstretch the shoulders but can sit loosely if you have to stretch to get
to the bar top behind the brakes then possibly the Stem is too long.

Tights:
Altura the ones with the blue padding's are alright.

Regards
Cooledit
ps. I always bring tools out for adjustment just in case.
I always make the changes when I'm out there so I feel the diff straight away.

 

[Tin Pot]

Yeah, get a bike fit.

I use sportful and DhB bib tights, nothing expensive.

 

[guitarpete247]

Go for a Brooks

and hopefully it'll be broken in this time next year.

 

[Citius]

hi EasyPeez

first Merry Christmas,

numbness in the hands, although you did not say anything about your body composition most of the times the hand numbness is due to upper body weight and how much of that you try to hold upright and how flexible your shoulders/elbows are might need to raise the handlebars up so you sit up more straight.

for soar bum we all know what you are talking about again question are you using Click Shoes ?
you did not mentioned anything about numb feet or so. Here saddle could be to far forward or tilted just a little downwards recommended is no more than 1 % downwards.

an easy bike fit you can do yourself is,

Cleat position:
click shoes place the cleat all the way down on the shoe so most of your food is over the pedal for each stroke, this is also what is recommended for triathletes so it is easier to run after coming off the cycling event.

saddle height:
try to stay seated and commence a sprint get up/above 120rpm if you do not have a Cadence meter I'll make it easy for you
use http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/ to find out the actual speed ex. 39x11 = 55km/h = 120 rpm.
here is the idea if you can spin any gear with 120rpm and stay in the saddle without bouncing then the height is ok.
If you are bouncing then the saddle is too low, You get the drift. Look at some of the Tour De france videos none of them are bouncing.
Also if you get soar Quads then possible to low saddle height you should get full use of the hamstrings.

Seriously - I know it's christmas and we're supposed to be nice and all that - but what an absolute load of nonsense that is.

 

[oldroadman]

This old plodder likes Pearl Izumi stuff, and nowadays a "central channel" type saddle, and always uses cream on anything over 20km (Assos is nice but dear. Sudocrem from your local supermarket does almost as good a job). Back in the old days, when I was a bit competitive, it was team issue and get on with it, but we usually wangled our own saddles on for comfort. 220km is a long way to be uncomfortable (although some races are that painful anyway you don't really notice). Most important - keep everything clean in the contact area, don't hang about too long in sweaty/wet/grotty shorts.
So far as numb hands are concerned, sounds like a bike fit might help as there may be too much pressure on the bars, which won't help handling either. using mitts, but the best affordable (Assos, sorry!). If you are going to do the miles, comfort first, it's hard enough anyway.
Good riding!

 

[EasyPeez]

Thanks for all the feedback. I've got some dhb and Carratti bibshorts on order with my xmas money and booked a bike fit for February as one of my local LBS are doing a 33% off offer for the new year.

Seriously - I know it's christmas and we're supposed to be nice and all that - but what an absolute load of nonsense that is.

Care to elaborate? I was going to try some of those things in the meantime. It seems like a genuine and well-meant post by @cooledit - is none of it reasonable advice?

 

[Citius]

Care to elaborate? I was going to try some of those things in the meantime. It seems like a genuine and well-meant post by @cooledit - is none of it reasonable advice?

His comments on cleat position and saddle height are completely without foundation and seem to be entirely made up.

 

[Montydog]

well having only started cycling last Aug on my very old bike i never seemed to get the set up right....always shifting about...numb bum and so on.....so this year got a new bike and had a bike fit at yorkshire bike fit.......wow! what a difference...money well spent

 

[blackgoff]

Good shorts and a saddle are important...!

 

[Kajjal]

I would try sorting your own bike setup which will give useful experience and questions when you go for a professional bike fit. Broadly speaking a properly setup bike will not give you seat and hand pain.

Start with the saddle. KOPS will get the fore / aft position in roughly the right area. If the saddle is too high you will be stretching to reach the bottom of the pedals and also rocking on the saddle. This will cause all kinds of strains and pain. Too low is not as bad but makes you less efficient. If it doubt be a little low. Best to keep the saddle horizontal. When buying a saddle think about where the pain is and also measure your sit bones. My saddle was too narrow and dug into me. Solved by buying a wider saddle with a cutaway. Saddle adjustment is all about getting the legs in the right position, not about adjusting reach to the bars.

This will take a few rides and controlled not random tweaking to get right.

Reach and bar height are adjusted initially by the spacers and if wanted flip the stem for more height and less reach. If sure you can buy different stems to get the position you are after. This is partly down to personal preference.

Once right you should have no real seat pain, no excessive pressure on the hands and if flexible enough ride comfortably in the drops.

 

[mick1836]

A search for topics on 'Sore Bum' found this thread which I found very informative and useful, would love to know how Mark Beaumont does it riding 240 a day in his around the world in 80 days attempt? https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...rk-beaumont-cycle-around-the-world-in-80-days

 

[Tin Pot]

A search for topics on 'Sore Bum' found this thread which I found very informative and useful, would love to know how Mark Beaumont does it riding 240 a day in his around the world in 80 days attempt? https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...rk-beaumont-cycle-around-the-world-in-80-days

I've been riding nearly four years and I'm only just now finding out how to sit on bikes properly. I think I need another two months and I'll have it right.

I think you get it quicker if you ride or socialise with experienced riders. The whole sit bone thing was a slow revelation to me.