saddle fitting/new saddle help

[tricky&thefox]

I'm not sure if this is in the right place, if not sorry!

I've recently started cycling (the last 4 weeks) and although I'm really enjoying it I'm left unbearably sore for days after, and can still feel tender a week later.

I'm new to cycling really so have been trying to pick up as much useful info as i can. At the moment I'm riding once a week (I'm aiming for 3-4 times a week but the soreness is killing me) of around 10-15miles.

Today I've looked up seat bone pains and everything i can find suggests my saddle is too narrow. I've tried measuring my seat bones myself using the stairs and some foil, i get anything from 150mm to 180mm, my saddle is 140mm. I'm quite a big girl at size 16 if that makes a difference.

Do places like halfords do saddle fitting? I'm not overly familiar with all the bike shops in my area so if they do it would be much easier.

Hoping someone can give some advice as this is really ruining it for me. Thanks for reading sorry for the long post!

- The Fox

 

[black'n'yellow]

obvious question - as a girl, for starters presumably you do already have a female-specific saddle..??

 

[tricky&thefox]

As far as i know it's not a women's saddle as it was bought from a guy. Im enough of a newbie to not have a clue on how to tell if it is a women's saddle or not...oh the shame!

 

[deanbmx]

I'm in a similar situation allbeit a man I require a 155mm saddle, I can only find specialized saddles in 155mm.

 

[MattHB]

are you all wearing padded shorts? if not get some! (and not the cheap rubbish from sports direct).

you will adapt in the end though. Its about the pressure on the soft tissues around the sit bones. Too soft a saddle will make this much worse, so go as hard as you can, combined with a good pair of shorts with a decent pad to protect the sit bones pressure points.

Also, it took me 5 saddles to find the right one. A slight change in shape can make enormous differences. Im afraid theres no quick fix, most of the its trial and error (and sometimes expense).

 

[black'n'yellow]

As far as i know it's not a women's saddle as it was bought from a guy. Im enough of a newbie to not have a clue on how to tell if it is a women's saddle or not...oh the shame!

chances are it probably isn't a female saddle, which may well help, especially if you are new to the sport. Specialized do a decent range, as well as a fitting service in some stores...

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/ftb/saddles/womensrecreationalsaddles

Also, as MattHB says - a good pair of padded cycle shorts will make a huge difference if you are not already wearing them..

 

[tricky&thefox]

I have padded underwear, padded shorts, padded tights, a gel seat cover...can you tell im desperate lol first stop os to locate somewhere that does specialized saddles and fittings then

 

[black'n'yellow]

http://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/harrogate-store/

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I have padded underwear, padded shorts, padded tights, a gel seat cover...can you tell im desperate lol first stop os to locate somewhere that does specialized saddles and fittings then

Hi Tricky!
I'm a woman (size 10 at the mo) been commuting and generally riding short stretches (max about 20 miles in one go) since October. Had 2 bikes with random saddles fitted by previous owner/lbs, never had a problem with them. Recently got a new second hand bike, the saddle was just so sore on my commute!
I solved the problem by pushing it a (big) bit forward, so I am actually sitting on the padded bit at the back, not on the narrow hard bit at the front.
No more soreness. I'ts worth a try. Let us know how you get on if you decide to try it.

 

[HLaB]

I have padded underwear, padded shorts, padded tights, a gel seat cover...can you tell im desperate lol first stop os to locate somewhere that does specialized saddles and fittings then

That could be your problem it seems counter intuitive but a seat cover causes excess movement on a ride making it more uncomfortable; I'd try a few rides without.

 

[MattHB]

That could be your problem it seems counter intuitive but a seat cover causes excess movement on a ride making it more uncomfortable; I'd try a few rides without.

I was just going to say exactly the same. There is a huge difference between padding on your sit bones (shorts) and padding on the saddle. Often the better the shorts padding, the less you want on the saddle (a lot say max 3mm). As HLab said, seat padding goes into the wrong places, shorts padding moves with you which puts a lot less pressure on soft tissue and supports the sit bones.

the pain you feel is most likely soft tissue bruising. Your sit bones themselves are bullet proof but need to be in direct contact.

One thing that I noticed when I nailed my saddle setup, was that instantly I could feel my sit bones on the saddle, and nothing else. If you cant feel the sit bones on the saddle it might be the wrong saddle. Also, the more weight I lost, the better things got. Presumably because of less soft tissue around my contact points. Now Im 'trim' (mostly) I have no such issues. The problem with this is that a saddle that worked to start with, was awful later!

 

[black'n'yellow]

I solved the problem by pushing it a (big) bit forward, so I am actually sitting on the padded bit at the back, not on the narrow hard bit at the front.

so you're saying you solved the problem by sitting on the saddle in the correct way..?

 

[Nihal]

Hi Tricky!
I'm a woman (size 10 at the mo) been commuting and generally riding short stretches (max about 20 miles in one go) since October. Had 2 bikes with random saddles fitted by previous owner/lbs, never had a problem with them.

Thought i had seen someone on a thread named "Cycling Home" who changed her saddle hight on our advice

 

[Pat "5mph"]

so you're saying you solved the problem by sitting on the saddle in the correct way..?

Aye, but before moving it forward I could not sit the right way because I'm small (1.60 m) could not reach
By moving the saddle forward I could even raise it a bit, so more comfy all round.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Thought i had seen someone on a thread named "Cycling Home" who changed her saddle hight on our advice

This is another bike, Nihal: have raised this saddle too