Seat and hands..

luckyluciano

Hi,

Need a little help, I've been cycling for a couple of weeks now but found two things that are stopping me pushing on;

1. My arse is killing me(no jokes please) I think the seat is too thin and not enough padding.
So I thought of getting a new seat but there are so many to chose from, is there a way to measure your bum or is it just to buy it and see?

2. I keep getting pins and needles in my hands? any thoughts what is causing this and a remedy?

Thanks

Lucky

fizz

What do you wear when cycling. If you're not wearing proper cycling shorts then go and get a pair. If you are, often you'll develop "Iron butt" after putting in the miles and it wont feel so uncomfortable after a while.

As for the pins and needles, try relaxing your grip on the bars and dont grip so tight ( if you are doing so ) Failing that try some cycling gloves with some padding in them, different thicker bar tape, also you may consider investing in some gel pads to go under your bar tape to as that will all lesson the vibrations which may be causing the pins and needles.

You might want to have a look at your position on the bike as well, a few mm on the seat height or handle bar height may well make the bike fit yuo better and you'll be more comfortable.

If you are really in doubt about how the bike fits, maybe look at going to a bike shop and getting some advice on your position on the bike.

richa

Have you got padded shorts & padded gloves?

luckyluciano

Yep i've got padded shorts but no gloves.

brucey72

Lucky,

I hope i don't sound patronising here but have you had your bike fitted properly? I had real problems with pins and needles in my hands when I bought a second hand bike. I could only ride 20 miles max before I had to stop. I then got it set up properly at my local bike shop with them adjusting the height of the seat, fore and aft, shortening the length of the stem as well as having a couple of spacers added to have the bars heightened and the problem was solved. They told me that I had been putting to much weight on my arms as my position on the bike was "throwing me too far forward".

brucey

luckyluciano

brucey72 wrote:

Lucky,

I hope i don't sound patronising here but have you had your bike fitted properly? I had real problems with pins and needles in my hands when I bought a second hand bike. I could only ride 20 miles max before I had to stop. I then got it set up properly at my local bike shop with them adjusting the height of the seat, fore and aft, shortening the length of the stem as well as having a couple of spacers added to have the bars heightened and the problem was solved. They told me that I had been putting to much weight on my arms as my position on the bike was "throwing me too far forward".

brucey

Can you tell me what you mean by throwing you too far forward?

richa

Too much weight being born by your hands

brucey72

As RichA says: too much weight being born on my hands. My original setup had my seat high, handlebars very low and me stretching forward due to the stem being too long.

luckyluciano

Ok, was the fix to raise the stem? The reach is comfortable and the seat height too so I can only think that to fix it would be to raise the stem.

brucey72

The fix for me was to lower my seat slightly and both raise and shorten the stem. I think I paid my LBS £15 for the half hour it took to sort me out plus £20 for parts (new stem and spacers) and I can honestly say it was the best £35 I have spent on cycling!

luckyluciano

Cheers for that Brucey, I'll go down to my LBS and get it checked out

Mettan

luckyluciano wrote:

Hi,

Need a little help, I've been cycling for a couple of weeks now but found two things that are stopping me pushing on;

1. My ars* is killing me(no jokes please) I think the seat is too thin and not enough padding.
So I thought of getting a new seat but there are so many to chose from, is there a way to measure your bum or is it just to buy it and see?

2. I keep getting pins and needles in my hands? any thoughts what is causing this and a remedy?

Thanks

Lucky

If you've been using a "narrow" (120-135mm) saddle, it might be worth trying a "mid-width" (145-160mm) saddle.
Just as an example:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp? ... rc=froogle

This saddle's around 155mm approx (FWIR). That could be used in combination with padded cycling shorts, (and even undershorts if you're still in difficulty).

For your hands, why not try some Gel padded gloves in addition to bar/seat height adjustments?

luckyluciano

Thanks for the help guy's,

Went to my LBS and had my butt measured, it showed I need a 150mm saddle.
Spoke to them regarding the pins and needles and they confirmed it is due to the weight being to far forward, so next time I'm out on my bike to drop in and they will change the stem to a shorter one FOC whilst making the other adjustments.
When I got home I measured the seat I have and it's a 130mm wide seat, so I've ordered a Selle Italia max flite gel which is 153mm wide.
So hopefully in the next few days it should be all sorted.

Again thanks for the help.

robthehungrymonkey

I flipped the stem (so it pointed upwards, raising the bars) and it solved my hand pain. It's free, so worth a go.

redddraggon

Pins and needles in the hands are generally caused by road buzz.

Most roads aren't too bad, but the Mold-Denbigh road is awful.......I can't even change gear and it's a struggle to use the brakes. Flexier bars help....... it's not all down to the fit.