Comfortable saddle to stop bruising

Barrzy257

Hi folks, recently got a bike for the first time. After putting in some miles found out me and the seat are not a match! I have a Pro-Lite Cles Saddle on there currently and the most I can do is 20miles before the pain on Perinium is unbearable! It's not rubbing but feels bruised constantly, I am around 16 stone so there is a fair weight on the seat. What I'm asking for is a recommendation to a new saddle, one a bit more forgiving! I'm not to fussed about power transfer as I'm not racing yet, but I do want to put in 50+, 100+ rides so am worried about inner thigh chaffing with wider saddles!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Cheers people

Fat-Boy-Roubaix

Have you tried moving the saddle forward a little, this could improve comfort?

Barrzy257

have tried s few different positions, still hurts!

danowat

Is the saddle level?

I find Specialized BG works for me, and on my TT bike I have an Adamo race2, anything else leaves little D numb for days.

nochekmate

Try the Charge Spoon at just over £20 - topic has been covered 100s of times and always the same conclusion - all down to individuals (but many get with the Charge Spoon - I've tried it and for the money think it's great).

Barrzy257

Sorry guys new it would have been covered many times! Maybe it should become a sticky?
Did read up about the charge spoon, was possibly looking at a specialised romin sl

dinyull

How long you been riding?

Found when I first started I would get 'uncomfortable' after about 20 miles, after a month or 2 you get used to it. Now can be in he saddle for 3 hours without being bothered. Might just need a little time to get adjusted.

sungod

if you are new road bikes then you just need to get used to it, after a while (could take a month or two) you'll probably be ok

don't ride too much at first, you'll just end up bruised and it'll take longer to recover/get used to it

are you wearing padded shorts? if not, that's likely to be a big part of your problem, you need to, road saddles are designed for people wearing padded shorts

buying a new saddle before you are used to road saddles may just be throwing money away - when i started i went through similar experience, now the hardest saddle i've got is the most comfy

in the end, a soft saddle probably won't be more forgiving, it can just squish and apply pressure to places you really don't want pressure, rather than keeping it on the sit bones as a harder saddle will do

Barrzy257

Thanks guys, have had it about 2 weeks now, so maybe i should just man up and just crack on. Its hard to give it a rest as all i want to do is just be out on the bike everyday, but this is holding me back! Hopefully over time it will get better, if not i will be trying a new seat for sure, as for shorts im using some Altura pro gel bibs!
Cheers for the replies people!

Bobbinogs

Might be worth looking at the Spesh Avatar which has a nice gel insert and comes in a few sizes so it is effectively tailored to your sit bones (get a shop to use the memory foam thing on your asre). However, as you say, two weeks in, it is probably more about getting your body used to the bumps, etc. Try and ensure you have a few days off when it is particuarly painful to help any swelling subside.

I use the Altura Pro Gels for shorter training rides but have also done a hilly century on them without bruising, etc., so nought wrong with the shorts.

shane r

I have a bike with a very comfortable selle italia titatium flite saddle. Was comfortable from the day I bought it. In fact I thought all this saddle sore stuff was a myth.

Picked up my new bike yesterday and it has a Pro Lite Cles saddle. Did a quick 20k today and had to quit. Been in pain all day. I've put 100s of regular miles in on a road bike for months.

This may be the worst saddle ever made. I'm 11 stone.

Paul32uk

Had exactly the same issues with you when I got my Trek 2.3. Major numbness of the tubes / bits in the perinium area.

My local bike shop let me try numerous saddles, fiziks, Selle Italia etc. None they had worked and I could feel my tubes mashing on the saddles unless I majorly tipped the nose down which was no good as I just kept sliding then.

I ended up with a Specialized BG saddle. I have a Toupe myself and it stopped all numbness issues. I was looking at getting a Romin as they had just come out but got myself a good deal on a Toupe so took that.

Trial and error is the only way to find out whether a saddle works. Might be an idea to buy second hand, to start with, which you can then sell on with little loss if the saddle isnt quite right for you.

unixnerd

After trying many others I now run a Charge spoon on the mountain bike and the lighter Charge Knife version on the road bike. The tourer has a Selle Royal thing that's lovely but weighs well over half a kilo.

APIII

I don't think you will overcome the perineum issue just by riding more, I think you do need to change your saddle. I've tried quite a few and think Specialized do work very well. The toupe and the Romin are both good for me in that respect so I'd try and get hold of a demo saddle from a local dealer.

Barrzy257

Thanks for all the insight guys, I have done bits of cycling here and there a few years back and never had anything this bad before, so as much as I've tried to man up and ride through, I still do think it's the saddle! Will be paying the specialized shop a visit on my next day off, fingers crossed they have 1 or 2 I can demo!

giant_man

Keep looking - you obviously haven't found the saddle for you. Probably take years to get comfortable mate, everyone's ar$e is different.

I wouldn't look too much into Specialized's 'measure sit bones' method or Fizik's 'spine concept' either. They're just marketing techniques to get you to buy their product.

It's going be trial and error, simple as that, good luck.