Saddle pain

hughes538

Hi

Ive just got myself a new ribble sportive with a pro lite lodi saddle.

I have been out on it about 4 or 5 times doing between 2-3hrs at a time.

Is it normal to get a lot of pain in your backside the first couple of times out or should i think about changing the saddle position or possibly even the saddle.

I know the saddle is cheap so i was thinking of repalcing it with a specialized BG toupe expert.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated as it feels like ive been kicked in the neather regions by MR-T.

danlikesbikes

Its common for some discomfort for the first few rides as you get used to it. If you are wanting to make sure you are least likely to have pain always ride in clean cycle shorts and apply chamois cream to the shorts or yourself.

As for the set up did the bike shop sort that our for you when taking measurements for the bike as if they did you expect the saddle position to be pretty good. If not then it would suggest you look at the set up first then consider changing the saddle.

neeb

A bit of a delicate question this, but where is it painful? If it's on the sitbones (the two bony protrusions in your backside), that's OK and to be expected if you are not used to cycling - it will get better with time, but of course it helps to have good quality padded shorts (road bike saddles are designed to be used with these).

If the pain is further forward in the perineum area, that's not good and indicates a problem with saddle position or the saddle itself.

Berk Bonebonce

As a general rule, you might find that heavier riders need more saddle padding - some saddle manufacturers denote extra padding as 'XP'. But if your positioning on the bike is poor there ain't no saddle that will make wrong right.

And if you are new to road cycling there is invariably going to be at least some discomfort in the early stages.

rolf_f

Chunky looking thing ain't it?!!

When I got my Ribble, they were putting San Marco Ponzas on as the standard which, to be honest, really isn't too bad. I've not rushed to bung my Selle Italia Thoork in its place quite yet. I'd stick with what you have for now though - if you start swapping saddles too quickly you'll never find one that you think you can live with but you will go rapidly broke!

lillelj

Ok, no easy way to put this...

Do hardcore road cyclists have non functioning penises? I ask because i recently started cycling, and a couple of days ago i did 100k's and while yes, my legs were in agony the next day, that i can handle. But more worryingly it's taken nearly THREE days before my penis has started feeling normal/function as it should!
Do long term cyclists not have much use in their privates after a while? enough to put me off. or does this stop eventually?

Zoomer37

Why start 2 threads asking the same question?

neeb

lillelj wrote:

Ok, no easy way to put this...

Do hardcore road cyclists have non functioning penises? I ask because i recently started cycling, and a couple of days ago i did 100k's and while yes, my legs were in agony the next day, that i can handle. But more worryingly it's taken nearly THREE days before my penis has started feeling normal/function as it should!
Do long term cyclists not have much use in their privates after a while? enough to put me off. or does this stop eventually?

That's down to pressure on the perineum. It's very important to get a saddle / setup combination that doesn't put pressure on this area. Your weight should be supported by the sitbones. A saddle that slopes up slightly at the back, is wide enough to support the sitbones in that area, and is set to the correct angle works best. The Specialized Toupe works for me, but people's anatomies are different.

If you get the saddle and setup correct you can avoid this problem completely, and in fact the healthy circulation in the lower body that cycling promotes is rather good for keeping one's todger happy..

neilo23

lillelj wrote:

Ok, no easy way to put this...

Do hardcore road cyclists have non functioning penises? I ask because i recently started cycling, and a couple of days ago i did 100k's and while yes, my legs were in agony the next day, that i can handle. But more worryingly it's taken nearly THREE days before my penis has started feeling normal/function as it should!
Do long term cyclists not have much use in their privates after a while? enough to put me off. or does this stop eventually?

I think that's a bit of an old wives' tale. Half the pro peloton have children and I managed to accidentally get someone pregnant during a ride

shouldbeinbed

neilo23 wrote:

I managed to accidentally get someone pregnant during a ride

Thats some bike handling skills you've got going on


& the pro peloton have their bikes set up and fitted to them pretty much millimetre perfect by mechanics whos jobs depend on them keeping the riders comfy for 200km day in day out. new joe bloke on his new bike won't be getting the same sort of attention to detail

back to the OP

Penile numbness can be an issue that; not to put it too delicately; can be massaged away mid ride, but prolonged discomfort from poor saddle position or bike posture will do damage eventually as you're repeatedly crushing nerves and tissues that aren't built to have your entire body weight pressing on them whilst the pelvic bone is jigging around with your pedalling grinding that area too.

Time spent setting up the saddle right will be good for your health and is gonna be far easier than stopping mid every ride to wake the old fella up again. even if you do manage to do it in as interesting a way as neilo

go and see a decent LBS or catch up with an experienced cyclist/club for help, advice and fitting.

neilo23

It was off the bike ;-)

But seriously, to elaborate on what shouldbeinbed (like I should have been during this "incident")wrote the bike set up is important for comfort and, obviously, the main point of contact between saddle and body is the perineum.
Maybe not the best example to use due to the after effects of his illness, but in his first autobiography, Lance Armstrong said something like "your feet hurt, your legs hurt, your chest hurts and your ass hurt". Cycling can be an endurance sport if you want it to be: aches and pains come with the territory. But if everything is unusually uncomfortable, the problem should be addressed.

I have a standard Selle Italia SLR saddle which is the most comfortable saddle I have personally ever used. You really have to test a few, but that is not easy without buying as you can't really expect your local bike shop to let you disappear for 3 hours with something off one of their shelves.

Having said that, after a few hours in the saddle a bit of "shrinkage" and numbness can only be expected, but not as you described it. Ouch! ;-)

shouldbeinbed

dang, saddle sex would have made a cracking after dinner anecdote.

Its not only saddle height and tilt but also how far along in the seatpost it is. the idea is knees(aka pivot points) ~ above bottom bracket so the lower legs are moving in as circular motion as possible whilt the upper can focus on going more up and down not stretching and pulling.

You shouldnt forget the other points of contact in the triangle either: bars and pedals. you need to be comfy with your leg extension and it may be worth considering crank length if you're still struggling or rolling your hips and pelvis about side to side when riding

Also figure out your optimim bar height & reach so you aren't over/under extending your back and arms and putting the wrong bits of your backside and groin onto the wrong bits of the saddle.

this is all assuming the frame is the right size for you in the first place - no great pain elsewhere would imply its ok.

neilo23

shouldbeinbed wrote:

dang, saddle sex would have made a cracking after dinner anecdote..

The saddle would have never forgiven me if I'd repeated the story at the wine and cheese table.