Seat advice

Cheshire Celt

Well day three of the new bike and all going well after doing 8 miles yesterday I decided to try go a bit further I did 18 miles . Only problem I am having is the seat Iam wearing padded shorts but to put it mildly by the time I got home my ass was killing me and it took a bit of the enjoyment out the ride . Is there any way to soften the ride or did I just need to put up with it till I get used to it . Cheers Shaun

Gizmodo

Number 1: bike fit. Is your bike the correct size for you? Is the seat the correct height, are you stretching forward too much, are you sitting too far forward or too far back? Did you buy your bike from a shop and did they set it up for you or did you buy it 2nd hand or from Halfords and therefore got no help?

Number 2: your rear end will take some time to toughen up, if your bike is fitted correctly for you and you have a good saddle that fits your sit bones and you have good quality padded shorts, then eventually you will be able to ride for hours before it starts to get uncomfortable.

Number 3: your saddle has to be comfy for you, it is a very individual choice and most people try several before they they find the one for them. Give your current saddle a few weeks before you try a new one, but soft and padded does not always mean comfortable.

Number 4: active sitting. Move on the saddle occasionally to move the pressure around. Sit back for a bit, sit forward for a bit, stand on the pedals for a bit.

But first make sure you get your bike fit is right first.

lc1981

Assuming that you've not been riding for long, I'd say that it's too soon to be worrying too much about this. If it's still painful after four or five 50-mile rides, or after repeating your current distance regularly for a few weeks, then think about it more, but it's too soon to tell right now in my opinion.

Cheshire Celt

Thanks for the advice guys the bike Is a b- twin I did not want to spend a fortune on a bike as I wanted to see how I got on at first . I felt the seat was a little forward today so I've slide it back a little I have also raised the seat an
inch . So I will see how I get on if I am still doing ok after 6 months I will consider a better and bike. Thanks again

Gizmodo

Cheshire Celt wrote:

Thanks for the advice guys the bike Is a b- twin I did not want to spend a fortune on a bike as I wanted to see how I got on at first . I felt the seat was a little forward today so I've slide it back a little I have also raised the seat an
inch . So I will see how I get on if I am still doing ok after 6 months I will consider a better and bike. Thanks again

It's not about 'a better bike' it's about a bike that's the right size for you. Google 'bike fit', there's loads of adjustments you can make to get a more comfortable position. I see so many people who have the bike setup all wrong for them and they complain how difficult cycling is.

Cheshire Celt

Ok will do thanks again new to all this as I said 18 miles today and every thing eles felt fine will do the google search

giant_man

It's all about getting comfortable of course. It may be your ideal saddle but you haven't used it long enough to find that out.

Try things like changing your position a little (saddle back or forth) and try other things to get a more comfortable position.

Don't worry about bikefitting just yet, it may not be necessary, as already stated a few more longer rides (50 miles or so), and you getting used to that saddle is the thing. If, after this, nothing has changed, and it's still uncomfortable, then its not the saddle for you. Not every saddle is suitable for every ar$e.

Hoopdriver

Gizmodo wrote:

Number 1: bike fit. Is your bike the correct size for you? Is the seat the correct height, are you stretching forward too much, are you sitting too far forward or too far back? Did you buy your bike from a shop and did they set it up for you or did you buy it 2nd hand or from Halfords and therefore got no help?

Number 2: your rear end will take some time to toughen up, if your bike is fitted correctly for you and you have a good saddle that fits your sit bones and you have good quality padded shorts, then eventually you will be able to ride for hours before it starts to get uncomfortable.

Number 3: your saddle has to be comfy for you, it is a very individual choice and most people try several before they they find the one for them. Give your current saddle a few weeks before you try a new one, but soft and padded does not always mean comfortable.

Number 4: active sitting. Move on the saddle occasionally to move the pressure around. Sit back for a bit, sit forward for a bit, stand on the pedals for a bit.

But first make sure you get your bike fit is right first.

Excellent advice.

JonnyJH

I have only been riding a couple of weeks. But after my first 2 very short rides my a$$ was so sore from where the saddle had been putting pressure on I couldn’t even sit on the bike without it hurting like heck!

I went to my LBS and had my sit bones measured with the weird cushion thing and they said I needed a wider saddle. Walked out with a Specialized saddle that was not only wider but much firmer than what came with the bike.
75 miles later and not a single bit of pain or discomfort!