New Padded Shorts - Still Got Sore Bits

mystic.bertie

I got my new dhb shorts from wiggle, tried them out today on my commute to work, 12.5 miles each way, on the home i was feeling a bit more pressure discomfort from front bit of the saddle, i already have the front of the saddle tilted down a bit as it been causing my discomfort, the sit bones are getting more using to my saddle, whilst the short do make riding more comfortable i did not expect to feel additional pressure in certain bits. My bike is a carrera virtuoso with the standard saddle, is it ok to adjust the saddle down at the front a bit more?

another wee question, i got the dhb r1.0 road shoes, there is 2 small steel plates came with them and each plate has 4 holes, what are these for? I thought the shoes came with cleats sadly not. :shock:

t.m.h.n.e.t

Your saddle may well be the wrong type. Worth finding a Specialized BG fit place and getting on the assometer

Those metal plates insert under the footbed and are the screw point for the cleats.

ricklilley

If the saddle doesn't fit you properly even padded shorts won't cure it. I'd avoid tilting the saddle nose down too much as you'll slide forward on the saddle and actually end up with more pressure on your sensitive bits.

As above the metal plates are the cleat mounting plates, that fit inside the shoe. Cleats usually come with the pedals not the shoes. If the plate has 4 holes they are obviously spd mounts (you only use 2 of the holes). These won't be compatible with any of the 3 bolt mounted pedal cleats.

mystic.bertie

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

Your saddle may well be the wrong type. Worth finding a Specialized BG fit place and getting on the assometer

Those metal plates insert under the footbed and are the screw point for the cleats.

What are the other types of saddle? Im is scotland they dont have that specialized bg fit thing close to me.

I see these are for the other style of cleats ill be using the 3 hole ones.

mystic.bertie

ricklilley wrote:

If the saddle doesn't fit you properly even padded shorts won't cure it. I'd avoid tilting the saddle nose down too much as you'll slide forward on the saddle and actually end up with more pressure on your sensitive bits.

As above the metal plates are the cleat mounting plates, that fit inside the shoe. Cleats usually come with the pedals not the shoes. If the plate has 4 holes they are obviously spd mounts (you only use 2 of the holes). These won't be compatible with any of the 3 bolt mounted pedal cleats.

Do you think tilting it back slightly would help me sit back further in the seat and then avoid the pressure put on my perineum.

Ah i see i will be using the 3 hole cleats, i bought shimano 540 pedals, i seen them on wiggle for £27 these came with floating cleats, i bought the same pedals off of ebay for what i thought was a bargain at £20, they did not come with cleats, so i have just had to order shimano SPD SL Floating cleats for £17, im not sure if these are the ones that come with the pedals as standard or whether these are better ones.

NITR8s

Refer to the rules - MTFU

Seriously though, how long have you been cycling and how long have you had your saddle. Sometimes its just a matter of adjusting to a new saddle and hardening up in the tender parts. When I got my new bike about 6 weeks ago, it took about 200 miles to break into the new saddle. During this time I wore two pairs of padded shorts.

slowbike

mystic.bertie wrote:

Ah i see i will be using the 3 hole cleats, i bought shimano 540 pedals, i seen them on wiggle for £27 these came with floating cleats, i bought the same pedals off of ebay for what i thought was a bargain at £20, they did not come with cleats, so i have just had to order shimano SPD SL Floating cleats for £17, im not sure if these are the ones that come with the pedals as standard or whether these are better ones.

SPDs and SPD SLs are two completely different types of pedal/cleats - they are not interchangeable.

SPD SLs on the left and SPDs on the right



Your shoes may be designed for one or other - a few are designed for either

nwmlarge

to measure your sit bones.
put a sheet of tin foil on the 2nd or 3rd step of your stairs and sit on it leaning slightly forward.
get up as vertically as you can
the two indents left on the foil should be the sit bone points you need to measure.
once you have that measurement get a saddle that fits.
if your current saddle is the right width you may find that sliding it forwards on the rails will help to alleviate the numbness on the gooch

mystic.bertie

NITR8s wrote:

Refer to the rules - MTFU

Seriously though, how long have you been cycling and how long have you had your saddle. Sometimes its just a matter of adjusting to a new saddle and hardening up in the tender parts. When I got my new bike about 6 weeks ago, it took about 200 miles to break into the new saddle. During this time I wore two pairs of padded shorts.

I have had my bike 3 full weeks now, probably done 235 miles. I just got my padded shorts a few days ago. It maybe is just hardening up more and getting the sweet spot with the saddle adjustment.

mystic.bertie

Slowbike wrote:

SPDs and SPD SLs are two completely different types of pedal/cleats - they are not interchangeable.

SPD SLs on the left and SPDs on the right

Your shoes may be designed for one or other - a few are designed for either

thanks for the picture, my shoes have the 3 holes for SPD SLs and there is 2 blanked off slots whick look like they take the SPDs, im assuming those blanks pop out.

mystic.bertie

nwmlarge wrote:

to measure your sit bones.
put a sheet of tin foil on the 2nd or 3rd step of your stairs and sit on it leaning slightly forward.
get up as vertically as you can
the two indents left on the foil should be the sit bone points you need to measure.
once you have that measurement get a saddle that fits.
if your current saddle is the right width you may find that sliding it forwards on the rails will help to alleviate the numbness on the gooch

ok ill give this a try, hopefully the bones will leave a mark thru my chunky butt cheeks lol. once i get a size, are saddle sized accordingly, how do i know what size my current saddle is? If i slide my seat forward, will it not matter about my knee alignment to the pedal spindle?

stueyboy

mystic.bertie wrote:

thanks for the picture, my shoes have the 3 holes for SPD SLs and there is 2 blanked off slots whick look like they take the SPDs, im assuming those blanks pop out.

I've just got the same shoes as you and fitted SPD cleats to them. You take the insole out and pull up the square section of the bottom of the shoe to get to the insert then put the metal plate in. Most pedals come with a set of cleats.

nwmlarge

mystic.bertie wrote:

nwmlarge wrote:

to measure your sit bones.
put a sheet of tin foil on the 2nd or 3rd step of your stairs and sit on it leaning slightly forward.
get up as vertically as you can
the two indents left on the foil should be the sit bone points you need to measure.
once you have that measurement get a saddle that fits.
if your current saddle is the right width you may find that sliding it forwards on the rails will help to alleviate the numbness on the gooch

ok ill give this a try, hopefully the bones will leave a mark thru my chunky butt cheeks lol. once i get a size, are saddle sized accordingly, how do i know what size my current saddle is? If i slide my seat forward, will it not matter about my knee alignment to the pedal spindle?

How to measure your own sit bones
Of course the measure you really want is between the centres of your ischial tuberosities – the pointy lower parts of your pelvic bone on either side. Many bike dealers have a pad that you can sit on to measure this distance, but you can do it at home too.

Take a piece of aluminium kitchen foil and place it on a carpeted stair. Sit on the foil, lean forward a bit to approximate your riding position, then lift your feet. This should leave a good impression of your rear in the foil, and you can measure between the two points of deepest impression to get your sit bone width.

‘Narrow’ sit bone width would be 100mm or less, medium 100-130mm, wide over 130mm.

A saddle’s width is measured from edge to edge across the top, and Specialized recommends a 130mm saddle width for narrow, 143mm for medium and 155mm for wide. These figures should translate approximately across other ranges, with all other factors taken into account.

re the knee alignment, who says your current placement is correct for you ??

rolf_f

mystic.bertie wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

SPDs and SPD SLs are two completely different types of pedal/cleats - they are not interchangeable.

SPD SLs on the left and SPDs on the right

Your shoes may be designed for one or other - a few are designed for either

thanks for the picture, my shoes have the 3 holes for SPD SLs and there is 2 blanked off slots whick look like they take the SPDs, im assuming those blanks pop out.

But the point is that you said you ordered M540 pedals (these are MTB style pedals that use two bolt fixings) and SPD SL cleats. These are the three bolt fixing cleats for road pedals. They won't fit the M540 pedals. It doesn't matter if the shoes can take either type of cleat if the pedals don't match the cleats.

If you do stick with SPDs, you are best off just buying M520s online with cleats for £20.

bails87

Rolf F wrote:

But the point is that you said you ordered M540 pedals (these are MTB style pedals that use two bolt fixings) and SPD SL cleats.

Not quite.....

i bought shimano 540 pedals, i seen them on wiggle for £27

So they could be the R540(£27 at Wiggle), or the M540 (£40 at Wiggle).

My guess is that they're the R540, so he's got the right cleats and shoes.

mystic.bertie

stueyboy wrote:

I've just got the same shoes as you and fitted SPD cleats to them. You take the insole out and pull up the square section of the bottom of the shoe to get to the insert then put the metal plate in. Most pedals come with a set of cleats.

cheers ill bear that in mind, my cleats arrived and are the 3 screw hole ones but its good to know my shoes are compatible with both cleat styles

mystic.bertie

nwmlarge wrote:

re the knee alignment, who says your current placement is correct for you ??

ok thanks for all that info ill compare my sit bone measurements with my saddle. As for the knee alignment i saw a video on you tubs saying , with pedals level, the front of your knee should be in line with the spindle of your pedal, checking with a plumb line. Or is there other ways to do this?

mystic.bertie

bails87 wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

But the point is that you said you ordered M540 pedals (these are MTB style pedals that use two bolt fixings) and SPD SL cleats.

Not quite.....

i bought shimano 540 pedals, i seen them on wiggle for £27

So they could be the R540(£27 at Wiggle), or the M540 (£40 at Wiggle).

My guess is that they're the R540, so he's got the right cleats and shoes.

sorry guys i never realized that shimano did the m540 and r540, my pedals are the r540 and defo the SPD SL cleats which just arrived so i have still to try them out.

nwmlarge

mystic.bertie wrote:

nwmlarge wrote:

re the knee alignment, who says your current placement is correct for you ??

ok thanks for all that info ill compare my sit bone measurements with my saddle. As for the knee alignment i saw a video on you tubs saying , with pedals level, the front of your knee should be in line with the spindle of your pedal, checking with a plumb line. Or is there other ways to do this?

that is indeed the rule of thumb but it is not the end of the story
everyone is a different shape so there will be adjustments to be made to suit each individual.
have a play about you don't have to be the set shape

mystic.bertie

nwmlarge wrote:

that is indeed the rule of thumb but it is not the end of the story
everyone is a different shape so there will be adjustments to be made to suit each individual.
have a play about you don't have to be the set shape

so which of the settings are the most important or is it a case of experimenting to see what suits me the best?