saddles and soreness

titch124

hi guys,

been starting to think that my saddle is not the best for me, 1 hour rides are not a problem, but around the 2 hour point i start to hurt, and at the three hour mark im quite sore , is this normal an i should just MTFU or should i start the search for a better saddle

i should not that im still on the stock saddle that came with the bike , (bianchi via nirone 2300) which is an Active - FM-5257 - steel rail

fgaffney

Ditto here... I did my first two hour ride this morning and was in agony for the last half hour. I've done around 200 miles on my Madison Prime saddle since getting the bike three weeks ago and it's not getting any easier.

I know you're supposed to break yourself into the saddle but after 200 miles and some regular riding I'd hoped things would've been a lot better for me by know?

Like the OP I'd welcome any views on the subject?

Sussed out

Lube up. Anything over an hour slap some cream on and there'll be no issues

ShutUpLegs

Sussed out wrote:

Lube up. Anything over an hour slap some cream on and there'll be no issues

KY Jelly :?:

dennisn

IMHO I think most riders would do well to go with a slightly wider saddle in the 140 range. This helps put a bit more weight on the sit bones and less on the other "delicate" areas that cause numbness. I've also found that a cutout is very helpful in preventing numbness. My saddle of choice at the moment? Selle Italia SL XC Flow. Fairly light, cutout, 140 wide, and as comfortable a saddle as I've ever had.
Then again don't expect anything as comfortable as your living room sofa. After all it is a bike saddle.

karel

Since I got some decent padded shorts I no longer have this problem, spending that extra £ on them made so much difference

lakeland

dennisn wrote:

IMHO I think most riders would do well to go with a slightly wider saddle in the 140 range. This helps put a bit more weight on the sit bones and less on the other "delicate" areas that cause numbness. I've also found that a cutout is very helpful in preventing numbness. My saddle of choice at the moment? Selle Italia SL XC Flow. Fairly light, cutout, 140 wide, and as comfortable a saddle as I've ever had.
Then again don't expect anything as comfortable as your living room sofa. After all it is a bike saddle.

Not the nicest colour but a very good discount on that model

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/SAS ... orbea_logo

logitech208

Good Bib shorts really help, have a look at the charge spoon saddle I find it super comfy and it's so well priced, it gets good reviews to.

dennisn

lakeland wrote:

dennisn wrote:

IMHO I think most riders would do well to go with a slightly wider saddle in the 140 range. This helps put a bit more weight on the sit bones and less on the other "delicate" areas that cause numbness. I've also found that a cutout is very helpful in preventing numbness. My saddle of choice at the moment? Selle Italia SL XC Flow. Fairly light, cutout, 140 wide, and as comfortable a saddle as I've ever had.
Then again don't expect anything as comfortable as your living room sofa. After all it is a bike saddle.

Not the nicest colour but a very good discount on that model

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/SAS ... orbea_logo

Hmmmmm, good price is right. I could deal with the color as it's kind of close to My Gios color. Maybe??? I really do like the saddle.

simon_masterson

Sussed out wrote:

Lube up. Anything over an hour slap some cream on and there'll be no issues

Sorry, but I can't agree with this. I've never used it once - I've used sudocrem on actual saddle sores caused by inadequte shorts after cycling- and I know seasoned cyclists that I'm almost completely certain have never even touched the stuff. I'm not aversed to it and will probably buy some at some point, but it's not a cure for the problem. If you're sore in the saddle, sort out your shorts, and saddle and its position and angle. If you have all of those sorted, you should be comfortable, and if you experience chafing due to long periods of cycling, use chamois cream.

Basically, the only measurable determining factor I can think of is the size of the saddle in relation to the sit bones. Comfort is subjective, but I'm pretty sure that if your saddle is too narrow for your sit bones, you certainly won't be very happy. I've never done it myself, but apparently you can have this measured.

Other than that, you could just try some saddles (and/or shorts, depending on what you have). I use a Charge Spoon and I really like it. £20 well spent.

unixnerd

I'd look at a Charge Spoon or the lighter Knife, I have both and they're great. But I recently bought a bike with a Specialized BG Toupe with the split in the middle and it's just superb even after five hours. I had to put the Charge at a slight forward angle but the Spec. is flat.