Avoiding sore behind on the turbo

andyeb

Overall I'm pretty happy with the saddle on my bike - I can ride it for up to 4 hours before by behind starts getting sore.

But on the turbo, I start getting uncomfortable after an hour or so. Other than making a conscious effort to move around or come out of the saddle from time to time, does anyone have any tips for improving comfort on the turbo? I have one of the riser blocks to bring the front wheel up to the correct height.

thanks,

Andrew

imposter2.0

Inevitable and probably unavoidable due to the relatively steady position while on the turbo. What are you doing on the turbo that takes longer than an hour anyway?

danlikesbikes

I tend to find that its the one part of my body that suffers from turbo work as not wind resistance, increased temperature & therefore sweat.

Personally I tend to find that putting on a massive amount of chamois cream (more than for a road ride) helps a lot. Feels a bit weird at first but stops any issues

bahzob

The pain is not inevitable, I do very long sessions on the turbo because I hate riding in the cold/wet.

I've found a couple of things:
- Shorts make a difference. I just got some cheaper ones and noticed they were not as good as my tried and trusted (and sadly no longer available Pearl Izumis).
- Subtle changes to position can make a difference. I moved my saddle forward a couple of cm/seat up a cm and it was a lot more comfortable (and easier to hit power numbers too). Not saying that will necessarily work but its worth experimenting changing a bit at a time and seeing what happens.

andyeb

Imposter wrote:

Inevitable and probably unavoidable due to the relatively steady position while on the turbo. What are you doing on the turbo that takes longer than an hour anyway?

Typical workout for me at the moment looks like:

- 20 minutes warm up
- 1hr of intervals (6m @ 90% MHR / 4m @ 65% MHR)
- 20 minute cool down

If I skimp on warm up, I die an interval or two into the workout. If I skimp on cool down my legs are dead the next day.

imposter2.0

bahzob wrote:

The pain is not inevitable,

nobody mentioned pain.

andyeb wrote:

If I skimp on warm up, I die an interval or two into the workout. If I skimp on cool down my legs are dead the next day.

If you can cope with 1hr40 then keep doing it and accept you will not be completely comfortable towards the end. 6x6min @ threshold is possibly not doing you a lot of good, depending on what your goals are.

Lightning

FWIW, I use a "comfy" MTB saddle on the turbo as I often have to ride for 3hrs+ . I could never manage the duration with my road saddle (which is perfect for the road). That's only viable if you have a dedicated turbo bike though, and it still doesn't "fix" the problem.

andyeb

Imposter wrote:

If you can cope with 1hr40 then keep doing it and accept you will not be completely comfortable towards the end. 6x6min @ threshold is possibly not doing you a lot of good, depending on what your goals are.

My threshold is current 85% MHR (maximum tempo pace I can ride for an hour), I'm doing 6x 6m sprints at 90% MHR to try and pull my threshold up to 90% MHR. Started with 5m on/5m off, progressed to 6m on/4m off. Next step is 7m on/3m off etc until I can ride an hour at 90%.

What should I tell my coach the guys on the bike radar forum said about his bespoke training programme?

imposter2.0

andyeb wrote:

What should I tell my coach the guys on the bike radar forum said about his bespoke training programme?

You could tell him to explain 'threshold' 'tempo' and 'sprints' to you, as you seem to be slightly confused by the terms..

richymcp

I used to have the same problem but what I do now is alternate between sitting in the saddle and riding out of it. I’ve also found this approach has really strengthened my legs generally, the key is to not just sit in the same position all the time.

andyeb

Imposter wrote:

andyeb wrote:

What should I tell my coach the guys on the bike radar forum said about his bespoke training programme?

You could tell him to explain 'threshold' 'tempo' and 'sprints' to you, as you seem to be slightly confused by the terms..

Go on - enlighten me!

My current understanding is approximately as follows:

- I should probably have used "Anaerobic Threshold" in place of "Threshold", which tends to refer to a heart rate zone, rather than a specific intensity.

- "Tempo" refers to longish stints at around race-pace

- "Sprints" are short anaerobic efforts

Strith

Try standing a bit between intervals but not too long, usually just enough to keep things ok for an hour. Lots of chamois creme helps too.

Hollow-legs

WoW !
Uncanny i was going to start a new thread /post about this issue :shock:
I was going to ask you all,what is the most comfortable saddle for the turbo,which saddle you recommend,,See i have real trouble when on the turbo ,,,My arse is numb after 50 minutes of trainerroad workouts...I use my old boardman race bike on the turbo ,,,it is permantly in situ...The saddle is bog standard boardman kit,,,?

I am looking to replace the saddle with something a lot more comfy ,,,Any recomendations,,I have played with saddle position,angle,,I did move the saddle forward a touch so i was sitting on the wings properly//

Any other tips!!

andyeb

Hollow-legs wrote:

WoW !
Uncanny i was going to start a new thread /post about this issue :shock:
I was going to ask you all,what is the most comfortable saddle for the turbo,which saddle you recommend,,See i have real trouble when on the turbo ,,,My ars* is numb after 50 minutes of trainerroad workouts...I use my old boardman race bike on the turbo ,,,it is permantly in situ...The saddle is bog standard boardman kit,,,?

I am looking to replace the saddle with something a lot more comfy ,,,Any recomendations,,I have played with saddle position,angle,,I did move the saddle forward a touch so i was sitting on the wings properly//

Any other tips!!

You might want to check the condition of the saddle itself; try pushing firmly in the middle and see if there is much give in it. The factory fitted branded saddle on my Jamis gave up the ghost after 5000 miles. It had stretched to the point I was actually sitting on the steel rails. :shock: As you might imagine, this was sub-optimal from a comfort point of view.