Sore butt

jeannot18

I have been cycling for a while, and my road bike and MTB bike have the same saddle, a selle Italia X1. Until now I have been ok sitting on the bike for ride up to 30 to 40 miles.
2 weeks ago, I went for a 52 miles ride on the road bike, and the last few miles were, let's say, uncomfortable. Since I have purchased some chamois creme, and I have been using it on every ride. But since that longish ride (by my standards), I can really feel the saddle when I sit first on it (like if I had an old sore and the skin is getting open again), this disappear after a few miles, but now the saddle feels really uncomfortable, to the point were I can't wait to get out of the bike. For example this morning i did a 32 miles ride, and did not enjoy it at all because of the saddle.
My question is, do you think since the longish ride my bum is sore and I need to give it a rest, or there is a problem with the saddle. I have ordered a Charge Spoon Saddle with Cromo Rails, which gets really good review for comfort to see if that is going to sort out the problem. Any ideas, or advice

Thanks
JC

Calpol

I don't think you can get much help on here with this. Without getting too personal. Where is it sore? Sit bones? Groin? Perineum? That saddle is pretty crap to be honest so the Spoon should be better but no guarantee it will suit your ass. Saddle sores take time to heal but you can treat them. A bike fit might also help check your setup and its impact on your comfort.

jeannot18

Calpol wrote:

I don't think you can get much help on here with this. Without getting too personal. Where is it sore? Sit bones? Groin? Perineum? That saddle is pretty crap to be honest so the Spoon should be better but no guarantee it will suit your ass. Saddle sores take time to heal but you can treat them. A bike fit might also help check your setup and its impact on your comfort.

More like the groin, but I can't see nothing on it. Well fingers crossed with the new saddle, because it is taking a bit of the enjoyment from riding. Thanks
JC

skyd0g

<swisstoni> ...finding the perfect saddle is much like making love to a beautiful woman...

...there are some well pedigreed saddles that taunt you with their fine lines, polish and finish... yet, after you've wined and dined them on the finest things that Scunthorpe has to offer, you take them out for a ride and they leave you feeling soggy and torn, much like yesterdays chip wrapper.

...other saddles beguile you with their light weight and racy potential, but after relieving you of many pounds of your hard-earned cash, leave you feeling as if you've lost the soap at Her Majesty's pleasure...

...the perfect saddle is a rare beast, and sometimes a cheap ride just fits so well, right from the off and isn't reluctant to go that extra mile with you.
/<swisstoni>

jeannot18

skyd0g wrote:

<swisstoni> ...finding the perfect saddle is much like making love to a beautiful woman...

......
/<swisstoni>

Never associated cycling with poetry...
But yes I guess it is like looking for the holy grail.
JC

EPO Delivery Man

In some ways you are now officially a 'proper' cyclist, because none of us have sat on a bike and settled on the first saddle we ever sat on :-) and its very common to get a sore backside or sore middle bits, so you arent alone.

I will say this. The biggest thing to catch me out (and many others) was the change in distance. I too used to ride 20-30 miles and felt fine, no numb backside, no numb hands, nothing. But the minute you up the mileage considerably ie: 40-50 and start doubling your distance you need to stop and think about whats happening.

Its not just your body thats taking a pounding, its the bike and components themselves. What you soon realise is that what feels fine on your body at 30 miles, actually becomes an irritant at 40 or 50 miles. Once you start putting serious mileages in, you realise youre in that Twilight zone, where clothes, gloves, shoes, saddles, bar tape, pedals...all start to show their faults (or positives) as you hammer them more. Its also then you realise why so many people upgrade components or clothing and it suddenly dawns on you that the cheap shorts you bought from Wiggle for twenty quid were ok on your backside for a 20 mile ride but they arent up for a 50 mile ride, hence why the magazines do reviews across the price range on all sort of cycling related clobber.

What you have found is that the seat doesnt seem to help you above a given mileage and as i said its very common. Im afraid there is no overnight solution to this, its simply a case of doing some research on your backside ie: do you have much padding, are your sitbones wide or narrow. And then doing research on saddle and reading other peoples experiences to your own.
What i found, is that its not often the 'padding' of the saddle or thickness (you would think a thicker seat would be better) but the shape thats more important. Some saddle shapes just dont suit some riders, so try and sit on some in a shop or see if they have tester seats. This is all you can do.
Good luck and keep us posted.

jeannot18

EPO Delivery Man wrote:

In some ways you are now officially a 'proper' cyclist, because none of us have sat on a bike and settled on the first saddle we ever sat on :-) and its very common to get a sore backside or sore middle bits, so you arent alone.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I will let you know about the new saddle, I went for this model because first of the price I guess, I can't justify spending large amount on the bike, secondly it had over 600 reviews saying how much more comfortable this saddle was compared to the old/sock one they had on their bike. I realise that it may fit someone perfectly and still be the worst saddle that I own for me.
Thanks for the kind words (becoming a "proper cyclist"), I am just very keen and enjoy being outside getting rid of my life's stress, if I can do it in a more comfortable way, why not.
JC

thefd

Possibly a bit late now - but many bike shops allow you to test ride a saddle. They are bright yellow with the word 'TEST' on it but you can get one and try it for a week or two, before trying another. May have been worth a shot before you spend on a new one to find it doesn't suit you!

jeannot18

TheFD wrote:

Possibly a bit late now - but many bike shops allow you to test ride a saddle. They are bright yellow with the word 'TEST' on it but you can get one and try it for a week or two, before trying another. May have been worth a shot before you spend on a new one to find it doesn't suit you!

Sounds good, if this one does not work I will try to get to one.
JC

triban

Hi jeannot18,

i'm having a very similar experience atm.

i have a specialized romin pro which i used to find very comfy when i was riding < 30 miles, but now i'm riding between 50 and 80 miles and i find the saddle extremely uncomfortable within the first 5 miles of riding! i don't have any visable sores and i have left gaps of 2 weeks between some rides.

i was also thinking of chancing the spoon saddle as it is reasonably priced, please let us know how you get on with it!

good luck, i hope you get it sorted.

marcusww

I had exactly the same problem.

I had a specialized bike fit and the saddle they recommended was terrible after 50 miles. I agree with others that the extra padding I tried on other saddles made me fel bruised. I am happy with Specialized Toupe - The good thing I find with this saddle is that the actual base / plastic areas under tha pading flex. The other thing I found was a good wicking chamois pad not gel and chamois cream really do the trick. I tried the specialized saddles as their different widths / padding and styles are well documented and I was able to sell or send back any saddle very easily with very little loss of money. Good luck.

bianchimoon

jeannot18 wrote:

I have been cycling for a while, and my road bike and MTB bike have the same saddle, a selle Italia X1. Until now I have been ok sitting on the bike for ride up to 30 to 40 miles.
2 weeks ago, I went for a 52 miles ride on the road bike, and the last few miles were, let's say, uncomfortable. Since I have purchased some chamois creme, and I have been using it on every ride. But since that longish ride (by my standards), I can really feel the saddle when I sit first on it (like if I had an old sore and the skin is getting open again), this disappear after a few miles, but now the saddle feels really uncomfortable, to the point were I can't wait to get out of the bike. For example this morning i did a 32 miles ride, and did not enjoy it at all because of the saddle.
My question is, do you think since the longish ride my bum is sore and I need to give it a rest, or there is a problem with the saddle. I have ordered a Charge Spoon Saddle with Cromo Rails, which gets really good review for comfort to see if that is going to sort out the problem. Any ideas, or advice

Thanks
JC

had a similar issue recently, using a fizik Alliante for a few years, started getting saddle sore more and more regularly, went to the LBS which do Bontrager Affinity R seats with a 30 day no quibble comfort guarantee, they measure your sit bones and give you correct size, worth a try i thought, only used it once since i bought it a few days ago, but first time for ages had a very comfortable 30 miler. Did buy a charge spoon a year ago after reading reviews, but was very disapointed with it, not comfy (probably because width not correct) and the stitching on them, wears away at lycra!

jeannot18

Just called the local lbs and they do the Selle Italia measurement and saddle scheme mentioned above. If i don't get on with the Charge Spoon that will be me next call. Triban I will let you know how I get on with the Spoon, though it could ok for me and rubish for you, or vice versa.
J

giant_man

you may go through a few saddles before finding the right one for your bum. Spoon no good for me (as were 10-12 others), you could be different ...

gcs

+1 for the Specialized Toupe
Rode for a few years on an Arione with no probs then one day my butt decided it had enough and every ride was uncomfortable to say the least
Changed to a Toupe and haven't had any problems in the last 3 years, doing plenty of 100 mile plus rides
Bought a new bike earlier this year and first thing I did was change the stock saddle for a new Toupe, bought a bit of familiarity to a new bike which felt weird

Good luck

DM222

skyd0g wrote:

<swisstoni> ...finding the perfect saddle is much like making love to a beautiful woman...

...there are some well pedigreed saddles that taunt you with their fine lines, polish and finish... yet, after you've wined and dined them on the finest things that Scunthorpe has to offer, you take them out for a ride and they leave you feeling soggy and torn, much like yesterdays chip wrapper.

...other saddles beguile you with their light weight and racy potential, but after relieving you of many pounds of your hard-earned cash, leave you feeling as if you've lost the soap at Her Majesty's pleasure...

...the perfect saddle is a rare beast, and sometimes a cheap ride just fits so well, right from the off and isn't reluctant to go that extra mile with you.
/<swisstoni>

jeannot18

Received the saddle, fitted it on but I haven't try it on yet, I have been MTBing instead.... Let you know as soon I go riding on it

J

jeannot18

First ride on the new saddle. 27 miles and no pain! The only thing is the saddle came loose at the end of the ride so I had to tighten the nuts again. If it stays pain free I will be a happy rider
J

markp80

jeannot18 wrote:

I had to tighten the nuts again. If it stays pain free I will be a happy rider
J

:shock:

triban

thanks for the update Jeannot... Glad it's working out for you.

i think i might give this saddle ago myself... it's cheap enough to take a punt on.