the correct way to sit on a saddle?

Stuart.M

ok, so I'm relatively new to road biking, been mtb'ing for 15 years, mostly downhill so not a lot of sitting. owned a road bike for a few years which only came out for occasional rides and some charity events, but in July I bought myself a new half decent roadie, a bianchi c2c nirone7. since then ive really taken to road biking, and been pushing myself constantly, been able to achieve 2 gran fondo's on strava (82 miles) and one century (104 miles), however, I am struggling with saddle sores on anything over 30-40 miles.
I've done a bike fit myself, following copious amounts of research, and for the first 30-40 miles it really is comfy, after that though my ar5e gets really sore. its difficult to sit down on the saddle again after getting out, for climbs or a break, and find that I will normally get half a dozen sores each side on the soft tissue just in front of my sit bones (though having used a lot of chamois cream on my last 80 mile ride it wasn't as bad) which will then keep me off the bike for a couple weeks.
before I shell out a load on a professional bike fit, I want to see if there's anything else I can do. one thing I've heard is people saying the correct way to sit on a saddle, now forgive my noobness, but I thought once your saddle was set up correctly that was it (I do put pretty much all my weight on the saddle), but apparently not. so could someone please explain this to me? as with all things, how are we to know something unless someone tells or shows us. I'm hoping this change to technique will significantly help my posterior

Stu

imposter2.0

You just sit on it. Whether the saddle is right, or your fit is right, is another matter.

cswitch

You should be sitting on your sit bones so you're not sat on soft tissue - but thats more about saving your manhood than avoiding saddle sores. A problem with this is the sit bone area is quite bony so if you're new to road and long rides in the saddle then the skin in that area will take time to toughen up. Is this where you are getting sores? Also sitting on your sit bones isn't necessarily a conscious effort but rather achieved via the right saddle choice inc. width.

Other than that check your shorts out. Are they good quality? Are the seams rough? Chamois cream can actually cause saddle sores by blocking pores (it does me) so I'd save it for longer rides. I only use it for long rainy rides as chaffing seems to be more of an issue if the shorts are wet. The assos cream is the best. As for treating them Fucidin cream helps.

Do you have a good quality saddle? If it is stock that came with the bike its likely to be crap. I'm enjoying the Spesh Romins I have which for me are very comfortable on long rides. Also Selle Italia Superflows are good.

secretsam

See above, but some people search their whole lives for the 'right' saddle

That cream you put on babies' bums for nappy rash is good (grey pot with red 'n' white label), can't remember its name

diamonddog

It's called Sudacrem.

johnmiosh

I got a Via Nirone 7 years ago. The stock saddle was a San Marco Ponza ( available at Planet x for £14.99). Horrible thing, never got on with it in spite of good shorts. Replaced after a few months with a Fizik Aliante, good for me, but not necessarily what you need.

Stuart.M

cswitch wrote:

You should be sitting on your sit bones so you're not sat on soft tissue - but thats more about saving your manhood than avoiding saddle sores. A problem with this is the sit bone area is quite bony so if you're new to road and long rides in the saddle then the skin in that area will take time to toughen up. Is this where you are getting sores? Also sitting on your sit bones isn't necessarily a conscious effort but rather achieved via the right saddle choice inc. width.

Other than that check your shorts out. Are they good quality? Are the seams rough? Chamois cream can actually cause saddle sores by blocking pores (it does me) so I'd save it for longer rides. I only use it for long rainy rides as chaffing seems to be more of an issue if the shorts are wet. The assos cream is the best. As for treating them Fucidin cream helps.

Do you have a good quality saddle? If it is stock that came with the bike its likely to be crap. I'm enjoying the Spesh Romins I have which for me are very comfortable on long rides. Also Selle Italia Superflows are good.

Yes, on and right infront of my sit bones. I use the assos cream too, does help a bit, I've never used any chamois cream before getting a road bike. It's correct to put it on my skin or on the actual "chamois"?
I've got 2 pairs of decent shorts, a Bianchi pair and a Castelli pair so they're ok.
The seat is the standard San marco, I've adjusted again, flatter and a bit more forward, hoping to try this tomorrow to see if it's any better, if not I'll be getting a new saddle, been looking at the fiziks but I've also recently found out about the new brooks c17, a little heavier yes, but I have a Brooks on my old peugeot and it's well comfy!

imposter2.0

Stuart.M wrote:

It's correct to put it on my skin or on the actual "chamois"?

Skin. Putting it on the chamois is a waste of time (and a waste of chamois cream).

Bobbinogs

Take the saddle off the old bike, stick it on the new bike?

simon_masterson

Chamois cream is for really long rides; or rather, you should be able to ride comfortably without it for at least a few hours. If you cannot, you have the wrong saddle/shorts (although I personally just buy basic DHB ones and find them to be perfectly good), or you have your fore/aft/height set suboptimally for your needs.

In terms of where to sit, you can sit anywhere on the saddle but about in the middle is where you're likely to spend much of your time, and you should set your seat height accordingly. Sitting forward on the nose of a typical racing saddle will bring you forward of the BB, and at the back some extra height.

Dippydog3

Surely this must be down to whatever you have fitting you?

My longest rides are all about six hours in the saddle. I have never used any cream and never had even the tiniest bit of chafing.

Perhaps I am naturally lubricated.

Stuart.M

Bobbinogs wrote:

Take the saddle off the old bike, stick it on the new bike?

but then that bike wont have a saddle

Simon Masterson wrote:

Chamois cream is for really long rides; or rather, you should be able to ride comfortably without it for at least a few hours. If you cannot, you have the wrong saddle/shorts (although I personally just buy basic DHB ones and find them to be perfectly good), or you have your fore/aft/height set suboptimally for your needs.

In terms of where to sit, you can sit anywhere on the saddle but about in the middle is where you're likely to spend much of your time, and you should set your seat height accordingly. Sitting forward on the nose of a typical racing saddle will bring you forward of the BB, and at the back some extra height.

well this is what I'm thinking. I've never used it mtb'ing, even when cycling round the mountains of Wales for hours on end, sweating and covered in mud, and with no padded shorts. perhaps I need to take more time to toughen up those areas, or get a new saddle, or change the way I sit, or get a proper bike fit, or all of the above, time will tell...

imposter2.0

Hold on - you are wearing proper, padded cycle shorts, aren't you..?

Philby

Some bike shops have test saddles that you can try out for a week or so - Fizik saddles can often be tested in shops that stock them (but note that the test saddles come in horrendous bright colours). Specialized also have a saddle width fitting service so you can get a saddle with the right width for your sit bones.

Stuart.M

Imposter wrote:

Hold on - you are wearing proper, padded cycle shorts, aren't you..?

Stuart.M wrote:

I've got 2 pairs of decent shorts, a Bianchi pair and a Castelli pair so they're ok.

Yes

Pituophis

Can you get the same saddle as the one on the mtb for your road bike, if that one is comfy?

Failing that, try a Charge Spoon. They're about £22 and come in plenty of colours. No bling but very comfortable.
If you don't like that one, it hasn't broken the bank, and most that try them do like them.
(Disclaimer, as others have said, saddles are a personal thing, there must be some out there that hate them. I just haven't come across any yet. :oops: )

diy

as per MTB its about getting sit bone inline with widest part of seat and ensuring the seat is properly angled and adjusted so that your bum naturally rests in the right place. What I found making the switch is you really can have your seat very far forward on a road bike and in turn, you can have the bars quite low.

but getting out of the seat helps as it atlease lets the blood flow back. Its the same problem on a MTB, but you just get out the seat more frequently.

Bobbinogs

Stuart.M wrote:

Bobbinogs wrote:

Take the saddle off the old bike, stick it on the new bike?

but then that bike wont have a saddle

My point, not that I made it clearly, was of trying to eliminate the factors to your discomfort. You state that the Brooks saddle on your Raleigh is "well comfy"...so why not move that saddle (preferably with post if it fits) onto the new bike and see if your discomfort goes away? If it does then you have eliminated the need for a bike fit or any nonsense about where to sit on the saddle, shorts or chamois cream. If this cure also worked then I would keep the comfy saddle on the bike you ride the most and then just look for a replacement for the other bike.

I would have no qualms sticking a Brooks (or any other saddle) onto a new modern bike... when a rider is sat on it and feeling great then the model of saddle is irrelevant.

smoggysteve

Where is the pain? Is it actually where you are sitting or is it more around the soft tissue area? Saddle sores are not so much from sitting position but are from abrasions in the skin. A bit like in growing hairs. This is where you need chamois cream.

You could try adjusting the tilt of the saddle or move it forward so you sit further back on it as mentioned above.

Jafaremraf

My OH had problems in the early days with soreness in delicate places and used copious amounts of chamois cream, but he found the biggest impact was with the shorts and the padding - getting a decent pair made a huge difference. I think as well the more he cycling the more used to it he got.

But, I would like to ask the same question as the OP on the correct way to sit on the saddle because does your body position come into it as well? What I mean is, if I round my lower back and tuck my pelvis forward it does change the way I sit on the saddle and puts pressure further back.....is that a better way to sit?

simon_masterson

How you position yourself is critical, and the most important factor - even more than the shorts you wear. I can't get too technical, but road saddles are designed to support your sit bones in that position.

But chamois cream is never the answer to this question; if you don't have the right saddle, change it. You won't enjoy cycling until you do.

I will second the Charge Spoon suggestion as a good quality cheap saddle that many get on with (though definitely not all) - I have one on the bike I do all of my commuting on, and have found it very comfortable for the 3 years it's been on there. Good bike shops can help and advise on this, and if you really get stuck, you can try getting your bum measured by a Specialized shop.

Stuart.M

Simon Masterson wrote:

How you position yourself is critical, and the most important factor - even more than the shorts you wear. I can't get too technical, but road saddles are designed to support your sit bones in that position

Perhaps someone else would like to get technical then because I think this is the problem I'm having.
I did tilt my saddle down one more notch and move it forward about 5-10mm and it felt great on a short ride yesterday. I'm still nursing 1 sore though so want to wait till it's completely gone till I do another big ride

SmoggySteve wrote:

Where is the pain? Is it actually where you are sitting or is it more around the soft tissue area? Saddle sores are not so much from sitting position but are from abrasions in the skin. A bit like in growing hairs. This is where you need chamois cream.

You could try adjusting the tilt of the saddle or move it forward so you sit further back on it as mentioned above.

It's directly on the sit bones and say up to an inch infront of them too. Moving the saddle forward as you said did help, I noticed I didn't need to push myself back into the saddle, I fell naturally to the right spot. Thanks

simonj

Are you wearing just your padded shorts, i.e. you're not wearing any loose or mountain bike shorts on top of your bibs? I did once on a charity ride in the rain and looked like a baboon for days due to the extra friction.

macleod113

i had an issue with constant saddle sores for a few months. i tried a bike fit and jiggled the saddle angle. nothing seemed to work until i simply lowered the saddle a couple of inches and hey presto. i dont look silly and its still comfy. worth a try as it costs sod all

Stuart.M

simonj wrote:

Are you wearing just your padded shorts, i.e. you're not wearing any loose or mountain bike shorts on top of your bibs? I did once on a charity ride in the rain and looked like a baboon for days due to the extra friction.

Yep, just the shorts, nothing over the top of them.

MacLeod113 wrote:

i had an issue with constant saddle sores for a few months. i tried a bike fit and jiggled the saddle angle. nothing seemed to work until i simply lowered the saddle a couple of inches and hey presto. i dont look silly and its still comfy. worth a try as it costs sod all

Well I can give it a go. I do wonder though, does it not kill your legs to lower it by a couple of inches? I mean, you'd be no where near getting the most efficient amount of power out of your pedal stroke.

I ordered a charge spoon yesterday as they're only cheap to see if it's any good. Funnily enough though 2 of my friends have them on their £2k bikes (felt and van Nicholas) and say they're the most comfortable saddle theyve ever used

simon_masterson

They're very good. As far as I know, the more expensive 'Knife' is largely the same.

But if you lower your saddle, you should do so in small increments; a couple of millimetres a week perhaps. Your body has to adjust, and it takes time. If you have been riding with a suboptimal saddle height, a better one won't feel right straight away. Though I find it hard to conceive of lowering your saddle by 2 inches and achieving the right height anyway, as a full 2 inches higher than ideal would be unrideable or hugely uncomfortable.

blackpoolkev

When I first started riding bikes regularly (to school and commuting 10 mile round trips) I adopted the standard newbie position i.e. - perineum resting on the narrow part of the saddle and arms locked. It was never a problem on those shorter rides.
When I rediscovered my love of cycling in my forties and started road biking a bit more seriously and riding 'proper' distances, the limitations of my youthful riding position introduced me to saddle sores.
It was when I was watching the Tour de France that I noticed that the riders never used my 'newbie' position. The thing that struck me was that their hips were always vertical to the saddle, not 45 degrees like I was used to. Even when they were sat up in a relaxed position they still had the lower part of their back arched. This made me realize that I should rest my sit bones on the wide part of the saddle.
I now sit on the wide part of a Specialized Romin saddle and don't have saddle sores.

Think thrusting in rather than out

Manc33

If it has to tilt, nose up is always better than nose down. Sliding forwards while pedalling is no fun.

I ended up getting a Selle SMP and its surprisingly comfy, 129mm. It also has a big cutout.

They say to get it so the tail and nose are all level, although it then looks like its tilting nose up, but it feels like sitting on a little hammock and Selle say set it that way.

If you want comfort - Brooks. Just make sure your current saddle isn't all the way back, if so, forget the Brooks. :roll:

cswitch

Maybe I am stating the obvious but be aware that saddle angle is not just sticking a level on the rearest point and to nose. It's often the opsection which is the straightest that needs to be level. I've had my saddle (romin) either level or pitched up by the smallest amount. The last few months I've had it very very slightly pitched down (the level section that is) and is noticeably more comfortable. It seems to do something with hip and back alignment which is increasing comfort on long rides - though I wasn't particularly uncomfortable before. It does seem to have allowed me to go a little lower at the front too.

Manc33

It is by the grace of god that the SMP ends up being level I think. When it is like that the rails are quite slanted. If you set it so it "looks" level you'd be sliding forward. When its tilted back a bit the curved back becomes like a platform.

I chipped my carbon saddle tonight (bike fell over). Sanded the sharp bit and it seems fine again, it only lost a tiny chip. It was the fall where the front wheel turns, then it falls. :roll: I guess its like bread, always lands on the buttered side or on a bike... its drive side.

Its been a very long time since I let a bike fall over like that, it was bikes ago. :oops: I am more bothered about my rear mech now having two tiny scuffs on it. :evil: After all it did cost more than the saddle.

secretsam

Simon Masterson wrote:

try getting your bum measured by a Specialized shop.

I'm tempted to take that approach, the Selle Italia ID match thing didn't work for my ar5e :evil: