Bike seats

Onewire72

Hi, I'm new to road biking and I have a few questions about bike seats. First, why are they so damn uncomfortable and hard? I found a nice Bianchi Via Nirone bike that was in great shape and for a good price, however, when I tried to take it for a spin around the block my groin felt like I was riding on a rock. Granted I've been out of the sport for 20 years but I don't remember my 10 speed's seat being so uncomfortable. I'm trying to get back into riding because my knees can't take running anymore and I need a low impact sport. So how can I overcome this obstacle to enjoy riding? What are my options for getting back into road biking?

kingrollo

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19782980#p19782980]Onewire72[/url] wrote:

Hi, I'm new to road biking and I have a few questions about bike seats. First, why are they so damn uncomfortable and hard? I found a nice Bianchi Via Nirone bike that was in great shape and for a good price, however, when I tried to take it for a spin around the block my groin felt like I was riding on a rock. Granted I've been out of the sport for 20 years but I don't remember my 10 speed's seat being so uncomfortable. I'm trying to get back into riding because my knees can't take running anymore and I need a low impact sport. So how can I overcome this obstacle to enjoy riding? What are my options for getting back into road biking?

If you returning after 20 years and are an ex runner - I would say you probably have fitness that exceeds how tough your back side is ! - Make sure you have decent bike shorts - and perhaps try riding a little and often....

daflj

The more riding you do, the less it will hurt.
When I first started I hurt like hell after a few miles, but I managed my first 100 miler last year and although lots hurt my back side wasn't one of them

Anonymous

kingrollo wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19782980#p19782980]Onewire72[/url] wrote:

Hi, I'm new to road biking and I have a few questions about bike seats. First, why are they so damn uncomfortable and hard? I found a nice Bianchi Via Nirone bike that was in great shape and for a good price, however, when I tried to take it for a spin around the block my groin felt like I was riding on a rock. Granted I've been out of the sport for 20 years but I don't remember my 10 speed's seat being so uncomfortable. I'm trying to get back into riding because my knees can't take running anymore and I need a low impact sport. So how can I overcome this obstacle to enjoy riding? What are my options for getting back into road biking?

If you returning after 20 years and are an ex runner - I would say you probably have fitness that exceeds how tough your back side is ! - Make sure you have decent bike shorts - and perhaps try riding a little and often....

Just make sure there is a decent pad in them shorts.

fenix

They're called saddles...

You're not going to be happy instantly with a saddle but given that we all ride them rest assured that you can get used to them.

As has been said - a padded pair of shorts help massively and you need to break yourself in. You'd not advise a beginner runner to do 20 miles straight off - so do the same with the bike. You'll get used to it.

kajjal

Give it a couple of weeks to see if it settles down. If not think of where the pain is and measure your sit bones. In my case the pain was due to the saddle being too narrow and digging into the middle, very painful after an hours riding. Bought a wider saddle with a cutaway and ride for hours pain free now.

Also read up on bike setup, a poor riding position can cause all kinds of pain. Start with saddle height, use KOPS to hep with fore / aft position and keep the saddle level. The saddle adjustment is purely to get your legs in the right position, not to adjust reach to the bars.

Next look at the reach to and height of the bars to suit your riding. To start with most have the bars a little below the saddle but it is partly personal preference. When riding you need to lean into the bike slightly and slide backwards a little on the saddle.

navrig2

Saddle hours and try not to fall into the potential trap of looking for the perfect saddle and spending all your time and money changing saddles. The perfect saddle rarely exists.

keef66

When I returned to road cycling at the age of 50 I found the first synthetic saddle painful (a narrow Selle Italia something or other) I then tried a Charge Spoon because it was wider / flatter, cheap and recommended by many on here. Better, but still painful sit-bones after 30-40 miles. I did persist for a couple of years, and had decent padded shorts.
I got to thinking that I'd ridden thousands of miles in my youth on a Brooks without ever considering saddle comfort. So I splashed out on a B17 special. A thing of beauty, comfy out of the box, and becoming nicely broken in now 5 years on. Rides up to 85 miles and the only thing not complaining is my @rse. OK, it wasn't cheap, it weight quite a lot, and it looks a bit odd on a modern carbon bike, but being able to ride all day in comfort trumps all that.

HOWEVER, everyone's @rse is different, and what worked for me may be agony for you.

I've subsequently put the B17 on my alu winter bike, and I have a racier Spa Cycles Aire leather saddle on the carbon beast. (half the price but made in China!)

williamt1688

get a padded seat cover and decent shorts as a workaround

ic.

Some people seem to be lucky in that they can sit on any saddle and get on with it, for others it's a little more tricky.

If you are having trouble, the best thing do to is purchase a saddle that fits your sit bone width and your overall flexibility. (Fizik website has a good tool for this)

After that, saddle comfort has a lot to do with bike fit. And good shorts. I mean really good shorts.

Sadly, there is no instant fix in a lot of cases

singleton

When I think back to the saddle I used to ride on 30 years ago, it was just moulded plastic - at least saddles now have some padding on them.
But, the most important thing is to ge the right saddle shape - flat, rounded, semi-rounded - and then spend some time getting accustomed and conditioned.

Al1000

I bought a "gel cushion" from ebay for £3.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bike-Bicycle- ... Sw7NNT-xJU

I was looking for a more comfortable saddle, and thought I'd try this first because it is so cheap. What a difference! I can ride for hours on end, and don't get sore in the least. I would even go as far as describing it as "comfy."

I don't know how long it will last, but I must have ridden at least a couple of thousand miles with it on and it's still as good as new.

kingrollo

keef66 wrote:

When I returned to road cycling at the age of 50 I found the first synthetic saddle painful (a narrow Selle Italia something or other) I then tried a Charge Spoon because it was wider / flatter, cheap and recommended by many on here. Better, but still painful sit-bones after 30-40 miles. I did persist for a couple of years, and had decent padded shorts.
I got to thinking that I'd ridden thousands of miles in my youth on a Brooks without ever considering saddle comfort. So I splashed out on a B17 special. A thing of beauty, comfy out of the box, and becoming nicely broken in now 5 years on. Rides up to 85 miles and the only thing not complaining is my @rse. OK, it wasn't cheap, it weight quite a lot, and it looks a bit odd on a modern carbon bike, but being able to ride all day in comfort trumps all that.

HOWEVER, everyone's @rse is different, and what worked for me may be agony for you.

I've subsequently put the B17 on my alu winter bike, and I have a racier Spa Cycles Aire leather saddle on the carbon beast. (half the price but made in China!)

+1 Brooks B17 (imperial though)

Your story in similar to mine.
Been cycling since my mid 20's without a problem.(52 now) One day cycling home my ass suddenly hurt - I was off the bike for 3 years - even brought a recumbent bike.

The I noticed on my road bike saddle - there was an indentation where my bones were digging into the saddle - bear in mind the saddle was a plastic one - and I wear padded shorts ...ouch....

However it gave me the idea that a brooks may 'give' to the pressure points. So I tried a B17 imperial - what a difference ! - comfy on first road - and just gets better - I don't see me riding anything else...