Wrong geometry or wrong shorts?

Check your saddle height, fore-to-aft position and the angle. A small variation in these adjustments may be necessary.

You might also try losing the backpack and using a pannier. This will allow you to change position more easily and stand on the pedals more often.

Earthdog said:

[font=Times New Roman]I use regular cycle shorts with what seems like a lot of padding (unlike the MTB ones I’ve seen) and a Gel over-saddle.[/font]

Are you saying you have a separate gel pad over the saddle? If so, my experience is to immediately throw it in the garbage. Those things do more harm than good.

Apart from that, new riders almost always experience some soreness. Correct bike fit plays a very large role in your saddle comfort. As you have already read in previous posts, everyone has a favorite saddle. The key is finding the saddle you like best.

Earthdog said:

[font=Times New Roman]My bum is a tad painful, so I thought I’d search this forum and see what had been posted before.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]Any hope of a quick fix, along the lines of “ buy a XYZ2000 saddle and never have a sore bum again” were quickly dispersed.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]Details are………….[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]I’ve got around 12% body fat, so I don’t have a lot of natural padding. I use regular cycle shorts with what seems like a lot of padding (unlike the MTB ones I’ve seen) and a Gel over-saddle. The bike is a standard LeMond Tourmalet and the ride is into London from the south. The full ride is 40k each way, but I sometimes ‘cheat’ and get the VW out and drive halfway. Oh and I use a backpack to carry my lunch, change of clothes and a laptop. The weight of the laptop tends to get my lower back after an hour but I can sit up and stretch that out as I go. What gets me most is the tender bum.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]So the question is, what should I look at trying out and in what order?[/font]

I think that MOST riders who are over 5'7" (an arbitrarily selected height) who find their saddle-OR-posterior to be uncomfortable will benefit from a WIDER saddle ...

Suppose, while kneeling in (a) Church, that you were to lean back against the pew (this was/is a not an uncommon posture for young people), you would (if you did not in your personal past) notice that the pew's front edge isn't/wasn't uncomfortable despite probably being over 20 feet wide!

Look at something like a Brooks B17 ("normal" width vs. "narrow"😉 ... the width of a Brooks Professional is somewhere in between the two.

The so-called "women's" saddles aren't just for women ...

I know that Fizik makes a nice, so-called women's, "competition" type saddle ...

The Selle Italia Flite series is on the wide side, IMO.

Regardless, sit on the WIDEST part of the saddle most of the time... don't straddle the nose of the saddle!

Consider setting the nose of the saddle so that it is slightly lower than the rear of the saddle.

Consider lowering your handlebars, slightly, so that your hands/arms support 25%-to-33% of your weight.

I removed the gel thing for the ride back. It was the short ride but my bum was fine. It was worth removing the slip on just for the weight saving alone 🙂
Next stop will be a new saddle, but that will mean raiding the piggy bank.
Thanks

Cheers, I think I'll search for threads on panniers next.
Not sure about standing on the pedals. I only have Crystal Palace and the Caterham by-pass as 'climbs' and they aren't steep enough to warrent leaving the saddle. Or is that something else I need to change? I thought the longer you stayed in the saddle the better. Can someone please confirm?

I found that without the extra gel covering I was far more aware of my bum position on the saddle and yes I was not far enough back (thanks for that). I did however fine myself slipping forward, so pointing the saddle down doesn't make sense (or have I missed the point?) 🙄

Earthdog said:

Cheers, I think I'll search for threads on panniers next.
Not sure about standing on the pedals. I only have Crystal Palace and the Caterham by-pass as 'climbs' and they aren't steep enough to warrent leaving the saddle. Or is that something else I need to change? I thought the longer you stayed in the saddle the better. Can someone please confirm?

Short standing breaks every 15 minutes or so help me on the long rides. Small hills are a good opportunity to stand if you stay in your big gear. Or you can just stand and coast out of the saddle on the flats. I do this by shifting up a couple of gears and standing for a few pedal stokes. then stand with weight on one leg and coast for a few seconds before repeating to stand with weight on the other leg. You can stretch your back at the same time as you alternate standing legs.

dhk2 said:

Short standing breaks every 15 minutes or so help me on the long rides. Small hills are a good opportunity to stand if you stay in your big gear. Or you can just stand and coast out of the saddle on the flats. I do this by shifting up a couple of gears and standing for a few pedal stokes. then stand with weight on one leg and coast for a few seconds before repeating to stand with weight on the other leg. You can stretch your back at the same time as you alternate standing legs.

I see. Looks like you can teach an old dog new tricks. 🙂
Many thanks

Panniers next. They make a world of difference and are great for commuting.

You could also try frame bags for your lunch, and those cycling lunch boxes which clip on top of your top tube for your

Tilting the saddle forward will take weight off your bum and instead transfer more weight onto your hands