Road Cycling · Public discussion

Switched saddles....OUCH!

Started by Hell and High Water · · Last activity · 23 posts · 1,225 views

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Road Cycling
Published
8 August 2007
Last activity
13 August 2007
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Hell and High Water
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  1. I had a thick padded (double foam) Bontragger saddle, which was fairly
    comfortable to sit on.

    However, I always seemed to be sort of sloshing around in the foam.
    Rocking around, tilting, moving all over the place.

    I ended up with some lower back pain which I believe was due to my
    posture changing around so much

    Saw a Selle San Marco on sale and thought I'd try it out.

    MAN THAT'S HARD!

    I guess I'm so used to the squishy foam that this one feels really hard.

    It seems to fit my sit bones perfectly, but it is noticeably firm on
    those bones....

    I think the fit is correct, and the saddle is good quality, but is the
    firmness something I'll get used to?

    The last couple organized rides I've done it seems like almost everyone
    has a thin saddle like this.

    Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

    -Bob

  2. "Hell and High Water" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    I had a thick padded (double foam) Bontragger saddle, which was fairly
    comfortable to sit on.

    Quoted message said:

    Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

    -Bob

    Quoted message said:

    Bob, I hope you got male saddle with the "Prostrate" cut!

    Burr

  3. In article <[email hidden]>,
    [email hidden] says...

    Quoted message said:


    "Hell and High Water" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    I had a thick padded (double foam) Bontragger saddle, which was fairly
    comfortable to sit on.

    Quoted message said:

    Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

    -Bob

    Quoted message said:

    Bob, I hope you got male saddle with the "Prostrate" cut!

    It does have a groove in the middle. That's not the problem.

    The 'wings' where my sit bones hit seem really hard.

    Not incredibly painful, but just really hard compared to the foam
    bontragger...

    -Bob

  4. Everyone's body is different, but it took me a couple weeks to get over
    the soreness from using a hard seat for the first time. Now I don't
    feel it at all.

  5. Burr wrote:

    :: Bob, I hope you got male saddle with the "Prostrate" cut!
    ::
    :: Burr

    What does one need that?

  6. In article <[email hidden]>, catzz66
    @threeletterservice.com says...

    Quoted message said:

    Everyone's body is different, but it took me a couple weeks to get over
    the soreness from using a hard seat for the first time. Now I don't
    feel it at all.

    THANK YOU!

    That's what I was expecting, and I'm glad to hear you confirm...

    -Bob

  7. Roger Zoul said:

    Burr wrote:

    :: Bob, I hope you got male saddle with the "Prostrate" cut!
    ::
    :: Burr

    What does one need that?

    So gas can escape when you break wind.

  8. Quoted message said:

    In article <[email hidden]>, catzz66
    @threeletterservice.com says...

    Quoted message said:

    Everyone's body is different, but it took me a couple weeks to get over
    the soreness from using a hard seat for the first time. Now I don't
    feel it at all.

    Hell and High Water said:

    THANK YOU!

    That's what I was expecting, and I'm glad to hear you confirm...

    I'll add that if you stick it out and this is a seat that works for you,
    you'll be glad you made the switch. Occasionally I go back to a soft
    saddle b/c a friend wants to try mine or a day or something. I just
    can't ride soft saddle anymore.

    \\paul

  9. In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
    says...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    In article <[email hidden]>, catzz66
    @threeletterservice.com says...

    Quoted message said:

    Everyone's body is different, but it took me a couple weeks to get over
    the soreness from using a hard seat for the first time. Now I don't
    feel it at all.

    Hell and High Water said:

    THANK YOU!

    That's what I was expecting, and I'm glad to hear you confirm...

    I'll add that if you stick it out and this is a seat that works for you,
    you'll be glad you made the switch. Occasionally I go back to a soft
    saddle b/c a friend wants to try mine or a day or something. I just
    can't ride soft saddle anymore.

    I already am...

    As I mentioned, I was having some lower back pain.

    SO FAR....

    seems to be better.

    I just feel more stable on the new saddle. Very solid, and not
    wobbling all over...

    Thanks,

    -Bob

  10. Hell and High Water said:

    I just feel more stable on the new saddle. Very solid, and not
    wobbling all over...

    Was not having any problems. Just switched over to road bikes from
    mountain bikes and a softer gel seat to a normal road bike saddle.
    Somebody told me it would not be hard to get used to, and they were right.

  11. Could you do me a favor and report back in a week or so as to whether
    you've gotten used to it? I've been using a Selle Royal Wing Gel that
    feels pretty comfy, but they don't make them anymore (naturally).
    I've been trying to find something similar for my second road bike.

    I tried the same kind of hard saddle you're talking about. It felt
    hard, but not bad for the first ~40 minutes; after that, it was
    uncomfortable. As I recall, it was never outright painful, just
    uncomfortable.

    If there's a chance I could actually adapt, I'll give it another try.

    Thanks!

    - JR

  12. catzz66 said:

    Everyone's body is different, but it took me a couple weeks to get over
    the soreness from using a hard seat for the first time. Now I don't
    feel it at all.

    Do you recall what changed over those couple of weeks? How does one's
    posterior get over that kind of pressure-induced soreness?

    - JR

  13. SlowRider said:

    Do you recall what changed over those couple of weeks? How does one's
    posterior get over that kind of pressure-induced soreness?

    For me, it was tender right at the sit bones at first. I ride nearly
    every day and remember it gradually not hurting as much as the days went
    on until it didn't hurt at all. The saddle is nothing fancy, just the
    OEM one that comes with the mid priced Specialized road bikes. This was
    a good two years ago for me. Longest ride has been about 42 miles and
    typical summer mileage is about 80 miles a week since then. Maybe you
    will get some more elaborate responses than mine, but good luck to you.

  14. Hell and High Water said:

    I ended up with some lower back pain which I believe was due to my
    posture changing around so much

    Probably not, unless you were holding your back muscles in tension
    trying to keep still.

    Quoted message said:

    I think the fit is correct, and the saddle is good quality, but is the
    firmness something I'll get used to?

    Probably. I changed from something relatively heavy and soft to a Selle
    Italia SLR about 3 months ago, and it felt uncomfortably hard and
    oddly-shaped for a couple of weeks. It's fine now - perhaps a bit of
    breaking in occurs - and I no longer get saddle sores when I ride a lot.
    They were probably due to too much chafing on the softer saddle.

    Quoted message said:

    The last couple organized rides I've done it seems like almost everyone
    has a thin saddle like this.

    It may not be the best thin saddle for you, though. Try to borrow a
    couple of others and try them. The SLR is very popular here, FWIW.

  15. "Michael Warner" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Hell and High Water said:

    I think the fit is correct, and the saddle is good quality, but is the
    firmness something I'll get used to?



    I just bought a Bontrager gel type saddle to replace the OEM one that came
    on my 7.5FX I bought a month ago.
    I just couldn't get used to that thin saddle. Felt every little pebble in
    the road.
    Love the new saddle, and it's very near the same size just a bit taller with
    padding/gel and of course, heavier.

    TW

  16. On Thu, 9 Aug 2007 08:43:40 +0930, Michael Warner <[email hidden]>
    wrote:

    [---]

    Quoted message said:

    Probably. I changed from something relatively heavy and soft to a Selle
    Italia SLR about 3 months ago,

    I did the same - SLR on one bike, Fizik Arione on another, both
    replacing Brooks saddles.

    Quoted message said:

    and it felt uncomfortably hard and
    oddly-shaped for a couple of weeks. It's fine now - perhaps a bit of
    breaking in occurs - and I no longer get saddle sores when I ride a lot.

    Likewise, which was what I was hoping they would cure.

    Quoted message said:

    They were probably due to too much chafing on the softer saddle.

    No doubt about that whatsoever in my case.

  17. On Aug 9, 3:41 am, Hell and High Water <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:

    In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
    says...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    In article <[email hidden]>, catzz66
    @threeletterservice.com says...
    > Everyone's body is different, but it took me a couple weeks to get over
    > the soreness from using a hard seat for the first time. Now I don't
    > feel it at all.

    Quoted message said:
    Hell and High Water said:

    THANK YOU!

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    That's what I was expecting, and I'm glad to hear you confirm...

    Quoted message said:

    I'll add that if you stick it out and this is a seat that works for you,
    you'll be glad you made the switch. Occasionally I go back to a soft
    saddle b/c a friend wants to try mine or a day or something. I just
    can't ride soft saddle anymore.

    I already am...

    As I mentioned, I was having some lower back pain.

    SO FAR....

    seems to be better.

    I just feel more stable on the new saddle. Very solid, and not
    wobbling all over...

    Thanks,

    -Bob

    Squishy saddles oddly are not comfortable to sit on, and providing you
    get the right shape, a firm saddle should feel better for your butt,
    once used to it. However, it seems a bit improbable that a squishy
    saddle is the cause of lower back pain. More likely this is due to
    bike fit (search for "lower back pain" in this list to find
    explanations) and slack core muscles (deep abdominals). A little time
    and money and some good advice on both of these points might do
    wonders for your cycling pleasure and general well-being.

    Donga

  18. On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 09:32:16 -0500 in rec.bicycles.misc, Hell and

    High Water said:

    I think the fit is correct, and the saddle is good quality, but is the
    firmness something I'll get used to?


    yep. once yer sitbones get used to it, you'll do much better.
    just work up to those long rides by taking short rides on it
    every day.

    i like the terry saddles with the no-numbness groove.

  19. On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 12:41:56 -0500 in rec.bicycles.misc, Hell and

    High Water said:

    As I mentioned, I was having some lower back pain.

    SO FAR....

    seems to be better.


    you need to make sure it's at the right height. if you were
    having lower back pain your old saddle was probably too low.

    i had to raise my saddle and add an adjustable stem to raise the
    handlebars before i finally got my fit good enough that my lower
    back stopped hurting.

  20. Mayor of Hooterville said:

    I just bought a Bontrager gel type saddle to replace the OEM one that came
    on my 7.5FX I bought a month ago.
    I just couldn't get used to that thin saddle. Felt every little pebble in
    the road.

    That's mostly due to your tyre pressure. Let some air out.

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