I brought my first racing bike back in March, and have been lenghtening my rides to between 60/100 miles. Only problem is after a couple of hours Im becoming extremely saddle sore. I thought this was something that I would get used to, but its getting worse each time i go out, to the point this weekend that I had bleeding blisters develop in places I REALLY dont want them.. Ill spare you anymore details! The point being, can anyone recommend a good saddle, or a manufacturer, or any tips on minimising the damage. I've been wearing cycling shorts, though they really dont seem to be helping...
Most likely it's the saddle adjustment that needs tweaking. but first, what saddle are we talking about? If there is too much padding it's not going to be very comfortable.
The bikes a TREK 1.2 WSD and the saddles the one that came with it, a bontrager select basic fit... I havent really touched the adjustment of it since I set the height
The bikes a TREK 1.2 WSD and the saddles the one that came with it, a bontrager select basic fit... I havent really touched the adjustment of it since I set the height
In addition to height there is the fore and aft position as well as the tilt of the nose. Most saddles are not inherently bad, but rather due for adjustment. hard to pinpoint the issue over the web. You could try fiddling with it (search the web for bike fit) or better yet find a shop that does bike fitting instore.
In addition to height there is the fore and aft position as well as the tilt of the nose. Most saddles are not inherently bad, but rather due for adjustment. hard to pinpoint the issue over the web. You could try fiddling with it (search the web for bike fit) or better yet find a shop that does bike fitting instore.
Don't waste your time fiddling with it. Go to a bike shop that can fit you and get a fitting done. Take your bike with you so that they can see what you have. It may just be a matter of saddle adjustment, or you may have a saddle that is unsuitable for you. You may have to try several saddles before you find one that will be good for you.
Another route is join your local bicycle club and ask some of the long time members for help. I have found that the amount of knowledge possessed by the members of a club is usually superior to any one bike shop. Also, the members may have extra saddles available for you to try out to find your best fit.
I brought my first racing bike back in March, and have been lenghtening my rides to between 60/100 miles. Only problem is after a couple of hours Im becoming extremely saddle sore. I thought this was something that I would get used to, but its getting worse each time i go out, to the point this weekend that I had bleeding blisters develop in places I REALLY dont want them.. Ill spare you anymore details! The point being, can anyone recommend a good saddle, or a manufacturer, or any tips on minimising the damage. I've been wearing cycling shorts, though they really dont seem to be helping...
thanks!
Another thing you can do, if you have a LBS that deals withh Specialized, they have this gel pad "tape measure" that you sit on to measure where your sitbones are. It might be the saddles to wide and rubbing. Or like capwater said, not adjusted properly. I've had good luck with that system and for me I went with the BG Specialized seat (make that 2). Saddles are well summed up by 1. only you will know if it's right for you and 2. less is more. A last thought, your shorts might be contributing to the problem. Check to make sure they don't ride up at the leg or bunch between them. Good luck🙂
Saddle fit and position are important, as well as good shorts, but are you using chamois lube? For longer rides, it really helps to prevent the painful chaffing and blisters. I've done one century without chamois lube, and .....let's just say I stood a lot for the last 20 miles 🙂
You can buy various brands; Chamois Butt'r, etc, or just use a heavy hand cream. Vaseline works too, but it's messy to wash out. Assos make a metholated lube. Also saw a recipe recently for homemade which uses a jar of vaseline with small tubes of antibacterial and cortisone creams added.
Saddle fit and position are important, as well as good shorts, but are you using chamois lube? For longer rides, it really helps to prevent the painful chaffing and blisters. I've done one century without chamois lube, and .....let's just say I stood a lot for the last 20 miles 🙂
You can buy various brands; Chamois Butt'r, etc, or just use a heavy hand cream. Vaseline works too, but it's messy to wash out. Assos make a metholated lube. Also saw a recipe recently for homemade which uses a jar of vaseline with small tubes of antibacterial and cortisone creams added.
+1 on the chamois cream. I forgot to mention that. Thanks, dhk2. Makes a world of difference!
my lbs let me try various saddles (one of the major benefits of a lbs)....none really worked for me. ordered brooks 17 and it, along with bib shorts, solved the problem. I also use bag butter (you can get this at feed stores--essentially used for udder's) but you get the picture.
A & D ointment is the best I've found (original flavor ;-). I had to change my bike shorts to ones with wing pads that go down the leg to prevent chafing of the edge of pad at high RPM.
Rich
SALLYANN1002 said:
A question for the ladies out there...
I brought my first racing bike back in March, and have been lenghtening my rides to between 60/100 miles. Only problem is after a couple of hours Im becoming extremely saddle sore. I thought this was something that I would get used to, but its getting worse each time i go out, to the point this weekend that I had bleeding blisters develop in places I REALLY dont want them.. Ill spare you anymore details! The point being, can anyone recommend a good saddle, or a manufacturer, or any tips on minimising the damage. I've been wearing cycling shorts, though they really dont seem to be helping...
