How do I relieve the pressure

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

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on my butt? I have been riding this CCM recumbent around, and after about 30 minutes, my butt is
dead. Now, on my diamond frame bike, I could stand up for a bit. How do you relieve this pressure
on a recumbent bike? I tried shifting forward/backward, and I tried tilting my pelvis, but nothing
worked. Should I just stop and get off for a few moments? What do y'all do?

Excuse my ignorance, but I don't know what a CCM recumbent is. If I understood, I could perhaps make
some recommendations for altering your seat angle or seat padding. In essence, what you are
experiencing is the result of sitting on (and compressing)the muscles that are doing the work. Some
call it "recumbent Butt". For many it is experienced on LWB recumbents. I have only experienced it
on SWBs (my P-38) after 60-70 miles.
--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

"Cletus Lee" skrev...

Quoted message said:

Excuse my ignorance, but I don't know what a CCM recumbent is. If I understood, I could perhaps
make some recommendations for altering your seat angle or seat padding. In essence, what you are
experiencing is the result of sitting on (and compressing)the muscles that are doing the work.
Some call it "recumbent Butt". For many it is experienced on LWB recumbents. I have only
experienced it on SWBs (my P-38) after 60-70 miles.

bentrideronline.comccmevox.htmOpen ↗

Which probably explains some of the discomfort. (As in its not really a true recumbent but the
result of a recumbent and a diamond frame mating)

M.

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

on my butt? I have been riding this CCM recumbent around, and after about 30 minutes, my butt is
dead. Now, on my diamond frame bike, I could stand up for a bit. How do you relieve this
pressure on a recumbent bike? I tried shifting forward/backward, and I tried tilting my pelvis,
but nothing worked. Should I just stop and get off for a few moments? What do y'all do?

To adress your question. On my LWB Tour Easy-clone which has a very upright seat I would get off and
walk some. Combine it with a break to "admire nature" or munch a snack and enjoy whatever there is
to enjoy. This was after 60 km though and with sleeping mat style foam. I don't know if the CCM was
built with long trips in mind.

Mikael

Pat the only people (I'm one too!) that experience the butt pressure you speak of are those of us
who weigh more than they actully should. Is this a catagory you fit in? No offense, please.

Don P.

Cletus Lee <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

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

Quoted message said:

on my butt? I have been riding this CCM recumbent around, and after about 30 minutes, my butt is
dead. Now, on my diamond frame bike, I could stand up for a bit. How do you relieve this
pressure on a recumbent bike? I tried shifting forward/backward, and I tried tilting my pelvis,
but nothing worked. Should I just stop and get off for a few moments? What do y'all do?

Excuse my ignorance, but I don't know what a CCM recumbent is. If I understood, I could perhaps
make some recommendations for altering your seat angle or seat padding. In essence, what you are
experiencing is the result of sitting on (and compressing)the muscles that are doing the work.
Some call it "recumbent Butt". For many it is experienced on LWB recumbents. I have only
experienced it on SWBs (my P-38) after 60-70 miles.

The P-38 requires a very upright seat angle, and so recumbent butt can be experienced by anyone
after a sufficient number of miles and hours. The only solution is to get that seat back reclined
more. Some reucmbents make this a no brainer whereas others do not allow for much seat back recline.
The reason it is so frequently experienced on a LWB is because of the low BB which requires a fairly
upright seat angle. Hence, the advantage of a recumbent like the RANS V2. A low BB recumbent is just
fine for a couple of hours ride, but when you are going to be out all day you want a more reclined
seat back angle which you can only get on reucmbents with a fairly high BB.

If you are going to experience discomfort on a recumbent, you might as well be riding an upright.
Get it right or get lost. This is not rocket science. I have found the ideal BB height to be about 2
inches below the seat. This allows for optimum seat back angle laid back and yet optimizes the power
to the pedals. Robert Bryant has repeatedly stated this ideal configuration in the pages of RCN and
I whole heartedly agree. It is nirvana for a recumbent. Thus spake Zarathustra!

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

"DonRPeters" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

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Pat the only people (I'm one too!) that experience the butt pressure you

speak

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of are those of us who weigh more than they actully should.

Actually, that's an over generalization. I am nearly 6 foot and weigh 160 to
170. Not overweight by any means. I get recumbent butt on conventional seats sometimes.

My resident News Group expert, Mark Stonich, has stated that unless your seat back is reclined to
55 degrees or less (90 is straight up) you can expect recumbent butt. I find 45 degrees to be my
magic figure.

Also, The Vision seat is often held up as the epitome of recumbent seating. It suspends you rather
than being a solid base. I have developed "The Perfect Seat" (TPS) as an offshoot of that design. In
my take on that design, the seat back lean angle is independent from the seat bottom angle.

This is the problem with conventional open mest seats. When you lean them back far enough to get the
weight off your posterior, the front of the seat hits the bottom of your thighs.

When I get around to it, I will post a web page about TPS.

As others have stated, On my high racer clone, I have a hard shell seat at about 30 degrees.
Recumbent butt is never a problem on that bent.

Miles of Smiles,

Tom

"Tom Blum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

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"DonRPeters" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:20031223215714.26263.00001588@mb-
m06.aol.com...

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Quoted message said:

Pat the only people (I'm one too!) that experience the butt pressure you

speak

Quoted message said:

of are those of us who weigh more than they actully should.

Actually, that's an over generalization. I am nearly 6 foot and weigh 160 to
170. Not overweight by any means. I get recumbent butt on conventional seats sometimes.

My resident News Group expert, Mark Stonich, has stated that unless your seat back is reclined to
55 degrees or less (90 is straight up) you can expect recumbent butt. I find 45 degrees to be my
magic figure.

Yes, I do not think you ever have to get the lean back much more than 45 degrees. If you get more
lean back than that you create other problems.

Quoted message said:

Also, The Vision seat is often held up as the epitome of recumbent seating. It suspends you rather
than being a solid base. I have developed "The Perfect Seat" (TPS) as an offshoot of that design.
In my take on that design, the seat back lean angle is independent from the seat bottom angle.

I believe there are a few other recumbents that do have an independent seat adjustment from the back
adjustment. I think this would be ideal too. However, it does not seem to be a problem with the
Vision seat. The triangular shape of the seat bottom does not interfere with leg action for me. I do
regard the Vision seat as the most perfect seat ever designed for a recumbent. The only thing I ever
had to do with it is to get a better quality of foam for the seat base. The original foam was just
too skimpy.

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This is the problem with conventional open mesh seats. When you lean them back far enough to get
the weight off your posterior, the front of the seat hits the bottom of your thighs.

I have never been able to find comfort on an all mesh seat. I have always had to place a foam on the
seat base. Otherwise I get recumbent butt after about a half hour.

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When I get around to it, I will post a web page about TPS.

As others have stated, On my high racer clone, I have a hard shell seat at about 30 degrees.
Recumbent butt is never a problem on that bent.

Man, you have got that seat really leaned back! I think I would have neck problems with that much
lean back.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

Edward Dolan said:

...

Quoted message said:

As others have stated, On my high racer clone, I have a hard shell seat at about 30 degrees.
Recumbent butt is never a problem on that bent.

Man, you have got that seat really leaned back! I think I would have neck problems with that much
lean back.

Reclined seating position. <http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/costin/fmonkey.jpg>.

Tom Sherman - 41½ N, 90½ W

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

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Edward Dolan said:

...

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As others have stated, On my high racer clone, I have a hard shell seat at about 30 degrees.
Recumbent butt is never a problem on that bent.

Man, you have got that seat really leaned back! I think I would have neck problems with that
much lean back.

Reclined seating position. <http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/costin/fmonkey.jpg>.

Tom Sherman - 41½ N, 90½ W

Hey, Tom, that is strictly for the race track. I ride in the real world of god awful streets and god
awful traffic. I have got to see what is coming at me and what is following me at all times, and I
can not be in a fantasy world where only I exist.

I have ridden these really laid back seat angles and I do not know how you would avoid the neck
problems and the handling problems. Riding recumbents in the real world will require that you make
compromises if you want to continue living. I have always said that I want to die in my own bed at
home and not out on the street in an accident with an automobile. Maybe you don't care how you die,
but I would just as soon depart this world in some modicum of comfort.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

[email hidden] (DonRPeters) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

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Pat the only people (I'm one too!) that experience the butt pressure you speak of are those of us
who weigh more than they actually should. Is this a category you fit in? No offense, please.

Don P.

Don, I do not think weight has too much to do with it. I have often thought that the amount of
natural padding you have in your posterior has more to do with it than anything else. I am a light
weight and I can experience recumbent butt on any number of recumbents. The main thing is to get
that seat back angled about 45 degrees and that will solve most of the problems with reucmbent butt.
An upright seat angle will definitely cause me to have a recumbent butt.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota