Noob calling all big guys on road bikes

Rob Hughes said:

So, when I say big, I would be talking about guys built like me; 6'4",
230ish, 34" waist w/ 36" inseam.

That said, after a 15 year hiatus, I'm back into road bikes. I picked up a
Specialized Allez w/ a BG saddle. Not exactly sure what model, just
whatever comes stock on those bikes. But this sucker is bloody
uncomfortable to the point of being painful after only a short time on the
bike. I've never experienced any sort of pain on a bike before, so my
questions are:

Is anyone in my size class comfortably riding on one of these.
If not, then what saddle would you recommend?
What's the proper way to adjust a saddle?
And what saddle would be a recommendation as an upgrade, if I decide to go
that route anyway?

I suspect one of two things. First, if the saddle is padded, it's
optimized for 4 mile test rides, and will get progressively more painful
as you ride it further. Second, you may not be fit right. This is a
tough one to figure out, since you've been off bikes for 15 years and
the shop that sold this one to you doesn't know or care how to fit your
bike to you. The seat could be too high, too low, forward, back, or
tilted wrong. It might need a new stem to get you in the right spot.
Call around to bike clubs and shops, and see if there's someone in town
who does a good road bike fit. If you can't find anyone locally, there
are some good pages on the web to help you try to set it up yourself.

I ride a Brooks B-17 saddle. (Expect the nay-sayers to come out of the
woodwork with this admission!) It's like it was made for my butt; never
uncomfortable, right out of the box, and disappeared (as far as
discomfort goes) in a hundred miles or so. If you want to try a Brooks,
check with wallbike.com -- they'll take it back if it doesn't work.

Pat

Rob Hughes wrote:
:: So, when I say big, I would be talking about guys built like me;
:: 6'4", 230ish, 34" waist w/ 36" inseam.
::
:: That said, after a 15 year hiatus, I'm back into road bikes. I
:: picked up a Specialized Allez w/ a BG saddle. Not exactly sure what
:: model, just whatever comes stock on those bikes. But this sucker is
:: bloody uncomfortable to the point of being painful after only a
:: short time on the bike. I've never experienced any sort of pain on a
:: bike before, so my questions are:
::
:: Is anyone in my size class comfortably riding on one of these.
:: If not, then what saddle would you recommend?
:: What's the proper way to adjust a saddle?
:: And what saddle would be a recommendation as an upgrade, if I decide
:: to go that route anyway?
::
:: Thanks,
:: Rob of the funny walk

How long have you been back in the saddle? My specialized with stock saddle
would bother me at the 45 mile point. I had to switch it out for a Brooks
B17. Are you wearing bike shorts with appropriate padding? did you get
your bike "fit" right?

Saddle choice is highly individual, so don't expect the results of others to
apply to you.

Rob Hughes said:

So, when I say big, I would be talking about guys built like me; 6'4",
230ish, 34" waist w/ 36" inseam.

That said, after a 15 year hiatus, I'm back into road bikes. I picked up a
Specialized Allez w/ a BG saddle. Not exactly sure what model, just
whatever comes stock on those bikes. But this sucker is bloody
uncomfortable to the point of being painful after only a short time on the
bike. I've never experienced any sort of pain on a bike before, so my
questions are:

Is anyone in my size class comfortably riding on one of these.
If not, then what saddle would you recommend?
What's the proper way to adjust a saddle?
And what saddle would be a recommendation as an upgrade, if I decide to go
that route anyway?

I ride a specialized saddle and love it. I'm 6;'2 and 220. It's impossible to
make a recommendation since size and weight does not correlate to sitz bone
width. Here's the important thing. The Specialized BG line is available in three
widths. So think through just what's wrong with the one you've got and see if a
different size will fix that.

For me the worst saddle ever was the Concor confort, I never got even 15 miles
on it. It exactly fit between and wedged apart the sit bones. Obviously I needed
a slightly wider and flatter saddle.

You want the saddle more of less level, so you aren't sliding forward and
holding yourself up with the arms and you don't want it tilted back into the
tender bits. Between the level and the fore-aft adjust you should be able to
take your hands off the bars and stay in the position with only a little back
muscle in use.

Quoted message said:

Rob of the funny walk

Let's see if we can fix that.

Ron

Rob Hughes said:

So, when I say big, I would be talking about guys built like me; 6'4",
230ish, 34" waist w/ 36" inseam.

That said, after a 15 year hiatus, I'm back into road bikes. I picked up a
Specialized Allez w/ a BG saddle. Not exactly sure what model, just
whatever comes stock on those bikes. But this sucker is bloody
uncomfortable to the point of being painful after only a short time on the
bike. I've never experienced any sort of pain on a bike before, so my
questions are:

Is anyone in my size class comfortably riding on one of these.
If not, then what saddle would you recommend?
What's the proper way to adjust a saddle?
And what saddle would be a recommendation as an upgrade, if I decide to go
that route anyway?

Thanks,
Rob of the funny walk

You don't say how long you have been back in the saddle. I started back
riding a couple of years ago and weighed then what you did when you
started. Even before losing some weight, my butt adapted to the seat.
It was sore for a couple of weeks, but it gradually went away. It
probably "helped" that I ride just about every day. One of my saddles
is a real hard gel and the other is the stock Specialized one that came
with my Allez. I can't tell a whole lot of difference which seat I'm on
and do not wear anything special in the way of shorts. I'd just give it
more time.

Rob Hughes said:

So, when I say big, I would be talking about guys built like me; 6'4",
230ish, 34" waist w/ 36" inseam.

That said, after a 15 year hiatus, I'm back into road bikes. I picked up a
Specialized Allez w/ a BG saddle. Not exactly sure what model, just
whatever comes stock on those bikes. But this sucker is bloody
uncomfortable to the point of being painful after only a short time on the
bike. I've never experienced any sort of pain on a bike before, so my
questions are:

Is anyone in my size class comfortably riding on one of these.
If not, then what saddle would you recommend?
What's the proper way to adjust a saddle?
And what saddle would be a recommendation as an upgrade, if I decide to go
that route anyway?

Thanks,
Rob of the funny walk

I'm 6'10", 230, but I'd hesitate giving you a saddle recommendation, as
saddles are like shoes. Unfortunately, it's a trial & error thing.
Rather than spending a bunch on an "upgrade" saddle, you might try some
of the $10 saddles the bike shops usually have that were
switched/upgraded from other new bikes, that might help narrow down the
best size & shape for you. It may be that you have an adjustment problem
or just need to break in your bottom, but I wouldn't assume that to
start. My experience has been that lots of saddles are acceptable
(including many of the $10 specials), a few are considerably more
comfortable, but a few are very uncomfortable, impossible to ride very
far even when perfectly adjusted (Brooks leather saddles falling into
that category). I know others who have found the BG uncomfortable, so it
may just be a bad match to you.

All,

Rather than reply to all the posts separately, I'm just replying to one, but
will try to answer all the questions asked.

Pat Lamb said:

I suspect one of two things. First, if the saddle is padded, it's
optimized for 4 mile test rides, and will get progressively more painful
as you ride it further.

Yep, that's pretty much what happens, except it's painful within a mile or
so.

Quoted message said:

Second, you may not be fit right. This is a

Possible, but we did spend about a half-hour at the shop setting the bike
up, measuring the angle of the knee, etc. I suspect these guys would be
more than willing to help me out with going back over the setup. They seem
like a fairly knowledgeable bunch.

Roger Zoul said:

How long have you been back in the saddle? My specialized with stock
saddle

A few days <sheepish grin>. But I've never experienced anything like this
amount of pain on a bike. And that's from $100 monkey ward's specials as a
kid up to a $2500 DeRosa at the end.

Quoted message said:

Are you wearing bike shorts with appropriate padding?

Oh, yeah.

RonSonic said:

You want the saddle more of less level, so you aren't sliding forward and
holding yourself up with the arms and you don't want it tilted back into
the tender bits. Between the level and the fore-aft adjust you should be
able to take your hands off the bars and stay in the position with only a
little back muscle in use.

OK, see, this is where I get confused. The saddle isn't flat. The curve
across the top is a very open S shape, more or less, so please
define "flat". Do you mean the two highest points on the saddle? I have to
ask because I've seen similar instructions in a few places, but "level" is
hard when there really isn't a specific "level" to be had.

Again, the bike shop did do a setup, but it wasn't a prolonged one, so this
may be it. I'm just trying to figure out what the next, best, step so I
don't either waste a bunch of money on saddles or a bunch of time and pain
trying different set ups. And if the next step is a saddle, I was hoping to
benefit from the experience of others, but I see the point that saddles are
a very personal thing. And so there isn't an easy answer there.

But I mean I'm not kidding when I say funny walk. After about 10-12 miles, I
can barely move, and it takes a few hours for the pain to fade to a
bearable level. Nor is it gone by the next day, so it's been getting worse
every day that I've ridden. I had to get off after just a couple miles this
morning. And that just seems wrong.

I hope I covered everything asked. Some people asked the same questions, so
I tried to just summarize those. I really appreciate everyone who
responded.

Regards,
Rob

--
Ignorance is a condition. Stupidity is a way of life.

On Mon, 03 Apr 2006 17:47:37 -0500, Rob Hughes <[email hidden]>
wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You want the saddle more of less level, so you aren't sliding forward and
holding yourself up with the arms and you don't want it tilted back into
the tender bits. Between the level and the fore-aft adjust you should be
able to take your hands off the bars and stay in the position with only a
little back muscle in use.

OK, see, this is where I get confused. The saddle isn't flat. The curve
across the top is a very open S shape, more or less, so please
define "flat". Do you mean the two highest points on the saddle? I have to
ask because I've seen similar instructions in a few places, but "level" is
hard when there really isn't a specific "level" to be had.

If the surface of the saddle isn't level, examine it from the side &
imagine a horizontal line through the body of the the saddle. I'm
guessing this line should be level. From the way you describe your
experience I feel there is more than un un-level saddle bothering you.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

But I mean I'm not kidding when I say funny walk. After about 10-12 miles, I
can barely move, and it takes a few hours for the pain to fade to a
bearable level. Nor is it gone by the next day, so it's been getting worse
every day that I've ridden. I had to get off after just a couple miles this
morning. And that just seems wrong.

Stop ricing that saddle before you do some long-lasting damage.
Chafing is one thing, as is discomfort. The pain your desrcibing
sounds dangerous. How would you like to be stuck with that walk (and
the pain) for six months or a year? I had pain in an elbow (repetitive
stress) for over two years before an extended relocation to a
different activity at work gave the six months it took to recover.

Indiana Mike

PS- Your not having to over-extend your leg at the bottom of each
crank, are you? That might put extra pressure on the seat.

Quoted message said:

I hope I covered everything asked. Some people asked the same questions, so
I tried to just summarize those. I really appreciate everyone who
responded.

Regards,
Rob

Rob Hughes said:

OK, see, this is where I get confused. The saddle isn't flat. The curve
across the top is a very open S shape, more or less, so please
define "flat". Do you mean the two highest points on the saddle? I have to
ask because I've seen similar instructions in a few places, but "level" is
hard when there really isn't a specific "level" to be had.

It may be that the shape of the saddle disagrees with you so
emphatically. I can't stand saddles that curve like that (probably why I
can't stand Brooks). I need a saddle that's perfectly flat front to
back, maybe you are the same.

Mike Rice said:

Stop ricing that saddle before you do some long-lasting damage.
Chafing is one thing, as is discomfort. The pain your desrcibing
sounds dangerous. How would you like to be stuck with that walk (and
the pain) for six months or a year? I had pain in an elbow (repetitive
stress) for over two years before an extended relocation to a
different activity at work gave the six months it took to recover.

Yeah, that's why I was asking 😉 Anyway... I spent about 2 hours just doing
laps around the block last night and tweaking the saddle position a bit
this way and that. I also found that when the shop had set the height for
the saddle, they'd gotten it off-angle by about 4-5 degrees as measured
along the bike's axis. I straightened that out and fixed the position, and
now no more pain. Rode right at 15 this morning, and felt fine afterward.
Now to start increasing that 😉

Again, thanks to everyone that answered and all the help given.

Regards,
Rob

--
Ignorance is a condition. Stupidity is a way of life.

Rob Hughes said:

Mike Rice said:

Stop ricing that saddle before you do some long-lasting damage.
Chafing is one thing, as is discomfort. The pain your desrcibing
sounds dangerous. How would you like to be stuck with that walk (and
the pain) for six months or a year? I had pain in an elbow (repetitive
stress) for over two years before an extended relocation to a
different activity at work gave the six months it took to recover.

Yeah, that's why I was asking 😉 Anyway... I spent about 2 hours just doing
laps around the block last night and tweaking the saddle position a bit
this way and that. I also found that when the shop had set the height for
the saddle, they'd gotten it off-angle by about 4-5 degrees as measured
along the bike's axis. I straightened that out and fixed the position, and
now no more pain. Rode right at 15 this morning, and felt fine afterward.
Now to start increasing that 😉

Again, thanks to everyone that answered and all the help given.

As for the yaw angle of the seat, most people are not quite symmetrical and you
might be more comfortable with it angled just a tiny amount. When it feels
straight it's right.

Enjoy.

Ron

RonSonic said:

Rob Hughes said:

Mike Rice said:

Stop ricing that saddle before you do some long-lasting damage.
Chafing is one thing, as is discomfort. The pain your desrcibing
sounds dangerous. How would you like to be stuck with that walk (and
the pain) for six months or a year? I had pain in an elbow (repetitive
stress) for over two years before an extended relocation to a
different activity at work gave the six months it took to recover.

Yeah, that's why I was asking 😉 Anyway... I spent about 2 hours just
doing laps around the block last night and tweaking the saddle position a
bit this way and that. I also found that when the shop had set the height
for the saddle, they'd gotten it off-angle by about 4-5 degrees as
measured along the bike's axis. I straightened that out and fixed the
position, and now no more pain. Rode right at 15 this morning, and felt
fine afterward. Now to start increasing that 😉

Again, thanks to everyone that answered and all the help given.

As for the yaw angle of the seat, most people are not quite symmetrical
and you might be more comfortable with it angled just a tiny amount. When
it feels straight it's right.

Enjoy.

Ron

I stopped by the shop I got the bike from and spent a few minutes talking to
one of the older guys there. He took one look at me and my saddle and
said "You need a 155." I'm going over in the morning to pick it up and have
a real fit done. Geez... 15 years and everything changes 😉 I can't wait!
--
Ignorance is a condition. Stupidity is a way of life.