Pain in the butt...literally

Roy Keane said:

Hi all.

I'm hitting a wall - 2 hours in the saddle. But it's not my legs or my lungs that are breaking down...it's my, um...how do I say this, rear end.

I'm perfectly fine in the saddle for 2 hours...but I can't seem to get beyond that.

I figure it can't be the saddle itself, can it? I mean, why am I fine for the first two hours if it's the saddle?

your butt needs to get used to the saddle. it may very easily be the saddle. i have very little natural padding on my derier and have found the saddle for me and stuck with it. i ride with an old san marco regal, and wont change.

i have always felt that it is well worth the money to buy a quality saddle. if youre not getting off the bike at all during that 2 hours stop at a restraunt and grab a bite to eat. your butt would hurt if you even sat in the same position in an office chair for two hours straight.

Thanks Snaps. The take-a-break thing has defnintely worked for me, but I always thought of that as "cheating." As in, can I really say I took a 3 hour ride if I really took a 2 hour ride, had lunch, then took a 1 hour ride?

I know that sounds stupid...but you know what I mean.

Roy Keane said:

Hi all.

I'm hitting a wall - 2 hours in the saddle. But it's not my legs or my lungs that are breaking down...it's my, um...how do I say this, rear end.

I'm perfectly fine in the saddle for 2 hours...but I can't seem to get beyond that.

I figure it can't be the saddle itself, can it? I mean, why am I fine for the first two hours if it's the saddle?

How long have you been riding for?

On and off for years...but not "intensely" (i.e., 60 - 100 miles per week, if that qualifies) until this past April or so.

I found that to ride longer you need to get out of the saddle more. On medium to long down hills, stand up for the bottom half, Up hills I perfer to sit the whole way, but if I stand up and pedal the last 1/4 to 1/3 of the hill. I make better time for my ride and my butt lasts longer. I usually do 26 miles, today I did 47 miles for the first time, and my butt was killing me by the end. I needed to take more of my own advise.

Russ B

Roy Keane said:

I figure it can't be the saddle itself, can it? I mean, why am I fine for the first two hours if it's the saddle?

It can absolutely be the saddle. Saddles are hugely important, and saddle fitting should actually be given as much attention as bike fitting. Anatomically, there are many different butt "sizes" (or width of sitz bones to be more specific). Yet, how many saddle manufacturers offer saddles in multiple widths? Specialized has a saddle fitting system, but even they only offer the equivalent of small/medium/large. My suggestion is to go to several bike shops and try out lots of different saddles. The fact that there is some evidence that there is a bona fide concern about saddles cutting off blood supply to the privates and the long-term consequences of this is just another reason to do a saddle fitting. Don't even ask for opinions on saddles. One rider's "wonderful" saddle is another rider's "nightmare" saddle.

RapDaddyo said:

My suggestion is to go to several bike shops and try out lots of different saddles.

I have this issue too. If you don't feel discomfort until after a couple of hours riding, how can you tell in a bike shop the saddle will be comfortable for longer periods?

In case you can't tell by my question, I am totally new to riding too.

I'm hoping this issue is solved like every other cycling issue I've had (fatigue, bonking, hitting distance/speed walls, etc): putting more and more time in the saddle.

charlisity said:

I have this issue too. If you don't feel discomfort until after a couple of hours riding, how can you tell in a bike shop the saddle will be comfortable for longer periods?

In case you can't tell by my question, I am totally new to riding too.

Any numbness should actually begin to be felt in the first 5 minutes. The main thing you want to do is to see how your sitz bones fit on the saddle and how much pressure there is on your inner thighs. Just be sure you sit on the saddle in your usual riding positions. If you ride in an aggressive, aerodynamic position, that's how you should test the saddle. As you rotate your torso forward and down, it changes the angle of the sitz bones where they come in contact with the saddle.

RapDaddyo said:

Any numbness should actually begin to be felt in the first 5 minutes. The main thing you want to do is to see how your sitz bones fit on the saddle and how much pressure there is on your inner thighs. Just be sure you sit on the saddle in your usual riding positions. If you ride in an aggressive, aerodynamic position, that's how you should test the saddle. As you rotate your torso forward and down, it changes the angle of the sitz bones where they come in contact with the saddle.

I absolutely disagree about the 5 minutes as I have used saddles that felt terrific for 20 miles and then,wham, pain and discomfort.
It is an unfortunate truth that you may need to go through several saddles to find a fit.
This is my experience.

jhuskey said:

I absolutely disagree about the 5 minutes as I have used saddles that felt terrific for 20 miles and then,wham, pain and discomfort.

I'm talking specifically about the numbness in the genital area. Recent medical studies have shown that, contrary to earlier beliefs, the onset of numbness is really quite soon (e.g., 5mins). I'm not addressing discomfort for other reasons.

RapDaddyo said:

I'm talking specifically about the numbness in the genital area. Recent medical studies have shown that, contrary to earlier beliefs, the onset of numbness is really quite soon (e.g., 5mins). I'm not addressing discomfort for other reasons.

If the saddle is an extreme mis-match ,yes it might show up initially, but I have gone numb after extended use on such as a Fizik Alliante.
Felt great for a while but the went bad.
Picking a saddle is probably the hardest thing to do.

jhuskey said:

If the saddle is an extreme mis-match ,yes it might show up initially, but I have gone numb after extended use on such as a Fizik Alliante.
Felt great for a while but the went bad. Picking a saddle is probably the hardest thing to do.

Well, there may be a difference between "feel" and "real." The medical studies that got everybody so excited about the connection between saddles and ED was one that showed that the effects of interruption of blood flow to the genitals actually occurs almost immediately. Previously, it was thought that this didn't happen until much later. This study sort of turned everything upside down in this area. But, perhaps you don't "feel" the effects until much later.

RapDaddyo said:

Well, there may be a difference between "feel" and "real." The medical studies that got everybody so excited about the connection between saddles and ED was one that showed that the effects of interruption of blood flow to the genitals actually occurs almost immediately. Previously, it was thought that this didn't happen until much later. This study sort of turned everything upside down in this area. But, perhaps you don't "feel" the effects until much later.

The only thing I can attest to is that if I am hurting I get discouraged and want to head for home.
It didn't seem to bother me as much when I was 28 but now I need a better suited saddle.
I went through about 6 before I found one that was good after 50 miles.
Haven't had the old ED as yet. So far so good.

jhuskey said:

Haven't had the old ED as yet. So far so good.

Not to scare anybody, but it may be worth investigating the latest research in this area. This article names the most recent articles on the subject, all triggered by Steven Schrader's breakthrough study altpenis.com20050729203713data trunc sys.shtmlOpen ↗.