At the same time though, bicycles are not sofas, or beds, or easy chairs. They are machines, and they are minimalist vehicles. They are not designed for comfort without compromise. They are designed to be ridden without actually hurting you as long as you use them correctly.
There are pills to soothe your body, and pills to soothe your mind. There are driver-coddling cars, first-class seating, heated floors, and ergonomic toilet brushes. Why should cycling be any different? Well, when it comes to bikes, there is such a thing as normal discomfort. Your body is going to ache from staying in the same position. You see, a certain amount of discomfort is normal when you ride a bicycle. And even when you are feeling discomfort, there is usually something you can do about it to ensure that the pain you are experiencing is not at an excess level.
My goal as the "Bicycle Touring Pro" is to give you the confidence and inspiration you need to travel by bicycle anywhere in the world. I'm here to help you plan, prepare for, and execute your first bike tour and remove all the guesswork, wasted time and frustration that plagues so many first-time bicycle travelers. Have you ever tried recumbent bicycles? Yes, one must tolerate a little pain, but there ARE ways to ride with much greater comfort… without necessarily compromising performance!
I switched to recumbents 8 years ago faster and a lot more comfortable and no need for special clothes to sit on it. The pain I get is pushing muscles to hard. After a long ride I only get aches from legs where I have peddling hard no sore arse, neck ache or back ache. Some long distance cyclists swear by it but what is your opinion? Any thoughts to prevent misery? Try one of the Brooks saddles. I got a lot of abuse for using an old-school saddle, but after a week on the bike I definitely had the least pain out of everyone.
Takes a while to break in but worth it. Recumbent bikes solve pretty much every problem mentioned. Nor did I spend one day in a padded Spandex diaper.
Well, yes, a diamond frame will. As the comments have been shared and I can tell you that after 5 different seats over 1 year , I have come to the one that fits! Test and test some more. And to make sure that the level of it is right is the key too.
Keep up the work that you love. I always wear padded cycling shorts. They are designed to be worn commando- no undies. Carry two pairs and wash the pair you used every night, if you can. I use diaper pins to pin the shorts to my rear panniers to air dry while I ride. I turn them inside out to get a bit of UV sterilization on the chamois.
Using Chamois-butter or some other lubricant, especially at that beginning of a tour helps with chafe. If you get saddle sores, use triple antibiotic ointment with lidocane. Great tips! Also try various types of padded bike shorts to see if they help.
I know how you feel. I can go no more than 10 miles on a traditional bike seat before I lose all feeling in my legs and have difficulty walking when I get off. So I bought the Moonsaddle..
Last year I did over miles on my bike…no issues. This seat can not be bought in regular retail establisments. It was designed by doctors to avoid all the problems generated by the standard design seat. I appreciate this post and the informative comments! I dont think anyone is ever asking for a luxury arm chair experienc on a bike..
The rock city SDG that came with my bike straigh out hurt.. I just bought a great seat that helped me with the sore buttocks syndrome. Jeri is the owner and a great lady. The stock saddle that comes with almost all bicycles needs to be replaced immediately. On racing bikes, the seller puts the lightest saddle on the bike, and comfort has nothing to do with it. My Cannondale came with a saddle that was so narrow, I could not sit on it. All the weight was on the base of my penis. Plus it was hard.
No cushion at all. A rigid aluminum frame with rigid saddle. I ordered a proper saddle with a gel cushion immediately. After market saddles are always better. Improper clothing causes chafing. When I was younger, I could use a hard saddle and ride miles with minimal discomfort. Older people need more cushion. Changing the saddle position is not the answer. Who rides in the same position for hours on end? The road vibration alone makes you slide this way and that, not to mention the constant change of terrain, up and down, left and right.
What kind of frame do you have? Chrome-moly is more forgiving than either carbon or alum. The cause of sore-butt is jolting vibrations from the road.
Steel is flexible and absorbs a fraction of the vibration. C and Al transfer all that energy to your derriere. If you ride on rough roads, skip the carbon and Al frames.
They are lighter and faster, but that comes at a cost, especially for older riders. If it is uncomfortable in a ride down the block, it will be times worse on a 20 mile ride. Kids are to be seen and not heard.
But on rides of over 60 miles per day, I was still feeling discomfort. I finally bought a Brooks B17 and after a few hundred miles I knew that I had found the perfect saddle for me.
But as far-fetched as that scene was, there was some truth to it: Bike seats can be pretty uncomfortable. It's normal for your butt to feel slightly sore after a ride, because when you sit on a bike seat, most of your weight gets distributed on two very small bones on the bottom of your pelvis.
That can lead to soreness, especially if you're on a long ride, explains Maddy Ciccone , a SoulCycle instructor in Boston.
Oh, and it's true: Bike shorts are intended to be worn next to your skin. No skivvies. That removes yet another cause of chafing. OK, this isn't easy, but at least it can be inexpensive! In general, wispy thin folks have fewer saddle problems than chunkier folks.
That's you! Every pound you drop is that much less pressure on your saddle. How do you lose weight? My favorite methods are: Eat less, and ride more. Besides reducing saddle pressure, there are other side benefits. Riding more makes your butt tougher, which also helps prevent saddle soreness.
Losing weight makes getting up hills easier, and may even reduce your flat tires. And of course, it makes you look better in that lycra! So what if all the above doesn't fix your problem? Well, you may need a different saddle. Here's where we get into some expense, and some complication.
The choice of a new saddle isn't easy. Different riding styles may call for different saddle types. In general, wider and softer saddles go with shorter, slower rides.
Narrower, firmer saddles work best for faster, longer rides. Think about it! It makes sense! To go fast, you'll push harder on the pedals. And the harder you push down on the pedals, the less of your weight remains on the saddle. Also, faster cyclists bend low over the handlebars to escape the wind. Both of these reduce the weight on your butt - which further helps, because now your butt muscles can do more work, making you even faster, meaning it takes less saddle time to do a long ride.
Of course, you've got to be in good shape to do all that, so you've got to ride lots - which also toughens your butt, remember? Bottom line: When you see a fast guy on a narrow saddle, don't pity him. His butt's probably more comfortable than yours! On the other hand, a person who takes a leisurely ten mile cruise about once a week, doesn't push as hard, doesn't care about aerodynamics, and doesn't need his glutes working hard. He won't have a tough butt.
He'll sit up straighter to enjoy the view more, and he'll put more weight on his saddle. He'll probably want a wider, cushier saddle. And he won't care if it's not comfortable on a 75 mile ride, because he's not going to do one! So, narrow and firm for speed and distance; wider and softer for slow, short comfort. To buy a saddle, you need to know where you are on the cushy-to-rock-hard scale. But that's not all! There's a critical measurement you'll need to know when you shop for a saddle, and it's not easy to get.
You'll need to know the distance between your sit bones - that is, your "ischial tuberosities". Again, these are the two bony knobs that you can feel supporting your weight if you sit on a desk corner, facing out.
So how do you measure your sit bone width? It is pretty personal, after all! If you've ridden for a while, you may be able to tell by looking at your saddle. It may have noticeable wear at the spots the sit bones have been pressing. Or you may be able feel that distance by hand and judge it pretty well. Once, I even saw a special foam measurement pad in a bike shop; you'd sit on it, your sit bones would leave pockets that you could measure.
But one way or another, learn your sit bone width. Then buy a saddle wide enough to support your sit bones. A narrower saddle can have your sit bones hanging off the sides. All your weight will be on the soft tissues in between, and trust me, that will hurt!
But don't get a saddle too much wider. A too-wide saddle can cause nasty chafing, and interfere with pedaling. By the way, as a general rule, women's sit bones are significantly further apart than those of men. Therefore, most women need a saddle that's a bit wider, and perhaps a bit shorter front to back.
Still, I've known women who did great on men's saddles, and I've known guys who were more comfortable on a saddle supposedly designed for women.
What about the fact that bike saddles cause men to become impotent? The short answer is: Hogwash! One infamous urologist has built a career out of that claim, but the facts and most other urologists are against him. For the first few rides after not riding for awhile, you will probably have one. Getting the right saddle for you, as outlined above, is the most important part of not getting a sore butt while biking.
If you are riding longer distances, you should most definitely have a pair of cycling shorts. These are skin tight shorts that have a chamois, or padded material, in them to give you a softer, more comfortable ride.
If you experience chaffing, using chamois cream will help alleviate as well as prevent your discomfort. Any time the road goes uphill is a good time to get out of the saddle. If you live in a flat area, you will have to make a conscious effort to get out of the saddle on a regular basis.
I am a former professional road cyclist and traveled the world riding and racing my bike. I started out in high school learning everything the hard way through a lot of trial and error and made it to racing with the worlds best.
I hope I can give good insight into riding and everything that encompasses cycling. Saddle Width When you sit on a bike seat your sit bones are what supports you. Saddle Softness In addition to having the right width saddle, you will also want a saddle with the correct hardness. Saddle Shape The shape of your saddle can also influence how sore your butt gets while riding.
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