Posted: 3/24/2010 8:51:35 PM EDT
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So I admit. I bought a bike last summer, and rode it once. I took it for a 12 mile ride, and my ass was so sore I could barely sit for a week. I haven't ridden it since, but I want to again.
My ass being defined as, my ass bones. I think it bruised my ass bad. Is the cure for this to get a wider seat? Someone suggested wearing biker clothing, but there's no way I'm going to get the all matching Tour De France getup and ride my bike. |
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If you went to the gym and lifted like never befor, would you be sore?
Bicycle seats are kinda like that. You should go to a bicycle only shop, explain the problem and they will help you. THEY want you to ride bikes for years so that they make long term$$$ Serfas makes some very comfy saddles. Padded shorts help a ton as well. The seat that you need today will be a soft seat. latter if you start ridding more you will move tworads a firmer seat. SAVE your old seat. a year or two later it might come to use if you skip ridding for a bit. |
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The seats supposed to be parallel to the ground, not perpendicular.
Make sure you actually FIT the bicycle to yourself. Or buy a beach cruiser seat, OR the faggy bike shorts CAN be worn under regular shorts, work the same, and not be seen. The big culprit sounds like a lack of conditioning. What you did was akin to never shooting a gun, then pulling the trigger on a hot .44 mag to bust your cherry. |
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The seats supposed to be parallel to the ground, not perpendicular. Make sure you actually FIT the bicycle to yourself. Or buy a beach cruiser seat, OR the faggy bike shorts CAN be worn under regular shorts, work the same, and not be seen. The big culprit sounds like a lack of conditioning. What you did was akin to never shooting a gun, then pulling the trigger on a hot .44 mag to bust your cherry. Make no mistake, my legs were sore. But my ass was a different kind of sore. I suppose it could have been muscle soreness, but the sore part was right where my ass touched the seat. I remember trying to get back on the bike a week later, and where I sat on the seat is where it still hurt. Does your butt condition to a seat, much like a kickboxer kicks his shin against a tree to numb it? Or just start off with a more comfy seat + shorts? |
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Biking shorts are a must IMHO. I'm a mountain biker and wouldn't consider riding without them. They make baggy shorts which is what I use. There's a chamois (pad) inside. http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=84528&page=Fox+Attack+Cycling+Shorts  ETA you can get shorts a lot cheaper than these, just used Fox as an example. |
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Yup, baggies with a good liner if you're worried about looking like a roadie. A good seat with the correct geometry is going to help, but if you plan on being on the saddle for any length of time you want a good pair of shorts.
Here's a lower priced option for some decent mountain baggies. |
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Yes your butt will condition to your saddle, But that being said you may have to experiment with them. Go to your local shop and have them fit your bike to you if you haven't been fitted. Bike shorts help. You can wear Lycra shorts under regular shorts or you can buy mountain bike shorts that fit regularly like shorts but have the chamois sewn in.
Also you may find that you are putting all your weight on your butt. Believe it or not while riding your legs should hold some of your weight. I find when I ride I sit on the saddle, but I don't "rest" on it. I don't know if I'm explaining my last point well. |
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Yes your butt will condition to your saddle, But that being said you may have to experiment with them. Go to your local shop and have them fit your bike to you if you haven't been fitted. Bike shorts help. You can wear Lycra shorts under regular shorts or you can buy mountain bike shorts that fit regularly like shorts but have the chamois sewn in. Also you may find that you are putting all your weight on your butt. Believe it or not while riding your legs should hold some of your weight. I find when I ride I sit on the saddle, but I don't "rest" on it. I don't know if I'm explaining my last point well. When you mean fitted, is it seat height adjustment? Because if I recall, that's about all they did. |
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Does your butt condition to a seat, much like a kickboxer kicks his shin against a tree to numb it? Or just start off with a more comfy seat + shorts? Both, I when I first got my road bike, which has 0 seat padding, I couldn't ride it for more then 20min or so. I got some $20 bike shorts to wear under my gym shorts and that extended the time to about an hour. After a month or two I could ride all day with the bike shorts. Now 3 years later I don't even wear the bike shorts, just gym shorts and I'm fine. |
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Yes your butt will condition to your saddle, But that being said you may have to experiment with them. Go to your local shop and have them fit your bike to you if you haven't been fitted. Bike shorts help. You can wear Lycra shorts under regular shorts or you can buy mountain bike shorts that fit regularly like shorts but have the chamois sewn in. Also you may find that you are putting all your weight on your butt. Believe it or not while riding your legs should hold some of your weight. I find when I ride I sit on the saddle, but I don't "rest" on it. I don't know if I'm explaining my last point well. When you mean fitted, is it seat height adjustment? Because if I recall, that's about all they did. not only height, but most saddles are able to be moved fore and aft as well as adjust the angle of the saddle. (angle meaning is the saddle parallel to the ground, nose slightly down, nose slightly up, etc. ) |
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As folks said, it's a matter of conditioning. You basically bruised and probably chafed a rather sensitive area by putting a large percentage of your weight on a very small area that normally does NOT see any pressure and then left it there for quite a while and added vibration and bumps from the road. I'm amazed you made it 12 miles, honestly. I imagine you were hurting pretty good after five or six.
The big wide seats only work if your bike allows you to sit upright. If not, then narrow and fairly firm is best. Also, there is a good reason the better seats have a groove or cut out in a particular spot. The idea is to relieve pressure on the soft spots and put the weight on the two bones. It helps. Look into mountain biking shorts with padding. Or road bike shorts under regular shorts. Most importantly, build up to it. Ride a couple miles, let your body recover for a few days, ride a couple miles... When the short ride doesn't leave you sore there, ride further. If you want to maintain the actual workout with the shorter ride then do it in more difficult terrain and or do it faster. Going faster for just a few miles won't do much for your heart and lungs, but the effort needed to do 2 miles at 25 is a lot more than two miles at 15, wind resistance is a pain. You can also do a couple miles, get off and stretch, relax, twiddle your thumbs, chat on the phone, surf arfcom at the library... then ride a few more. But doing a full work out in the equivalent of brand new shoes that don't quite fit is a good way to mess yourself up. |
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So I admit. I bought a bike last summer, and rode it once. I took it for a 12 mile ride, and my ass was so sore I could barely sit for a week. I haven't ridden it since, but I want to again. My ass being defined as, my ass bones. I think it bruised my ass bad. Is the cure for this to get a wider seat? Someone suggested wearing biker clothing, but there's no way I'm going to get the all matching Tour De France getup and ride my bike. Brooks B17 Saddle 
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Honda, get fitted for the bike, and then you may need to make some fore and aft adjustments to your saddle. The saddle should be perfectly level - use a 2' level to check this.
Also, get a good pair of riding shorts - even if you wear them under regular shorts it will make a difference. I have some of the bike short-regular short combos for MTBing, and they're pretty good. I prefer Assos bibs for road biking. Quoted:
Oh yeah - the Brooks. 
When I was last riding, I prefered Rolls. Probably have 4 of them packed away - just waiting for the day when they no longer allow cars on the roads around here. It just ain't safe. 
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Honda, get fitted for the bike, and then you may need to make some fore and aft adjustments to your saddle. The saddle should be perfectly level - use a 2' level to check this. Also, get a good pair of riding shorts - even if you wear them under regular shorts it will make a difference. I have some of the bike short-regular short combos for MTBing, and they're pretty good. I prefer Assos bibs for road biking. Oh yeah - the Brooks.
When I was last riding, I prefered Rolls. Probably have 4 of them packed away - just waiting for the day when they no longer allow cars on the roads around here. It just ain't safe. http://store.mpgear.com/images/products/display/sanmarcorollsblack.jpg I went to the REI website and looked at the saddles. Wouldn't something like this be better, or should I stick with what I have, and do the shorter stints to build up tolerance method? 
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Honda, get fitted for the bike, and then you may need to make some fore and aft adjustments to your saddle. The saddle should be perfectly level - use a 2' level to check this. Also, get a good pair of riding shorts - even if you wear them under regular shorts it will make a difference. I have some of the bike short-regular short combos for MTBing, and they're pretty good. I prefer Assos bibs for road biking. Oh yeah - the Brooks.
When I was last riding, I prefered Rolls. Probably have 4 of them packed away - just waiting for the day when they no longer allow cars on the roads around here. It just ain't safe. http://store.mpgear.com/images/products/display/sanmarcorollsblack.jpg I went to the REI website and looked at the saddles. Wouldn't something like this be better, or should I stick with what I have, and do the shorter stints to build up tolerance method? http://media.rei.com/media/200497.jpg That would probably help, and the cut out is supposed to be a LOT better on the twig and berries. Still going to have to condition your self though. Not a big deal. To put it in perspective, when I was big into bikes, I'd do 40 miles on a leather saddle (seat) with no padding. That was after MONTHS of shorter rides though. I'm sure after doing 12 with no conditioning, your pelvis felt like it was being pulled like a turkey wishbone (kind of whats happening...)! |
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There are a lot of myths about bike saddles. Most of them aren't really based in reality, they're based in satisfying someone's ego.
Read up from the dude who biked hardcore longer than many of today's bikers have been alive, Mr. Sheldon Brown |
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Quoted:
So I admit. I bought a bike last summer, and rode it once. I took it for a 12 mile ride, and my ass was so sore I could barely sit for a week. I haven't ridden it since, but I want to again. My ass being defined as, my ass bones. I think it bruised my ass bad. Is the cure for this to get a wider seat? Someone suggested wearing biker clothing, but there's no way I'm going to get the all matching Tour De France getup and ride my bike. A few things can help- ...real, padded bike shorts. ...getting used to it on shorter rides. ...having someone who rides a lot look at how you have the bike adjusted. I do not believe that––when it comes to conventional upright bicycle saddles––any seat shape or material is that much better than any other. Pretty much every shape you can buy now was available 100 years ago, and still none have dominated. It may be that you are never comfortable enough to take rides much longer than ~45 minutes without a break. Many casual club rides are done like this––the group rides for 50 minutes and then stops and "rests their legs" for ten minutes. They're not really resting their legs in most cases, their ass just hurts. I "gave up" on normal bicycles quite some time ago, I didn't like riding with the saddle pain anymore. Now I have a recumbent bike––way way way better comfort, but expensive, had to transport and not many dealers. Also have a RANS crank-forward bike––a Fusion in particular. The seat is totally different, and won't mount on a normal bike at all. There's very little hand pressure or neck strain, but it is still efficient to pedal, unlike comfort bikes. Prices start at about 1K, but they sell frame kits also. IMO the Fusion is not real fast but very nice for casual riding. It still looks fairly normal, it's easy to ride and padded shorts aren't required. ~ |
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So I admit. I bought a bike last summer, and rode it once. I took it for a 12 mile ride, and my ass was so sore I could barely sit for a week. I haven't ridden it since, but I want to again. My ass being defined as, my ass bones. I think it bruised my ass bad. Is the cure for this to get a wider seat? Someone suggested wearing biker clothing, but there's no way I'm going to get the all matching Tour De France getup and ride my bike. A few things can help- ...real, padded bike shorts. ...getting used to it on shorter rides. ...having someone who rides a lot look at how you have the bike adjusted. I do not believe that––when it comes to conventional upright bicycle saddles––any seat shape or material is that much better than any other. Pretty much every shape you can buy now was available 100 years ago, and still none have dominated. It may be that you are never comfortable enough to take rides much longer than ~45 minutes without a break. Many casual club rides are done like this––the group rides for 50 minutes and then stops and "rests their legs" for ten minutes. They're not really resting their legs in most cases, their ass just hurts. I "gave up" on normal bicycles quite some time ago, I didn't like riding with the saddle pain anymore. Now I have a recumbent bike––way way way better comfort, but expensive, had to transport and not many dealers. Also have a RANS crank-forward bike––a Fusion in particular. The seat is totally different, and won't mount on a normal bike at all. There's very little hand pressure or neck strain, but it is still efficient to pedal, unlike comfort bikes. Prices start at about 1K, but they sell frame kits also. IMO the Fusion is not real fast but very nice for casual riding. It still looks fairly normal, it's easy to ride and padded shorts aren't required. ~ It's a chopper! BTW, I want a DH version!!!! |
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I went to the REI website and looked at the saddles. Wouldn't something like this be better, or should I stick with what I have, and do the shorter stints to build up tolerance method? http://media.rei.com/media/200497.jpg I've been a member of REI since 1977, so you won't hear any jabs from me about them. But honestly, you're better off building a relationship with your local bike shop. I have ridden and raced in Germany, and I don't know a single person who bought one of those and kept it. Everyone's butt is different, so as was mentioned above, you just gotta try different saddles until you find one that fits. It can get expensive. First get your seat height adjusted. This varies a lot by rider. I generally like to sit a little higher than the "textbook" suggestions. Positioning over the cranks will also effect your butt comfort. A starting point is to have the bottom of your knee cap just over or slightly behind the pedal spindle. What I do is take some string and tie a nut to it (weight). Sit on the bike, and from the front bottom of your knee cap, see where the string lands. Should be on the pedal spindle or a little behind. And just for a minute, let me rant on fitness.
I maintained a very high level of fitness while in the mil. And now at 53 yrs old, I'm still doing pretty good. Played hockey last night for 90 mins. Next oldest guy was 34. You mentioned you rode 12 miles, and now your butt HURTS. So now you don't want to ride for a few days until you feel better, right? And that doesn't do much for your fitness. Fitness is achieved by repetitive events. Almost anyone can go and gut out 12 miles one time. But can you do it 5 days a week for 6 months? Your best bet is to ride (for instance) 3 miles Tues. - Thurs., then 10 miles on Sat. Mon. and Sun. are rest days. Or some schedule like that. A couple of really good (old) fitness books are Lemond's Complete Book of Bicycling and Davis Phinney/Connie Carpenter Training For Cycling. Not sure if these are even in print. The body needs repetition to gain fitness. The last 6 months I was in Germany, I worked in a bike shop. My cycling schedule was 18 miles to work, 23 miles home - Tues. through Thurs. and sometimes Fri. Sunday was 100 - 120 miles. Our Bastogne Pizza run was 108 miles.  Mon. and Saturday (and sometimes Fri.) were rest days.
Good luck. |
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I just rode my Mountain Bike on a 5 mile off road ride yesterday. I haven't ridden in 4 or more months. My sit bones are so sore today. It usually takes about 3 or 4 rides over a period of two to three weeks to get past the major soreness. After that your soreness will be minor. Bicycle shorts help with skin chaffing and add a little padding where your sit bones are.
WTB makes some really good reasonable priced seats. Get a seat with steel rails or titanium rails. Aluminum just makes the vibrations from the road/trail worse. |