Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

Saddle Pain
Quote | Reply
Hey everyone..

So my girlfriend is pretty new to tri's and is having some pretty bad pain from her seat when riding in the aero position. She can sit up and ride fine, but when trying to get a little lower and ride in the aerobars, the seat causes bad pain in the vaginal area. The only thing I could think of doing is maybe switching out saddles..maybe try the Adamo since it is split and might relief some pain. Have any of you have a similar problem? If so..what could be done to fix it. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

RyanGiuliano / http://www.ryangiuliano.com / 2018 IM TX, IM WI, IM Kona
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [mile425] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
If she tilts the front of the saddle down a bit that might really help. if it is the front that is bothering her. Sometimes just a tiny bit really helps. There are also a lot of saddles out there that might help. There have been several threads that should give her ideas on saddles to try. s Women specific saddles are always the best place to start.

Do a search in this forum for saddles and you'll come up with a lot of good info.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [JenHS] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
"Do a search in this forum for saddles and you'll come up with a lot of good info. "

Except that the bottom line is that what works for me may not work for you. Saddle comfort is very individual. I had a big cardboard box full of "failed experiments" in my basement before flogging them on ebay before discovering the Fizik Arione (which my wife hated). But I'd agree to start with the women's specific if you're a womens.
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Agreed. The forum search will provide a good start for a list of saddles to try. What works for me won't necessarily work for her.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [JenHS] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Saddle shopping is not fun. However, with some effort you can probably find a saddle that does not cause pain. A bike saddle will never be an easy chair, but actual pain is unacceptable.

I tried a bunch. Including the Terry Butterfly, which works well for something like 85% of women. Guess I'm not in that 85%, because it actually had me in tears after some rides. I even went to the doctor for help. (she said "women weren't made to be on a bike saddle for 6 hours"...grr, yeah that helped).

In the end it was my cyber training group that helped me trouble shoot this. I wound up using a mens/unisex saddle. The Terry Ti Liberator Race Gel (say that 3x fast). And YES I can be on it for 6, 7 and even more hours without tears. In addition to having the correct saddle, there are other small changes you can implement that improve things, say...5% each...and if you add up 4 of them you get 20% more comfortable. Worth it.

FYI, Terry bikes allows you to test a saddle for 30 days and return it no questions asked.
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [WeRide] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Yeah I have the same problem. I started with a stock saddle and then switched to the Profile Design Tristryke. The Tristryke is better, but not the solution. I'm going to try the Adamo next. PM me if you're interested in the Profile Design, I'll make you a deal. Good luck in the search. Sorry meant to reply to mile425, guess it doesn't make too much difference in this case.


------------------------------------------------------------
I have failed at many things, but never in my desire to try again.
Last edited by: do140.6: Jan 18, 09 12:46
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [WeRide] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I ended up with a Specialized Jet thanks to a recommendation on here. I absolutely love it. I went through many saddles before I found this one. For the first time I wasn't numb after getting done with a 100+ mile ride. Helps when having to run right afterwards :-)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [JenHS] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Well numb would be preferable to what I was feeling on the Terry Butterfly, haha. Glad we are all finding saddles that work for us. I personally think there should be more female bike fitters out there. Some of this stuff, I am only comfortable talking about online...no way could I ever talk to my male bike fitter or the techs at the LBS.
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [JenHS] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Thanks for all of the input! A trip to the lbs is all set up and time is going to be spent trying out a few saddles including the ones recommended! I'll let you know how it goes!

RyanGiuliano / http://www.ryangiuliano.com / 2018 IM TX, IM WI, IM Kona
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [mile425] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I don't want to come across as just a sales pitch but my new saddles www.cobbcycling.com might be a good option. The problem that many women face when rotating from an upright position to a flatter aero position is that the upper thighs hit the wide part of the saddle. This forces the rider forward onto the very uncomfortable nose section, having a narrow rear seat section allows the thighs to swing past the seat. The rider needs to stay in the middle of the seat to be cradled without high crotch pressure. Tilting the nose up slightly will usually allow the pubic area to roll down into the seat for more comfort.
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [John Cobb] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
That would have to be one seriously soft nose section to be comfortable for tilting the saddle up.

Your comment will be greatly appreciated as I am always looking for a softer place for my "lady-parts."

Did I mention that I weigh ~115 lbs in out-of-shape-and-fat January?

Will it be rock-hard unless I tip the scales above 150 lbs?

DFL > DNF > DNS
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [SallyShortyPnts] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Living on the edge, recommending tilting the saddle nose up, that's how I do things. Nose high does not work for all saddles, it really will work for mine. The foam on the sides of the cut out is shaped to colapse in and build a comfy support area. The foam is a formulated memory foam that will take a "set" after a couple of rides and offer good support without feeling hard. The key to all this is the narrow rear section, When you ride in an aggresive road position or on aerobars, you are not back on your sit bones. These are not Beach Cruiser seats, they are race seats, you rotate your pelvis forward and pedal. By having a narrow rear, it keeps you from having the seat force your upper thighs forward and soft tissue onto the hard narrow nose section. I believe this enough to offer a 180 day no hassle comfort guarantee on my seats. By having the nose a little high, it takes pressure off of your neck and shoulders. With these seats, you should be able to ride a pretty aggresive front end position, elbow pads significantly lower than the seat. I have several top women such as Kate Major that have been riding this seat for several years.
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [John Cobb] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I have the original Flow on my TT bike and like it.

But what I'd like even more (I think) is almost a "T" shaped saddle. Thin area across the back where the sit bones go and then very short forward part. I like to sit almost off the front of the saddle.

clm

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [trackie clm] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Something you'll like will be coming in about 60 days
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [John Cobb] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Maybe I just missed it, but is there somewhere on your website that shows who your dealers are? I would be super interested in trying your saddles, but living in Vancouver (Canada) it's a bit of a pain in the ass to purchase/return with the border and whatnot.


______________________________________
I know I'm promiscuous, but in a classy way
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [D!] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I do not have any dealers in Canada at this time. I hope to in the near future. I do not have any suggestions about the border problems but I will try to work on it.
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [John Cobb] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
In Reply To:
Something you'll like will be coming in about 60 days

Looking forward to it!

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [trackie clm] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
In Reply To:
I have the original Flow on my TT bike and like it.

But what I'd like even more (I think) is almost a "T" shaped saddle. Thin area across the back where the sit bones go and then very short forward part. I like to sit almost off the front of the saddle.

clm

Now THAT sounds like a good idea.

Leave my front parts alone, please.

DFL > DNF > DNS
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [John Cobb] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Be sure to keep us posted. I currently ride a Flow saddle and am not 100% sold that it is the perfect one for me. I will like start exploring new options come sprint when I can ride outside and a 180 day guarantee sounds like great option.
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [John Cobb] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
CLM - when you sit forward, almost off the nose, where is your weight centered? Are you still back on your sit bones - how does that not kill your back being arched over?? (I'm thinking that to have the sit bones down and still be down aero you would have to majorly arch over - back and neck hurt just thinking about that. Please correct my mental image if that's wrong...) And if you're not arched forward to keep the sitbones down, where is your weight at?

I think that was/is part of my problem that when I rotate my pelvis forward, I wind up putting most of my weight on a relatively small area (which may or may not have been poorly designed to handle most of my weight). Thus, with the cutout, I'm able to kind of "distribute" off a single point like a cradle(which is still poorly designed to hold most of my weight on two small areas, but compromise is the name of my game). Am I way off in thinking about how weight is distributed on my saddle and where the parts are supposed to go? I know that I sit really far back on my road saddle, have no "up front" issues, and only get a little chafy at the legs/chamois crease....easily combated problem. I like to ride fairly far forward, and am pitched fairly steep (according to my fitter). My hamstrings/back/neck don't mind the angle, but the bits definitely do.

I'm just curious if/how the tilting up works and what difference a short nose would make to weight distribution - or if I'm sitting on the wrong end of the saddle, apparently....

AW
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [AWARE] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
This is from last summer and I'm back on the saddle at this point. I prefer to be further forward, but I only rode the TT bike about three times all last year, so it was kind of a pain staying super aero.



clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [John Cobb] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
In Reply To:
Something you'll like will be coming in about 60 days

Can we hurry this up please? Rode the velodrome yesterday and I'd forgotten just how much that stock saddle kills me. I swapped out for something else, but that was worse.

clm

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [John Cobb] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Hi John... any chance you'll have distribution in Europe? (More specifically Barcelona?) Thanks...
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [dwb] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I have no Euro distribution right now. I can USPS a seat to you for a very reasonable amount. Send me a PM with your address and I'll get a ship price for you.
Quote Reply
Re: Saddle Pain [mile425] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Went for a bike fit yesterday-what a difference! The bike in general is so much more comfortable and I spin MUCH faster. I also got a new saddle a Serfas Tri-W. I tried about five or six and one other was okay but could have been better. As soon as I sat on this one I knew it was for me. No pain, no pressure on the front soft areas. I can't wait to get it off the trainer and ride.
Quote Reply