hi, i just put power cranks on my road bike and because i’m unable to get out of the saddle as much i’m getting frequent numbness, and my ‘taint’ is getting quite sore. i know the only way to choose a saddle is to ride it, but i’d like any advice on where to start.
thanks so much for your help!
kevin
Once you ride with a powermeter and see how wasteful of energy it is to ride out of the saddle, you will reconsider all those times you jump up and jam up a hill. After a while you will start to develop ways to unweight your posterior while riding to relieve the soreness. Mostly I just alternate spinning with one leg while I support my weight just above the saddle with the non-pedaling leg. It actually works best in the aero position with your arms on the rests.
I have raced half IM on PCs and not been any more or less sore than regular cranks. I don’t think the saddle is the issue. You can ride out of the saddle on PCs, but it take a ton of juice and can really wear you out. Besides, the only time I ever feel slips in the cranks are out of the saddle and the one time the clutch popped on me I was just standing up and hammering.
Chad
If you’re fitted correctly on your bike, no matter what saddle you have, you should not be too sore.
I have the PCs on my old steel bike, a bit too small for me, a bit too low in front for me, and I definitely can’t feel my “balls and the thing in-between” after about 20 minutes riding. I then have to stop, shake everthing, and I’m OK for another 20 minutes.
No such problems on my Trek, for which I got fitted. Never sore.