My girlfriend just got her first road bike (KHS Steel, the Bianchi I wanted her to get was too expensive for her first bike) and her ass is killing her. We got her a ladies saddle, Terry I believe. She says that helps, but I’m wondering if getting her a carbon seatpost will help out. I ride aluminum and have no complaints, so I have no clue how a carbon post compares to smoothing out the ride. I’m sure a number of you guys have switched from aluminum to carbon posts… anyone feel that it helps out?
The problem is the pressure at the contact points, a carbon seatpost won’t change it a bit. Someone riding centuries on rough roads might feel that a carbon post damps some of the higher frequency vibration but it’s not going to make her butt any more comfortable, the compliance of a carbon post is in the noise when compared to tire size/pressure. Terry saddles are great, but don’t make the mistake of going to too soft a saddle, that will result in more friction, not less, as you sink into it, and may actually put the pressure on softer tissue instead of on the sit bones where it belongs. The real cure, assuming a proper fit on the bike and nothing unusual about her posture, is time on the bike (along with finding just the right shaped, firm enough saddle, which is hard to do on a trial and error basis).
I’ve ridden on carbon, ti, and aluminum posts and couldn’t tell any difference. What did make a difference was a saddle that fits yours, a nice clean pair of shorts and making sure the seat isn’t too high. Lowering the seat just a bit can make a big difference. Breaking in your rear end is what really matters. I also really like assos chammy cream. It keeps you minty fresh.
Hey man, I’ve gone through some SERIOUS problems of a similar type getting my g/f adjusted to road riding. That said, i don’t think that a carbon post will make any difference to her. For a more experienced rider maybe, but not for someone that new. I’m still trying to convince my g/f that campy isn’t better just because its “much prettier looking” and that a parts colour does nothing to enhance its preformance. That said, she’s is very much a recreational cyclist and although does the occasional crit/TT/Team TT, doesn’t have alot of interest in gear. The seat sounds like a good plan, we’ve settled on the Selle Italia LDY with the cut out, after trying almost every lady friendy Selle Italia saddle made. She does have a carbon Giant aero post, but i recently have switched her between the following, Easton CT2, Cervelo round carbon, Giant round carbon, and old school bladed record alu, none of which elicited any kind of response. For comparison sakes, she rides a brand new TCR and switched from a semi-custom Altec 2 frame and carbon fork…again, no percieved change in comfort.
Try these shorts. They are mucho comfy.
We need to see a pic of your girlfriend to properly respond.
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The words seatpost and girlfiriend in the same header woke me up a bit.
I seriously doubt a carbon seat post is going to make a difference if she is having this much of a problem. I have had both seat posts and I can not tell much of a difference. You can keep trying different seats or try a pair of Santini Twist Gel shorts. I bought a pair of these a month ago and they are awesome. Best pair of shorts I have owned in over 20 years period! Good luck
Seat post won’t make any real difference. Read somewhere that titanium is the best but there is no difference between carbon and aluminium. Something to do with compression angular properties. Maybe an engineer can explain this for us.
My wife just got a Specialized Alias saddle and is very happy with it. Saddles are very personal but she had tried other “women’s” saddles with not much success.
You’re going to want to get more details from her on what she means when she says her butt is killing her. There are more things that can go wrong down below for a female cyclist than a male.
If she’s having chafing problems, you might want to try different shorts or a seat without a cutout like the Avocet Air40 racing. Saddle cutouts can make mincemeat of your bits and pieces. Creams like Bag Balm and Sportslick also work pretty well for chafing. You might also want to look at her overall bike fit. Is her saddle level? Are the bars too far forward? Both are common problems, especially the problem with the handlebars being too far away since most bikes are made for men with proportionally longer torsos.
Saddles are also very personal, so you could also experiment with them. I coach a women’s cycling team and they have had the best luck with Terry Butterfly saddles. Second best for them is the Avocet. A couple female triathletes I know swear by John Cobb’s specially modified female tri saddles.
Good luck.
-Marc
She has a long torso and during her fit she felt much more comfortable in a fairly agressive position. Other than some seat post adjustment and seat angle changes, the bike was a good fit right off the bat.
She isn’t chaffing, instead she is actually bruising. I think her body will get used to it with some time, but she actually had some visible bruises. I was just hoping that a quick change of a seatpost might smooth that out, but it’s just gonna take some time.
I’m just glad she got a bike. Color was a big sticking point until she got to riding some bikes. But I’m still pretty sure that one reason she didn’t like the Bianchi so much was the seafoam green frame.
Cycling is a somewhat uncomfortable sport!
Tell her to suck it up… in a nice manner of course ;-).
My girlfriend solved her “ass issues” by riding more (go figure!). She actually uses a HARDER seat, and rides with the thinnest chamois possible. She even gave herself the nickname “CROTCH of STEEL”. LOL.
I do not want my girlfriend to have a crotch of steel. Or aluminum. Or carbon. Now titanium…
Specialized make a post that has a rubber thing a ma jig in it that is supposed to let the post flex more on bumps…I can tell you for certain that my new Record Carbon post feel MUCH smoother than my old Thompson post…BIG change in ride.
Bruising doesn’t sound right. From my experience, women who bruise too easily may be deficient in vitamins/minerals. Maybe iron?
Assuming a good bike fit then it is just time in the saddle. Try eating a steak once a week.
Specialized Sequoia. Shock absorber in the post. Goes boing when you hit a bump.
Glad I wasn’t the only one whose mind lept there.
You might want to make sure she’s not locked into a single position for the entire ride. Starting out, I was a nervous rider, and didn’t stand on the pedals or shift my weight around much on rides, and that resulted in a fair amount of discomfort.