Saddle Fit or ??

[rubysoho]

Another one of these threads.

I lowered my seat just the smallest amount and I am pain free during my rides. Woohoo! But, I am noticing a sore-to-the-touch (only if touched, otherwise I don't notice anything) along ... Please forgive my lack of scientific terms as I try to describe, the pelvic ridge/bone where the inside of your leg meets your upper body. The funny thing is I don't notice it while I ride but the soreness has been there for a couple weeks. Definitely cycling related though bc it started as I picked cycling back up again.

Lowering the seat, and I originally was fitted to this bike, made a huge difference. Now I expect it just needs tweaking. Or this is just normal as I rebuild everything. I will also say I am riding in normal baggy bike shorts, no padding, for between 8 and 15 miles at a time. Before with the seat a bit higher and even with padded shorts I was hurting! :eek:

[KnottedYet]

Sounds like your saddle is too pear shaped or wedge shaped (when viewed from above) for the action of your hip joint.

When the transition between "sit" and nose is too gradual for the arc someone's femur swings through, the thigh at what would kind of be the panty-line (or the area where the butt meets the leg) will grind against the transition zone and chafe like heck.

There are several threads of discussions about "T" vs "Wedge" shaped saddles, people have posted pictures of saddles and lists of saddles that have more abrupt transitions (more T shaped).

There is no absolute "T" saddle, and no absolute "Wedge" saddle. One person's perfect "T" can be another person's chafing nightmare.

Find a saddle that has a more abrupt transition than the one you are on now, and it should help. Unfortunately, I don't know of any quick and simple way to find the right transition on a saddle. Just trial and error.

Edit: super-padded saddles can bulge out into the transition zone and grind on the same area

[rubysoho]

ok, so the thought is it might be chaffing? Even though it feels more like near the bone is hurting rather than the skin itself?

[Owlie]

Is it somewhat bruised-feeling? I have the same problem. Not chafing, per se, but that slightly bruised-feeling bone and irritation if I'm been somewhat careless about shaving, and it is due to a too-gradual transition zone. It's certainly exacerbated by the structure of the saddle/padding around the cutout, so this may be something else to look into.

[KnottedYet]

ok, so the thought is it might be chaffing? Even though it feels more like near the bone is hurting rather than the skin itself?

Yeah, because the tendons that attach to the ischial tuberosity are grinding into the saddle as the femur moves. The skin over them gets rubbed, too.

When I was riding on a Serfas Niva, I would feel like the skin was hot and the bone under was bruised.

You want to find a saddle that will support your ischial tuberosities, but also be out of the way of the tendons as you pedal.

If you can sit on the saddle just fine, but have problems at the butt-fold/inner thigh when you move, it could be the saddle just doesn't get out of your way soon enough.

[rubysoho]

Hmm... Ok. The saddle is already more T than pear-shaped.

[KnottedYet]

The million-dollar question: is it "T" shaped enough for YOU?

The other important question is is the saddle too soft or too padded for you, and is the nose too wide, and if there is a cut-out is the cut out the wrong shape for you or placed in the wrong spot, or is the frame too close to the edge, et cetera.

I'm tellin' ya, if someone comes up with a short test to determine all these things for each woman, she will become a hero and a millionaire!

[rubysoho]

The million-dollar question: is it "T" shaped enough for YOU?

lol! I know.

Do you think I might just be not self-supporting my pelvis enough? I definitely feel my pelvis rock forward to sit on the saddle more than I feel my sit bones.

[ny biker]

What kind of bike do you have, and what saddle are you currently using?

[rubysoho]

What kind of bike do you have, and what saddle are you currently using?

2008 Ruby Elite, stock saddle

[ny biker]

So is the saddle a Specialized Jett?

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=34174&menuItemId=0

Do you know the width, and the width of your sit bones?

Also, another thing to consider is the fore/aft position of the saddle. I'm currently using a Bontrager Affiity. It is pretty comfortable for me. However, I was having some pain on the right side (front edge of sit bone) that I think was due to leftover soreness from trying out a previous saddle that was too hard and also turned out to be slightly crooked. I recently tried moving the Affinity saddle forward by about .5 centimeter, which helped with the sit bone pain but instead caused soreness like you are describing.

So if you haven't already experimented with moving your saddle back a few millimeters, that would be another adjustment to try, just to make sure you're not sitting to far back on it.

[rubysoho]

A friend of mine made me adjust the nose of the saddle up a bit more than what the lbs had adjusted for me. It was almost an immediate difference! So, I guess I learned not to trust my bike store as much. Lol. They are good guys, but they are human. Now I just had some knee pain but I will know in a few more rides if it is a fit thing or just strength.

[marni]

[QUOTE=rubysoho;577887]A friend of mine made me adjust the nose of the saddle up a bit more than what the lbs had adjusted for me. It was almost an immediate difference! So, I guess I learned not to trust my bike store as much. Lol. They are good guys, but they are human.

Plus they are guys and don't actually have any realistic knowledge of how the anatomy actually feels nor is there an equivalent way to describe it. Anatomically there is a difference, as is there a difference in the psychological and mental perceptions of pain, discomfort, pressure and location of same.I always take their bike fit as a jump off point and then tweak as necessary.

marni