How long do I give the saddle?

[Jenny]

Hi All,
My husband just recently bought me a Specialized Ariel for my birthday. I have been out only 4 times now, so pretty new to riding. However, the seat is still hurting me. For the first 10 minutes I really don't even want to sit down! Is that normal? How much longer to give it? Not sure what options I have.

Thanks,
Jenny

[zoom-zoom]

Where is it hurting? Sit bone pain is normal and good--it means your weight is where you want it. Up front...? No go. If it's up front it could be something that requires simple angle adjustment. Barring that, it may just be the wrong saddle for you.

[Jenny]

Where is it hurting? Sit bone pain is normal and good--it means your weight is where you want it. Up front...? No go. If it's up front it could be something that requires simple angle adjustment. Barring that, it may just be the wrong saddle for you.

It's my butt area, not up front. By the end of the ride I don't notice it anymore. Just seems to be the first 10 minutes of the ride.

[zoom-zoom]

It's all good, then. It will get better, I promise. A sore butt at first is really and truly a GOOD thing!

[Wahine]

It's my butt area, not up front. By the end of the ride I don't notice it anymore. Just seems to be the first 10 minutes of the ride.

This is good. It means that you're weight is on the sit bones. It'll take a couple of weeks for the sensitivity to ease up. But overall it sounds like you're on your saddle properly.

[indysteel]

What shorts are you wearing? For me, it's all about combining the right shorts with the right saddle.

[malkin]

Your butt will toughen up as you put on miles.

[pll]

My 2 cents, since you mentioned it was a gift and you've taken it out a few times only. Have you been to the bike shop for a bike fit, to ensure that the seat height and its horizontal position are best for you, that the stem is long enough and the handlebars wide enough?

As zoom-zoom and wahine mentioned, saddle time toughens your sit bones. Good shorts make life more enjoyable for more saddle hours, too. Congratulations on the new bike and welcome to the dark side...

[Sky King]

It doesn't hurt to take a "look see" after your ride to check for redness and swelling. My Gilles Berthoud was too wide and the shape in the transition area from the wide part to the saddle to the nose didn't work for me, so what I originally thought was sit bone pain ended up being saddle sore. Is so funny because my new Rivet Pearl has a similar shape but it totally comfortable :)

[Melalvai]

Give it a few rides but don't waste too much time on it. A good, well fit saddle and bike is a thing of joy. The opposite is a thing of torture.

You might need to adjust the positioning and angle and even height of a new saddle, if you know that the bike fit you well before the new saddle.

[BreezieD]

I agree with all the above. I'm really new to riding also. I gave mine about 6 weeks and that was to long. I was to the point of tears after our rides of about 20 miles my butt hurt so bad. We adjust and re adjusted.. my problem was my saddle was too narrow.. now that I have a wider one, I'm loving my bike!

[Jenny]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

I just wear like gym leggings when I ride, nothing fancy! The farthest I've gone so far is 10 miles as I am very out of shape. Not sure if I should invest in better clothes so soon?
What shorts do you all reccomend?

[Owlie]

In general, the more expensive the shorts, the longer the distance you can expect them to be comfortable. I wouldn't bother with the super-cheap shorts. I really like the Sugoi Evolution shorts (though mine are the old version) and Primal Wear's Prima shorts. I also have a pair of Castelli shorts, and while I like the fabric, I don't particularly like the chamois. I just ordered a few pairs of Pearl Izumi shorts. Let's see how they behave.