bruised bladder and pelvic floor

[trsullivan@sbcg]

Hello all,
New to this forum and cycling...yea for me! Been riding road now about 5 weeks started with 5 miles than 10 miles and now am at 10-13 miles 5 times a week. I ride a stock aluminum schwinn, 2006 model, cheap but it rolls.
Been noticing lots of pubic pain after about 6 miles but I just adjust my position on my seat throughout the rest of the ride and this seems to work. Started recently with some pelvic pressure and pain during intercourse, thought I had a bladder infection or that my bladder was finally heading south after 3 children. My gynecolgist thought everything was in place , no signs of infection. Told her of my riding and she felt a new seat was in order that there seemed to be to much jarring. I have checked LBS and am wondering if a new bike would be a better choice. I did not know that aluminum was a stiff ride compared to carbon. The LBS has a clearance full carbon with all ultegra and would throw in a butterfly seat for under 1400.00. Money is not as much an issue as my Husband is as he thinks it would make no difference in the compostion of the frame (or a negligible one) I feel that spending 100.00 on a seat just to find out that I will also need carbon forks and seat post could nickle and dime me to death (this is a cheap bike) and bring me money wise to buying new. The full carbon on clearance is the same price as the half and halfs and they come with shimano.
So ladies some opinions from you would be awsome!!! thanks so much for your time. Off to golf now Teresa Sullivan

[mimitabby]

Hi Teresa
while i am sure you will have a lot more enjoyable ride on the 1400 dollar beast
instead of the cheap schwinn, it is possible that the seat that is on the expensive bike will not be comfortable either. That's why we have such a huge amount of posts in the "favorite saddle" forum and the "most hated" saddle forum.
You will even see that what works for one does not work for the other.
If you are serious about cycling and have the bucks, take the time to get properly fitted to an awesome new bike.. The LBS (local bike shop) will
(theoretically) feel somewhat responsible and help you find a saddle that works.
I recommend the brooks b67 (i do this a lot) it holds your tender parts up a little bit and the weight is mostly on your sit bones, which are designed for this
duty..

[pooks]

mimi -- how do you find that saddle on the wallbikes site? Is it unsprung, single rail, what? (I don't know what any of that means, just that the saddles are divided that way!)

I forgot to say, welcome, Teresa! You're in a great place where you'll get lots of terrific advice. Sorry that I'm not one who has some for you!

[mimitabby]

single rail sprung http://www.wallbike.com/B67.html

http://thumb19.webshots.com/t/57/557/5/72/25/2629572250054236199kHaiMo_th.jpg (http://community.webshots.com/photo/2629572250054236199kHaiMo)

check out this picture you can see our twin B67's on the tandem. his is not broken in yet.
(the photo is clickable)

[mimitabby]

Sprung means there are SPRINGS ! :D :D
and single rail means it fits modern saddle mounts on bikes.

[Triskeliongirl]

Of course a full carbon ultegra level bike will be less jarring than a cheap aluminum one. But, even more important is that the bike fits you properly. What model bike is it? Did the LBS fit you to it? How did it feel to test ride? As Mimi said, saddles are very personal. For me, the butterfly is great, for others (like Mimi) its a Brooks, and for others it might be somethng else. Depends on your individual anatomy. I would say if the Scwinn told you that you like cycling enought to want to invest in a better bike, this clearance bike could be just the ticket. But, there is no guarantee it will solve your saddle problem. Perhaps you could make the shop agree to give you whatever saddle works for your body as part of the deal.

[Bad JuJu]

Caution: Momentary thread hijack:
Mimi, you two look positively adorable with your Amici Veloci jerseys and your matching Brooks saddles! What a fun photo!

You will now be returned to your regularly scheduled thread!:D

[velogirl]

Could the pain be caused by a mis-aligned SI joint? Have you seen a chiro? SI joint pain can feel like a kidney or bladder problem, a hamstring problem, or a spinal problem.

[Triskeliongirl]

Teresa- you might want to consider changing your username to hide your email address and real name. I think you open yourself up to spamming by revealing too much info. in such a public way. You can always use private messages to exchange personal info. with those you chose to. -e

[trsullivan@sbcg]

Thanks for the responses
I dove in head first today at the LBS, actually 3 different shops and picked up a full carbon, they threw in the butterfly seat, and we adjusted many times over till the bike felt great! The carbons that I tested today were smooth compared to my aluminum, I was suprised by how much actually. Thanks for directing me to favorite and most hated saddle. Tommorow will be my first ride in 8 days, fingers crossed


You all are awsome!!! teresa