Pressure on tailbone

I don't know how this is happening. My bike fits me fairly well, although it is a little short in the cockpit. I lowered the stem a quarter inch and moved the seat back a centimeter or so. My saddle fits and I feel my sit bones sitting properly on the saddle, and most of the time, I don't feel at all uncomfortable. It's like I could go for days.

But, come time to get off the bike, and I walk around a bit, and I go to get back on the bike or sit on the floor to stretch and I feel like someone pounded a roofing nail up my tailbone.

I try flattening my back and not hunching my shoulders, and that gets me sitting on the sit bones right, but why would I have tailbone pain? Unless my sit bones are pushing straight up to my tailbone because of my position.

Has anyone else had this? I've had this issue since I started, and it did not change when I switched out saddles (twice now.)

I had a similar issue start up in March, related (I think) to switching to a Selle Anatomica saddle. I loved this saddle - it really felt like it "disappeared", and I was very hopeful that I had finally reached the end of my saddle woes. But, after about 10 or 15 miles, I would start to feel pressure in the tail bone area when on the saddle, and severe pain when rising up off the saddle. After rides of more than 25 miles, the pain can last for a day or two, and is most noticeable when standing up after sitting down. (I'm still sore today after a 27 mile ride yesterday :( )

I did some research here on TE and on other sites and the consensus is that the tail bone pain can come from having a saddle that is too narrow (or from an injury, like a fall).

There are several threads here that discuss it - here's one:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=15575 (See Thorn's comments specifically)

If you haven't had a fall, maybe your saddles are too narrow? Have you had your sit bones measured?

I went to a bike store this morning to get my sitbones measured on one of these Specialized butt-o-meters, and I found out that my sit bones are actually pretty narrow (120mm, more or less). Since the Selle Anatomica is a fairly wide saddle, I think the issue for me is the flexibility of the saddle, not the actual width. For instance, even if the saddle is pretty wide from side to side, if it slopes down to the sides, it will be effectively a more narrow saddle.

The guy at the LBS today told me that sometimes tail bone pain can be from position on the saddle as well of the position of the saddle. This makes sense to me to as a possible cause and/or contributor as well, so armed with a new saddle (Avocet 02 - flatter and wider at the back) and more attention to body position, I'm going to see if I can't get it corrected.

Good luck - it is a very uncomfortable problem to have!

I went to a bike store this morning to get my sitbones measured on one of these Specialized butt-o-meters, and I found out that my sit bones are actually pretty narrow (120mm, more or less).
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Where did you go for this? I've yet to find a shop that has that Specialized butt thing.

Sounds like you are being careful not to sit on your tailbone.

There are some big ligaments along the pelvic floor that attach to your tailbone. Could your saddle be the wrong shape, so that pressure is being put on those ligaments? Could your saddle have too much padding/cushion for your build, so that the excess cushioning is jamming into the ligaments? (or even jamming into the tailbone itself enough to cause pain)

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

Sounds like you are being careful not to sit on your tailbone.

There are some big ligaments along the pelvic floor that attach to your tailbone. Could your saddle be the wrong shape, so that pressure is being put on those ligaments? Could your saddle have too much padding/cushion for your build, so that the excess cushioning is jamming into the ligaments? (or even jamming into the tailbone itself enough to cause pain)

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The saddle I have been using is a very narrow generic "race" saddle. I like it, barely feel it when I'm on the bike. I do own a WTB women's saddle that is on my mountain bike. I think I may switch it over and try it... I haven't ridden my mountain bike since I got the road bike, so I am not sure if the (new) WTB saddle will make a difference. I also think the frame of my bike might be too small. I am going to try lowering the stem a quarter inch (I have been doing this every few days.)

have you measured your sit bones and compared that to the measurement of the saddle?

That might help figure out if you are weightbearing on those ligaments too much for your tailbone's comfort.

I haven't, yet.
I need to go to a shop that has one of those measurement boards.

There are lots of ways to measure them yourself. I have to run catch my bus, or I'd search down the link. (there were a couple threads about measuring)

I do the "sit on a piece of paper on your chair, put your finger at the outside edge of each bone, and mark the paper there with your fingernail" to get outside to outside measurements.

The rule of thumb is to add 1 cm or 2 cm to each end of the outside measurements to give you a ball park of saddle width to try. (mind you, this is a ball park estimate, it's not as important as how the saddle FEELS!)

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Originally Posted by shadon

Where did you go for this? I've yet to find a shop that has that Specialized butt thing.

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It's not high-tech at all! The butt-o-meter is just piece of "memory" foam attached to some cardboard that has measurements marked on it. Your sit bones make indentations, which are aligned with the markings, then associated with your general riding posture to yield a range of appropriate saddle widths.

Any bike store that sells a lot of Specialized stuff will have one. I went to Wheels of Justice in Montclair (in Oakland).

I solved the issue.
Last night, I switched my WTB saddle (only used once) off my mountain bike onto my road bike.

That race-lite (or whatever the name of it is) generic saddle was the culprit.

The WTB saddle was comfortable - felt a little wide in the rear but that's because I'm used to the other one, which is quite narrow. But the little canyon they put in there in the back was the ticket - it took all the pressure off of my poor tailybone.