Adjusting to Saddle issues

I've been working with my LBS to find a comfortable saddle. I've been reading the posts here (very helpful!). The LBS has been switching them around for me & I'm on about my 3rd or 4th saddle. Other salient facts: road biking, newish to the sport, starting to "up my game" & am currently working on increasing speed as a recreational rider.

Biggest problem is hiking my butt back to avoid labial bruising. Minor problem some light numbness after riding that resolves itself overnight. Most recent is a men's specialized gel toupe, 143, which is the best yet, but....

So here's my question: How much scooting around, re-arranging my butt, dealing with minor numbness & bruising is to be expected? My seat bones have toughened up quite considerably & they tolerate this saddle fairly well.

Hubbie says scooching around is to be expected. LBS says keep trying. What do y'all say?

if you're moving around this much, i wonder if the saddle is in the right place.

If you're bruised already it will take a while, but when you have a saddle you like, it's instantly better, bruises and all.

If your natural position is more forward than your saddle's setup, I'd move the saddle forward. The saddle should support your sitbones where they are; you shouldn't have to move your sitbones in order for the saddle to support them.

I don't scooch, and I have no problems. When I'm on my bike, it's very comfortable. Have you had a professional fitting on the bike?

Sometimes a different stem can really change the way you sit on a saddle, too.

I wouldn't expect bruising or a lot of moving around once you've gotten used to a saddle. I'd be particularly concerned about the numbness. You don't want to permanently damage nerves down there!

How many miles do you have on your current saddle? How many miles on your road bike this year (roughly)?

Yes, I've had the bike fitted at the LBS. They say that if I move the saddle forward, my knee won't be lined up with pedal correctly. They use a plumb line to measure this. Tipping the nose down does solve the problem with the soft bits, but puts a lot of strain on wrists & shoulder (which has some lingering tendonitis).

The scooching is to take pressure off of the girlly bits.

I've put about 8-900 miles on the bike this year. I've tried each saddle for at least 100 miles over 2-3 rides (Minimum).

Sounds like perhaps our toptube/stem combo is too long. As Oak suggested, have you looked into a shorter stem? This problem may involve more than the saddle. There's no need to be uncomfortable. The bike shop folks, bless their hearts, may not be aware of the level of discomfort. Otherwise, they would obviously help you get the right fit. And of course, they wouldn''t have sold you a bike that is too big just because they had it on the floor...

I have tried a shorter stem. (Sorry still working on what all the bike parts are). The man at the bike store is suggesting a bigger angled stem, putting me in a more upright position. This concerns me somewhat because when I am working hard, I have a tendency to lean farther forward. Bad technique? But that certainly won't fix the problem.

The woman at the bike store (actually she's a purchasor that occassionally works the floor) says to keep working at finding a seat I like.

My husband says a little discomfort is to be expected.

I scootch around a bit, usually re-adusting after tucking for descents, and I scootch a lot when I have aerobars on. Some scootch is to be expected but not constant scootching.

You shouldn't have to be constantly aware of your saddle.

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Originally Posted by LizF

My husband says a little discomfort is to be expected.

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He's right, and I'm not sure he's communicating what he means well *g*.

They've done studies comparing how men and women respond to the standard instructions for hip replacement pain. Women tend to reach a *much* higher level of impairment before the surgery and tend to devalue the pain they feel. It's common for them to reach the point of the bone starting to *die* before they get the surgery. Men hear the standard instructions as "when I have a hard time leaving the house, I should get surgery". Women often wait til leaving the house is a great effort.

So yes, some discomfort is normal. Bruising, numbness, sores... those are *not* normal. If it hurts enough that you notice it easily, it's not ok. Usually doctors would class "some discomfort" as in the 1-3 range on a standard pain scale. If you're above a 3, give yourself time to heal and keep looking for an appropriate fit.

A week or two off the bike should let your body heal. Then it will be easier to tell what hurts.

Did you have your sitbones measured? Many bike shops have a Butt-O-Meter.

Got the sitbones measured.

You know, I have similar problems on my bike. Once my sit bones are used to riding, the only place I ever have issues is on the soft tissue. I do move around on the saddle quite a bit. It's never distracted from my riding and most of the time, I don't notice I'm doing it. I don't get numbness though...that would worry me.

The one thing that reallly helped me was core strengthening. Next time you are riding, get into position where your butt bones are where they belong on the saddle. Now without moving anything else, contract your abs (pull them toward your spine). Does that lift the soft tissue away from the saddle? For me, it does...instantly. When I've been remiss about my core strength, my saddle discomfort is worse. Not sure if this is your issue or not, but it may help. If you are already a Pilates instructor with a super strong core, forget I said anything! :p

I would also keep working on the saddle. Have you tried a cut out?

You definitely don't want to tip the saddle forward if its increasing pressure on the hands (I had that, too). I have a seat post with the ability to adjust the tilt without increments (it doesn't have grooves, it has two tension screws). This allowed me to find the exact best spot for front tilt where it gives me as much front relief as possible before increasing the weight on my hands. That might be a possiblity for you if you feel like the saddle is the best you can find.

Good luck with it!!

You can also shim a notched seatpost with a little piece of aluminum cut from a pop can, to give you micro-adjustability without buying a new seatpost.

Liz;

I think I'm on my 6th saddle..bless my LBS guy, JP - he's been so patient. I've done selle SMP pro, SMP Evolution, Selle Lady Gel Flow, Terry Damselfly, Bontrager something or other. My original Fizik Vitesse was fine for sit bones, but I was having soft tissue numbness etc. The SMP Pro was beautiful on soft tissue, they have never been so happy, but wasn't on my sitbones and the bones I was sitting on did not respond to two good weeks of riding. I just felt that saddle was a bit too wide as well.

Rode 70k yesterday with a San Marco Aspide Glamour (who thinks up these names?) It has a small cut out. Was good for sit bones, though my butt started to be a bit uncomfortable at about 2 hours and the labia were mildly complaining about pressure, but no numbness. Didn't hurt when I went to the bathroom (another good sign) So I was guilty of a bit of scooching around. I think I'll try this out for a few more rides. I may try a Specialized Jett, though my LBS doesn't deal with Specialized products. I will get it elsewhere and get my coach to fit it for me. He's promised to sell it for me if it doesn't work.

I just hate going into the shop to say,,"Hey this doesn't work." (again!) But I also have given them very good business, so at the end of it all, I may buy the saddle there and give JP a bottle of scotch for being such a patient guy.

So keep trying, (and I will too!) there's got to be the perfect saddle out there....

If you order the saddle direct from Specialized, you have 30 days to return it for a full refund. Of course you're still out the shipping, but not the whole price of a saddle.