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Unfortunately, don't really have anyone I can get to take a picture of me. My brother lives 90 miles away. And unless my cat gets some opposable thumbs...
So normally when I ride, I do roll my pelvis forward and my back is straight. But that's when I get all the pressure on the soft tissue that I can't tolerate. Since moving the seat, there is a lot more weight distributed to my sit bones (I've stopped sliding so far forward on the nose of the seat), but still the lady bits get mashed.
As far as bike fitting goes - what kind of place should I look for to fit me? My brother says the shop near him fit him when he got his bicycle, and suggests I go there when I go to visit at the end of the week. I found another place a little further into the city and they put you on some fancy computerized machine thing. What's the difference and does it matter??
I want to get serious about cycling and get in better shape but I really think the whole soft tissue sensitivity is holding me back from riding as much as I would like.
Thanks again.
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Some women have more soft tissue problems than others (all other things being equal). I had this problem from day one and even once all other fit issues were resolved, STILL had the problem (but lessened). I seriously had a 3 hour pro fit on my bike, a great saddle (for my sit bones) and still had to 'toughen up' the soft tissue to be able to ride long distance. Toughening up soft tissue does NOTHING for the sex life, let me tell you. Now that I know better - I would never have put up with it. Keep looking...no saddle should give you that kind of pain! You should have to condition your sit bones...NOT your soft tissue.
Anyway, just a few months ago (after 6 years of riding!) I finally found the perfect saddle for me. The soft tissue problem disappeared immediately! Funny thing is, it's the same saddle someone else already mentioned: the Bontrager InForm RL WSD. This saddle actually works for me on both my road bike AND my tri bike. On my tri bike, my hips are fully rotated forward so that I am not on my sit bones at all and yet this saddle still works.
While a professional fit is absolutely important, so is the right saddle. If you have soft tissue pain, KEEP LOOKING for a saddle that relieves it! I swear, there is one out there for everyone and it's just a matter of finding it. :)
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A couple of other thoughts...make sure the nose of the saddle is not tilted up. Also, my old, perfect, worn-out saddle was not perfect until I lowered it a bit.
Not sure what to advise about the fitting -- the guy I go to does it mostly by eye, with a tape measure and plumb line for assistance.
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Well, just an update for the thread:
I got my bike fit properly today. Turns out the frame is actually too small for me (should be riding a 56, not a 51) and my seat was too high. So the seat was put down to a proper height and I got the handlebars extended out. The clips on my shoes were adjusted as well to sit on the actual ball of my foot.
Haven't had a chance to take it out riding yet (was raining with thunder and lightning all day here) but just spinning on the trainer in the store everything felt much better. I'm supposed to ride like I normally would this week and let them know on Friday how everything is going.
So, here's hoping for the best, but I am certainly optimistic!!
Thanks again for the advice, getting the bike fit was apparently an important step in solving my problem!
