Saddle Discomfort and Lady Bits

I've got Scott female specific 3/4 cycling shorts

The old saddle was a Bontrager one which came with the bike

The test one is by velo (I think) but it's much fatter. At first I thought it was OK but now I just don't know.

Check out some Terry saddles. You can get a Terry saddle to try for 30 days with no questions asked return privileges. You might ask on the Terry forums about your problem too, they're at

http://forums.terrybicycles.com/index.php

One of the Liberators might be your best bet. According to the blurbs, they have a "larger cutaway".

Riding the wrong saddle is sheer torture. When I tried to ride the Terry Butterfly Ti, which is a "better" saddle than the Butterfly CrMo that came on the bike, I was miserable. I'm glad the CrMo worked for me because the thought of testing saddle after saddle to find the "right" one (or at least A right one) curdles my blood. In that case I was better of sticking to the saddle I already had, thank goodness the first saddle I tried was a keeper.

I found also, that, rather than thinking of sitting on saddle, I think of myself as three point contact - buns, feet, hands. Then weight is more even. Thats holding me until new saddle arrives.( selle SMP mens, as I have a skinny pelvis, being petite and small boned.)
Also, skinny chix will well, 'stick out' more down there. As well as comfy girls. So either end of spectrum, your going to have to get special saddle.

I still dont know what to do about shorts( other thread). Nothing works!

My problem doesn't seem to be one that has been mentioned before, so I hope for some new suggestions.

I was one of the lucky people who had a good bike shop who insisted that my first saddle would be the ladies selle italia, so until buying a time trial bike I haven't had any difficulty. Now on my new bike with a selle italia ladies SLK saddle, I keep on getting a rubbed spot above the labia in the area where there is no hair - only on the right side though. I've solved pressure problems by tilting my saddle down 5 degrees, and I've put a new chamois in my skin suit (the old one was a men's chamois with a seam which I thought was causing the rubbing), but on today's 40 km time trial after 30 km I could feel that I'd rubbed the area raw again. When I'm not in the aero posistion this spot doesn't rub, so it's definitely due to being in the position where I'm rotated over and down more.

The guys use saddles with very soft noses, but after trying 3 of these, I find that I have to have the cutout to relieve pressure, but that isn't helping with the friction 'burn'.

Any suggestions

Quote:

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Originally Posted by equus123

Hi all,

I don't intend to get graphic with this discussion but I'm curious if anybody shares the same problem that I do....

I've never had a saddle that's been super comfortable but the Terry Butterfly that I've had the past 2+ years has been pretty good for me. I can't use a saddle without a cutout because it causes an immense amount of pain and I've recently come to realize that it's because I have very large labia majora. So the necessity of having a cutout is imperative because of the larger amount of soft tissue than the average female.

What really sucks about it is that the majority of women don't have this problem and it already stinks to be a female cyclist - having to sit on all of our parts! Men are so lucky because they can move it out of the way. I really feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place because there's nothing I can do with *mine* but sit....and deal with it.....

Does anybody else have this? I ask because I thought that I was just odd in that I would never find a comfy saddle but then I came to realize *why*. Forgive me for crossing the line but most days, it looks like I have little balls because they actually do hang down from my body a little. aaaahhhhhh :confused::mad:

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I discovered Tea Tree Oil Salve when I suffered from recurring yeast infections, and I have found that a dab or two around the labia after your shower is very helpful in soothing and healing. The brand I use is by "Desert Palm," and available in the Health Food store. good luck!