Saddle Sore & Desperate

[DeniseGoldberg]

Unfortunately a saddle that works for one of us doesn't necessarily work for someone else. Does your LBS have a stash of saddles that they use for test rides? That would be my first recommendation, to try to find some saddles that you can test before purchase.

I ride a Fizik Vitesse, which does not have a cut-out. I tried a saddle with a cut-out and found it extremely uncomfortable. But again, there are others who swear by saddles with cut-outs. And by the way, the Vitesse was the forth saddle that I tried - 2 Terrys, 1 Specialized, and finally the Vitesse worked.

Sorry, I know you really wanted an answer, and I don't think that any of us have a true answer. But know that you aren't alone in your dilemma.

--- Denise

[Nanci]

Could it be that your bike isn't fitted correctly, causing you to bear more weight there than you should be?

If you are positive the bike fits you and is adjusted to you correctly, can you change the tilt of the saddle (try both up and down) to make it more comfortable?

Maybe the Selle SMP would be good for you- google selle smp womens to see it.

Maybe if you had a seat with a really narrow nose, like the Vitesse, you could sit like I sometimes do (unintentionally, just caught myself doing it one day, now notice I do it all the time) with everything off to one side of the nose of the saddle.

I had a Selle Italia that had gel on the nose, but it seemed very solid to me- I don't know what the point was. But generally speaking, for longer rides, cushy just makes you hurt more anyway.

Good luck,

Nanci

[SadieKate]

Just relaying a something I saw over the weekend at our LBS. JeriK, I have no idea if this is the cause of your problem, but it was very interesting to see such an extreme case. Someone earlier in the day had come in to find "a more comfortable saddle," same story we hear time and time again about the nose being too hard. Well, this was a Terry Butterfly with a spot on the nose completely broken down and indented. You think, "OK, it was just a worn out saddle." Nope, the person had the saddle completely out of adjustment and had been sitting way too far forward on the saddle. Of course, she was in pain.

The guys at the shop commented on how frequently pain is caused by saddle mis-adjustment. They agree that finding a saddle is difficult but also commented on how frequently the saddle itself is blamed rather than the location of it. If you "just took delivery," how much time have you spent literally moving the saddle a hair forward or back or up or down? It is contradictory to say the cut-out did it's job, but your soft tissue is sore. Am I misunderstanding you?

The only person I know who used a saddle with two kidney bean-shaped pieces hated it. The lack of a nose means you don't have as much control of the bike. Selle and Koobie both make 2-part saddles with a nose. both of them get good reviews for some of us but they are being used on road bikes with drop bars.

By the way, what kind of shorts are you wearing?

[fixiegrrl]

I just changed my saddle from the Selle Italia w/cutout to a slightly wider Selle Italia Prolink light genuine gel w/out a cutout. After riding it for the first time today, I didn't get saddle sore but my "girl parts" were not entirely happy on the ride. Part of it was from being squashed against that saddle and part of it is that it's not dialed in yet. I'm not trying to be crude or gross but I did learn that I didn't have enough lubrication to prevent the rawness from the friction of the saddle. I put chamois cream on the liner which was sufficient for the other saddle, but I didn't put anything in my "girl parts" if you will. I was quickly reminded after today's ride that if you lube the chamois well and yourself (I find KY lube works well) that it should't make you chaffed or raw. I am very liberal with each because the chamois does absorb some of it. My shorts had a thinner liner and I think that was part of the problem too. Normally I wear a slightly bulkier liner to absorb any friction and it gives me a little more padding down there.

You may want to try using extra "lube" and/or getting different riding shorts before chucking your new saddle. I found that by making a few minor adjustments an uncomfortable ride becomes much more pleasant. Improper saddle position could also be part of your problem. If you're riding too much on the nose, try moving the saddle forward so you butt is more towards the back end and your soft parts will have more support. Also, is your saddle parallel to the floor? If the nose is too low or high it could result in putting more pressure on your soft tissue. To check mine, I placed a leveler on the saddle and adjusted it until the little bubble was exactly in the middle of the tube. Of course, if these things fail and you still have the tearing issues definitely get rid of the saddle because having happy "girl bits" is much more important.