how long to determine that a saddle is not right?

[fastdogs]

I am new to bicycling. Originally I was just going to use it to exercise dogs, but I enjoy it so much that I have been taking my folding bike to work every day and riding during my lunch break. Today I rode six miles in the park after work, and the seat was almost unbearable by the time I was done. It hurt worse when I took pressure OFF the seat!
I have heard that you need to give it some time before making the determination that the saddle isn't right for you. I've only been riding regularly for 3 weeks. Do I need to give this stock saddle (velo) a longer period before I start looking for something else?
thanks

[Skierchickie]

Nope! I think 3 weeks is plenty long enough, if the thing hurts that bad. Does it always feel awful, or just the one time? It could need to be adjusted, but three weeks of torture sounds like plenty, to me. Depending on where it hurts, you could tilt it down slightly (or up, as the case may be), or slide it fore and aft.

Good luck!

[fastdogs]

it doesn't hurt when I first start out- not like it's real comfortable, but it's not painful. Before today I'd gone four miles at the most, and it was more of a bruised feeling. Today was the first time it hurt when I took pressure off the saddle, more than when I was sitting on it. Probably this has something to do with blood flow? I'll try moving it around tomorrow to see if it makes any difference.
thanks

[boy in a kilt]

If the saddle isn't tensioned leather, it doesn't really need time to break in. For some reason, the saddle-butt symbiosis is gone.

Did you do a longer ride in the previous few days?

[fastdogs]

no, I had done four miles the previous day, then six today. I figured my butt needed time to break in, since I have not been riding for several years. I started back about 3 weeks ago with a new folding bike. I ride for 20-45 minutes during my lunch break every day, and if I don't get a chance to I stop at the park on the way home and ride. At work, I ride lots of hills, there's no flat places. At the park it's all flat. But I stay in the saddle the whole time, it was just getting so uncomfortable from the midpoint of the ride today that I was shifting around, that's when I noticed that the pain was worse when I took pressure off the saddle.
thanks

[mimitabby]

if you are fitted to the bike properly and the saddle is hurting, you need a different saddle. But even the best saddle will hurt if the seat is too high, or too far forward, etc, etc.

so. Make sure you're fit properly to the bike. Next question. WHERE is it hurting?

you should feel the pressure on your sitbones. if that's where it's hurting (and not inside of there on delicate tissues) you might consider a different saddle.
if other parts (not sitbones ) are hurting, it's either fit or you need another saddle. I hope that makes sense.

Mimi
ps takes me about 5 minutes to figure out if a saddle is going to work.. lots of experience!

[VeloVT]

Hmmm... Some aspects of fit require time to adjust to... but I would say if a saddle is killing you, it's not likely to get better. It doesn't take that much time to tell. Although you might try adjusting it a bit before making a final decision.

The one exception to this -- if it's your sit bones that are hurting and you haven't been riding for long, they'll "toughen up" after a while (I don't remember how long this takes -- a month maybe, maybe a bit less). But if it's other parts that are hurting, you shouldn't expect to adjust to the saddle.

One other comment -- sometimes other aspects of fit affect saddle comfort. If your reach is too long or your handlebars very low with respect to your saddle, this can increase saddle pressure. Also, of course, if your saddle is too high, that might cause discomfort (though I think it's much more common for people to start out setting their saddles too low than too high), and you might try tilting it down a smidge (personally, I am finding as I ride more that I like my saddle very level, when I used to prefer it tilted down a bit...). You also want to make sure it's in a good fore/aft position, but if it's not, it's **probably** more likely to cause knee pain, or possibly back pain,or maybe loss of power, than saddle pain.

Have you had a fitting done? This might help determine if it's just the wrong saddle for you, or a fit issue.

Good luck!!!

[TraderJane]

I experience this exact type of pain. The best way I can describe it is a bone bruise all along my sitbone area. I don't experience any discomfort while riding, the pain sets in about an hour after my ride is over. I'm a beginner cyclist. I purchased a Specialized Dolce from my LBS a few weeks ago. I've only ridden it four times for approximately 30 minutes each time, wearing what I lovelingly call my diaper shorts. After my first ride, my girly bits were none to pleased with my saddle. I realized that the saddle was positioned too far back and I wasn't carrying my weight on my bum, but on my inner thigh region instead. I moved it forward an inch and voila! My girly bits are happy and now my sitbones are angry. I've experienced the post-ride sitbone pain with no improvement for the past three rides. I expect there is an adjustment period, but seriously, how long does it last? I have to wait four days or so in between each ride for the bruising to subside. This is really dampening my spirits on riding. What is a typical adjustment period for a beginner? When do you decide it's the saddle, not your bum, that's the source of the problem?

[ilima]

Three weeks sounds like you gave it an honest try.

There have been some saddles I have rejected pretty much instantly (Fizik Arione), but others have take more time. And some didn't reveal how bad their uncomfortableness was until about 40 miles in.

The saddle that worked for me (SSM Aspide Glamour) felt a bit hard at first, but within minutes I had forgotten about it. I've never had any major discomfort, even on long (70+ mile) rides.

[TraderJane]

Update: I purchased a squishy "recreational" saddle last week and it is much better. It's a 155, same size as my original saddle. I am so happy that I can now ride my bike everyday instead of waiting four or five days for the bruised feeling to dissipate. The guy at my LBS tried to discourage me from going to a softer saddle because they are extremely uncomfortable after a couple hours of riding. I think I told him about five times, "yes, but I only ride for 30-45 mins at a time and it will be many months before I ride for more than 90 minutes, so the fact that it is uncomfortable after two hours is irrelevant." I think my point was lost on him, which was kind of disappointing. My advice to the ladies with tender tooshies like mine: buy the squishy saddle!

[Tuckervill]

But know that you'll be buying a new one when you're up to the longer rides!

The bruised feeling will go away over time. You'll have to adjust to that when you change saddles again.

Karen

[shellkay1212]

I had a fit and we moved my saddle back to get my knee position as close as possible to the correct place.

But, my saddle - oi - the bruise feeling is not on my sitbones. They are absolutely fine. It's more toward the front- the girly parts. My LBS guys are working with me. In fact, I stopped in there to get my super blinky Saturday and one of the fit guys asked if I had gotten the issue resolved.

Um, on one hand, I'm glad the guy who did my fit consulted him but uhhhh, it is sort of weird to think that they are discussing my bruised girly parts!