Yet another Saddle Thread :P

[bathedinshadow]

So I wasn't sure where to put this. There are many topics on saddles and I hate to be redundant, so my apologies if this doesn't completely warrant a new thread.

So once again, another person experiencing saddle hell. So I bought a Specialized Ruby 143 (fully returnable) and I took it for a 2 hour ride. Definitely better than my previous saddle, but that isn't hard to do. I don't even know how to describe which bones were hurting on the Ruby though. I guess the ones that are right where your underline would be. Maybe that pain would go away? The guy at the shop also measured me at 120. I tried the paper towel method yesterday and got 130. So hmm.. I mean I'm sure his method was more accurate, but it just seems like a big difference.

Here are my questions...

Do you think the pain I got with the Ruby was due to the shape?

I was looking at the Sella Italia SLR and the SLK. The SLR is 155 though. So a big over kill for me? The SLK is a 145 so that would probably be okay. Do you think the shapes of either of these are the same as the Ruby and thus I'd run into the same problem?

I was also checking out the San Marco's, but I'm not sure which ones are women specific.

[Zen]

I don't even know how to describe which bones were hurting on the Ruby though. I guess the ones that are right where your underline would be..

What is an underline?
Use specific anatomical terms please. Don't be shy. We all have them.

[bathedinshadow]

Woops... I meant underwear line. Not shy!

To be more specific it's the "inferior pubic ramus." There's a diagram here...
http://home.comcast.net/~wnor/pelvis.htm

[KnottedYet]

Woops... I meant underwear line. Not shy!

To be more specific it's the "inferior pubic ramus." There's a diagram here...
http://home.comcast.net/~wnor/pelvis.htm

Umm... I think you're looking at that picture backwards? Are you talking about pain at your butt underwear line, or at your hoo-hah?

If it's chafing at your butt panty-line, the saddle transition from "sit" to nose is probably too gradual.

If it's pressure at your butt on the sit-bones, that's where you want it. (does it feel like you would after sitting on those metal benches at the football stadium?) Keep the saddle a while and see how it goes.

If it really is pain on the pubic rami, up front by your hoo-hah, then the saddle is either too narrow at your sit bones (but you measured, and it sounds ok) or the nose may be tilted up too high, or again it may be too pear shaped and you are shifting forward to clear your hips as you ride, thereby sitting on the narrower front portion of the saddle and weightbearing on the pubic rami instead of the ischial tuberosities.

[Zen]

Umm... I think you're looking at that picture backwards? Are you talking about pain at your butt underwear line, or at your hoo-hah?

Hoo-hah, aka 'Twinkie'

[bathedinshadow]

Umm... I think you're looking at that picture backwards? Are you talking about pain at your butt underwear line, or at your hoo-hah?

If it's chafing at your butt panty-line, the saddle transition from "sit" to nose is probably too gradual.

If it's pressure at your butt on the sit-bones, that's where you want it. (does it feel like you would after sitting on those metal benches at the football stadium?) Keep the saddle a while and see how it goes.

If it really is pain on the pubic rami, up front by your hoo-hah, then the saddle is either too narrow at your sit bones (but you measured, and it sounds ok) or the nose may be tilted up too high, or again it may be too pear shaped and you are shifting forward to clear your hips as you ride, thereby sitting on the narrower front portion of the saddle and weightbearing on the pubic rami instead of the ischial tuberosities.

I think I'm looking at the picture right. Scroll down to like the 3rd picture where it shows it from the side. Then I think you'll see better what I'm talking about.

I feel like what I "want" is a more T shape. I just don't know if that would solve the issue. When I first sat on the seat and left my house, I immediately went down a big hill. The first thing I noticed was that I just slid forward. It feels like the wide portion of the seat, is too long and digging into the bones along my inner thigh. Which is an improvement over the previous seat where I was actually sitting directly on everything that matters. 2 hours of that, and truly, going to the bathroom is not an enjoyable experience. I also wonder if the pain with the Ruby might be from chafing from the shorts. I'm a fairly small person and the width between my inner thighs, across my pubic bone, is relatively small. They padding of every pair of shorts I've tried on, soft of folds down my legs if that makes sense.

[Zen]

It sounds like your shorts are too big.

[KnottedYet]

I think I'm looking at the picture right. Scroll down to like the 3rd picture where it shows it from the side. Then I think you'll see better what I'm talking about.

I'm pretty good at pelvic anatomy. I was confused because you talked about underwear line, which makes me think of the back side of the pelvis, not the front.

Ok, so you aren't feeling any pain at the panty line, you are feeling pain up near your vulva.

If you are weightbearing on the pubic rami, between the thighs and on either side of your soft tissues, then it is probably a pear-shape problem and you are shifting forward to clear the saddle, or there is just too much pear even if you don't need to shift, or the nose is too high. Both your measurments and the LBS measurements seem to indicate the saddle is wide enough at the sits, so I'd be looking at tilt and transition as the culprits on the saddle.

But, boy howdy, I think Zen might have it. If you are having that much trouble with shorts, no saddle is gonna feel right! Try riding in plain ol' running shorts or regular summer shorts. If you have less trouble in a chamois-less pair of shorts, you might just be someone who shouldn't wear chamois. (There are several of us here on TE, with a variety of chamois-less brands we can recommend)