Pinchy Bits

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Owie. Did my first ever time trial, yesterday (and, OMG...it is so sad to ride 17.4 miles in a race at a slower pace than easy rides of 2-3x the distance 6 months ago. I really need to get a CX bike at some point so that I can ride outdoors year-round. The nowhere bike doesn't cut it). I spent most of the ride with my girly bits getting pinched. I think part of the problem is the heavy wind-blocker tights over my regular cycling shorts (too many layers of fabric trying to occupy minimal space) though I occasionally had this issue last Summer with just shorts.

I really like my Specialized Jett saddle, but wonder if the cut-out could be a contributing factor. I will have to pay more attention to things once I can ride without the heavy tights (Hello, Spring...where are you?! ). Perhaps something like that Bontrager saddle with the dip/dent would work better for me. Are they very T-shaped? I can't do pear-shaped saddles...at all.

[Biciclista]

boy, be careful with Bontragers. Of all the brands - i have heard more complaints about them than any others. I have a cutout in my Brooks Imperial and it's great.

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boy, be careful with Bontragers. Of all the brands - i have heard more complaints about them than any others. I have a cutout in my Brooks Imperial and it's great.

Ha, yeah...seems like there is no middle-ground with them, from what I have been reading.

[OakLeaf]

Aero position is tough because you can't help rotating your pelvis forward. But the other part of that is that in aero position, you may be okay with a more wedge-shaped saddle than what you can tolerate sitting a little bit more upright, with your weight on your sitbones. Have you thought about an Adamo?

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Aero position is tough because you can't help rotating your pelvis forward. But the other part of that is that in aero position, you may be okay with a more wedge-shaped saddle than what you can tolerate sitting a little bit more upright, with your weight on your sitbones. Have you thought about an Adamo?

I wondered if the issue was more that of being less upright. That makes sense. I'm sure the overabundance of fabric "down there" is not helping matters, either.

I don't know that I want to buy a saddle just for the occasional race...at least not this year (I'm only planning on 3 sprint duathlons...otherwise the rest of my year will mostly be centuries and other long rides). I'll probably be ready to replace my saddle by the end of this riding season, so that may be the time to reassess. I'd love to find something that would work equally well on the hoods and in the drops, but I'm guessing there is no such thing, huh.

[abejita]

The over abundance of fabric is always an issue for me. I actually gave up trying to find chamois that didn't rub me the wrong way. I now only use tri shorts and haven't had a problem since.

mary

[HillSlugger]

boy, be careful with Bontragers. Of all the brands - i have heard more complaints about them than any others. I have a cutout in my Brooks Imperial and it's great.

I'm actually riding happy on a Bontrager, but not the one my Trek came with. I'm on the Bontrager Inform Affinity RL WSD, 144mm. It supports my sit bones in just the right places and I;m not feeling any pressure at all up front.

For some reason the Terry saddles that worked so well for me on my Specialized were torture on the Madone.

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It's interesting that different bikes sometimes require different saddles. I'm even wondering if tipping the nose down on my Jett might make a difference.

[HillSlugger]

It's interesting that different bikes sometimes require different saddles. I'm even wondering if tipping the nose down on my Jett might make a difference.

It's definitely worth a try before you start trying new saddles. Just don't tip it so far that you start sliding forward.

[marni]

sometimes one particular pair of shorts will suddenly develop a problem even though they are the same brand size etc that you have been wearing, and perhaps even a pair that you have worn before. I put a big black permanent marker x on any pair I have a problem with, either on the tag at the back if it is still there or on the upper back edge of the chamois, each time I experience an uncomfortable ride. Two black x s means the shorts are for the charity bag. I don't change my riding position or saddle position much because I rde distances and training only, no racing or special events, so if anything is wrong, it is most likely the saddle.

Just a thought.

marni

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It's interesting that different bikes sometimes require different saddles. I'm even wondering if tipping the nose down on my Jett might make a difference.

Well, we answered that question. Hubby tipped the nose down a little and then I felt like I was sliding forward the entire ride (which my parts did not appreciate, of course). Though maybe my saddle could be pushed forward just a hair. We've never done the plumb-line positioning, or anything, and I did recently go from an 80mm stem to a 100mm (which definitely makes going into the drops comfier, but it's riding in said drops that's making my hoo-ha all sorts of annoyed...can't win, heh).

Man, I wish we'd get warm enough for me to do some rides without the tights layer over my shorts. Then I could at least eliminate a factor. This neverending Winter is really starting to tick me off! I'd love to get this figured out before my 2 upcoming duathlons when I will want to be in the drops a lot.

[Artista]

boy, be careful with Bontragers. Of all the brands - i have heard more complaints about them than any others. I have a cutout in my Brooks Imperial and it's great.

Bontrager used to make pretty awful saddles but their new Inform technology is superb for many of us. Don't rule out Bontrager based on outdated information.

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Yesterday I did just an easy 12 miles with a pair of tri shorts under my tights. I still had some issues, but I think they were due more irritation from riding on already irritated parts. I think doing these shorter, in-the-drops races will definitely have me in my tri shorts in the future.

Only new issue I really noticed...my crotch got cold! It was still in the 30s yesterday and I swear ALL the cold air went up the cut-out in my saddle!

[GLC1968]

I have always had a bit of a soreness problem in the soft-tissue area on all but my MTB due to the agresssive position and my own anatomy. I was convinced that a TT bike would be pure torture. It was on the stock saddle and just about every saddle I tried - until I got to the Bontrager Inform RL WSD. It was instantly comfy on the TT bike during my fitting but what really surprized me was how comfy it also was when sitting up. I immediately tried it on my road bike and WOW, it works there too!

When I'm sitting up, it's T-shapped enough, narrow and firm enough to work perfectly for my sit bones. When I rotate my pelvis into aero position on my TT bike, the indent and the narrow nose work together to support me comfortably on my perenium without crushing the soft tissue or pinching like my Terry Ti Fly did (cutout). I am frankly stunned that the same saddle works for both positions and on all three of my road riding bikes!

Since we are so similiar in so many other dimensions, you need to try this saddle! It may not work for you, but it's worth a shot, right? In fact, if you order directly from Bontrager, last year's model is on sale for $69.99.

http://store.trekbikes.com/jump.jsp?...&bShopOnline=1

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Hmmm...my only query is what size. I think I recall that when I did a quick-and-dirty sit-bone measurement that I came up with 125-130mm. My Jett is a 143 and feels about perfect.

So what size would that equate to for the Bontrager? 140...150...? What is the firmness of the Inform RL like compared to the Jett? I definitely don't want to go softer.