New rider with very very VERY sore rear!

[MaineMaid]

I'm taking notes furiously,everyone!!!...since I'm just about to buy a Pilot WSD !!! I read all your posts about seats and saddles on that thread, so I guess I'll be tossing out the seat that comes with the Trek Pilot and trying something else. The woman who is going to fit me to the bike on Friday pretty much told me that I'd be changing out the saddle, she had a kind of knowing sympathetic smirk on her face.

Jan

[withm]

It's very true, the saddle on the Pilot is not very good. BUT, be sure you negotiate something with your bike shop about swapping it out for something you can sit on. I tried 5 before I got a Terry Butterfly (and a lot of people don't like those either), but I went from doing 40 mile rides on my old bike with a Terry saddle, to dying after 10-15 miles with the standard issue saddle when I got my Pilot. I don't even remember which saddles I tried - but I just kept taking them back to the shop till I got one that worked. They never charged me a penny even though it did take a couple months of experiments and miserable rides till we got it right.

Good luck, and enjoy your new bike!

[emily_in_nc]

Just chiming in to say here-here (or is that hear-hear?!)

I rode metrics and full centuries on a Terry Butterfly with no more than mild saddle issues, but five miles into a test ride of a Trek 5200 WSD with Bontrager (no cutout) saddle a couple of summers ago, I was in agony!

Bontrager = Buttwhacker!

Good luck, and it WILL get better!

Emily

[Blueberry]

I just brought home a lovely Trek 520 a couple of weeks ago. I test rode one (it was sold, so I couldn't ride far) with the original saddle. I told them not to bother to put the saddle on my bike. OUCH! I have a butterfly on it now = happy butt.

And...it's a sweet bike! It was a perfect fit for me according to the fit kit I had done with zero changes in stem, etc. Down to the 1/2 cm. Sweet!

[tygab]

interesting, I have the stock bontrager on my pilot, and did all my riding on it this summer. At first I did get sore, but I honestly don't really notice it now even after several hours of riding. I have a very bony behind too... now I am wondering what a 'better' saddle would be like since the consensus here is it's awful.

[DarcyInOregon]

I ride a Trek Pilot 5.2 WSD, 2007. It is a split (cutout) saddle. The LBS told me the saddle design was stolen from the Terry Butterfly, that it is the Trek Bontrager version of the Terry Butterfly. I haven't had any problems on it, no sore rear or even a starting glimmer of any discomfort, but I haven't ridden it over 30 miles yet either. My hunch is I won't get a problem. I like the saddle.

[emily_in_nc]

I just brought home a lovely Trek 520 a couple of weeks ago. I test rode one (it was sold, so I couldn't ride far) with the original saddle. I told them not to bother to put the saddle on my bike. OUCH! I have a butterfly on it now = happy butt.

And...it's a sweet bike! It was a perfect fit for me according to the fit kit I had done with zero changes in stem, etc. Down to the 1/2 cm. Sweet!

Thread hijack in progress:

CA! You bought another bike! Is this to replace the ill-fated Bike Friday? I believe 520s are touring bikes, no? Are you still trying to make the Bike Friday work? Did you sell your Cannondale (I think that's what it was - the purple one that didn't fit)?? PM or email me!

/Thread hijack

~Emily

[NJBikeGal]

What's amazing about the saddle issue is often how quickly you can identify the WRONG saddle. I went in to my LBS recently to swap out a saddle that I had finally decided was no longer worth the pain. My poor friend at the shop had to switch out half a dozen saddles for me, one of which I sat on for less than 5 seconds and was off the bike and back in the shop! I finally settled on a Terry Firefly. I have been riding on it for about a month now and am very happy with it...amazing how the pain goes away when you have something that fits your butt! The only stock saddle I have kept on a bike is on my Fuji Tahoe mountain...for some reason, that saddle is great!

[Triskeliongirl]

Thread hijack in progress:

CA! You bought another bike! Is this to replace the ill-fated Bike Friday? I believe 520s are touring bikes, no? Are you still trying to make the Bike Friday work? Did you sell your Cannondale (I think that's what it was - the purple one that didn't fit)?? PM or email me!

/Thread hijack

~Emily

I have the same question. Please update us on the stauts of your bike friday, perhaps in a separate thread.