Saddle Sores - Sorry maybe TMI

[emily_in_nc]

I don't know whether I need a wider seat or a more narrow seat. The LBS thought maybe I need a men's seat. I'm 5'4" and weigh 125. I have no hips to speak of. I am starting to get a butt since I've been riding. The LBS told me I have more of a male body type than female and thought since I was narrow through the hips that maybe I should try a male saddle.

I feel your pain, though I have a problem with a persistent saddle sore in the area in the crease of my inner thigh. Anything down there that hurts badly is not right or normal. I once rode over 3000 miles a year without significant saddle issues.

I've just discovered that despite having small hips (34"), weighing 102-103, and wearing a size 2 petite, I actually don't have the "narrow sit bones" that I thought I had! My saddle sore started a YEAR AGO on a narrow saddle. I changed to a different narrow saddle. It never went away even when I didn't ride for three months in a row. I went to a dermatologist and got a cortisone injection right in the sore, which took all the pain away; however, after my second ride this spring, it came right back, angry and swollen as ever!

So yesterday I finally sat on my yoga mat in underwear and was finally able to see the problem -- my sit bones are actually wider than I thought. Maybe average for a female (about 130mm c-to-c), but a lot wider than I realized. If you go to a Specialized dealer, they can sit you on the "Butt-o-meter" (memory foam seat) so you can find out the same thing.

Based on my measurements, I now realize my narrow saddles are too narrow for me; as a result, my sit bones are hanging off the sloping sides and putting way too much pressure on the inside of the bones and soft tissue in the crease of my thigh.

So...while I don't think you can know (yet) what width saddle you need, it sounds like you need a much better cutout for your lady bits! The saddle I'm taking off my mountain bike has an amazing diamond-shape cutout, so comfy, never a bit of genital discomfort, but the saddle width is relatively narrow (140mm). If you figure out your sit bone width and want to try it, I'm going to be putting it up for sale here over the weekend (w/pictures, etc.). It's a Selle San Marco Atola Gelaround like this. I'm not posting here to sell it, though, just to make a couple of points:

1. Don't assume because you're thin and/or have narrow hips that you have narrow, male-width sitbones.

2. With the clitoral issues you're having, it sounds like you need a much better cutout. Your clitoris should not even be touching the saddle if it is painful. I personally get very raw if I ride a saddle without a cutout for anything longer than short rides, and skinny, stiff cutouts are just as bad as no cutout at all. The diamond-shape cutout of the Atola is perfect for me in that area (just wish the saddle were wider in the rear!)

Good luck!
Emily

[OakLeaf]

It definitely sounds like you need a different saddle! The one you're riding is pretty narrow, and typically if someone's putting her weight on her genitalia rather than on her sit bones, it's because her saddle's too narrow.

Here's what I did: I sat on a piece of paper on my Pilates mat to make a butt print. (Sit on a low step-stool, or on a hard chair with your feet on a stool, to approximate a riding position.) While the indentations were fresh, I circled them so I'd have a permanent record of where my sitbones are. Then you can take that print and lay it over any saddle and see whether it's wide enough to support you.

Then there's pear shaped vs. T-shaped saddles, and the shape of the cut-out to consider. Just like trying on clothes, there's no substitute for trying on saddles. Many LBS's and many saddle makers will let you return a saddle that doesn't work for you.

I have to say this: your coach may be very good at teaching you to get stronger and faster, but he obviously knows nothing about saddles if he thinks he can look at one and say "it's a good seat" and therefore it ought to work for you. If he hasn't measured your sitbones, the Q-angle of your femurs, and the dimensions of your soft tissues he has no idea what saddles might work for you and what ones wouldn't.

[seeker]

Thanks ladies. I see your point about the cutout, however I am putting all my pressure on the nose of the seat, not over the cutout. That is why I thought tilting the seat back would help. When I had the seat level, my bits were right at the tip of the seat. We tilted it back slightly and now my bits are almost to the cutout but not quite. I wanted the LBS to tilt it back some more and they wouldn't do it. They don't think that will solve my problem. But they don't have a clitoris either. And yes I do move around a lot because I'm trying to shift my weight to the back of the seat.

I have tried shifting things around but I can't seem to keep my labia from separating. I know I'm not seated properly but I'm not sure what to do. I can't sit on a folding chair or a wooden bench without sitting on a pillow. If I sit directly on the hard chair, I'm sitting right on my sit bones. I don't have much padding there. I actually keep a pillow in my car because I can't handle the church pew. So I know if I were sitting on the saddle properly, I'd probably feel it in my sit bones. But I don't. It's all up front.

I'll see if I can get a picture but that might be a problem. DH is not supportive of my biking. And I'm not sure he can even operate the camera. I'll have to work on him.

If you have any more suggestions, please give them to me. As I mentioned in my first post, my tri coach has seen me on the bike. He thought I was seated properly. He didn't understand my discomfort and I was finally able to talk him into tipping my seat back. The LBS have seen me on my seat numerous times and they also feel I'm seated correctly so I don't know what the heck to do. I was hoping a simple saddle change would fix the problem.

emily, I may get in front of the mirror and see if I can measure the distance from sit bone to sit bone.

Thanks.

[seeker]

I just read your post Oakleaf. I will get these measurements. Thanks.

[OakLeaf]

Just to clarify, do measure your sitbones. The other things make a difference but aren't easily measured, any more than they are before you try on a pair of jeans.

[sundial]

Yes, by all means have your sitbones measured. Check and see if your bike shop has a butt-o-meter to measure your sit bones.

[OakLeaf]

Read Knott's comments on sitbone measurement here.

[Trek420]

That is why I thought tilting the seat back would help. When I had the seat level, my bits were right at the tip of the seat. We tilted it back slightly and now my bits are almost to the cutout but not quite. I wanted the LBS to tilt it back some more and they wouldn't do it.

Seeker, without seeing you ride I really can't say for sure. Nobody here could. And I'm not a wrench or bike fitter. It's just an impression from reading your posts between your feeling like you should slide back, tilt the seat back, all that movement. When I ride my upper body is fairly still.

So go ahead and measure those sit bones, find a seat. If it still hurts maybe a seat post with the right set-back amount. But if you're not having fun on the bike I'd find a new and different shop for a fitting.

It's supposed to feel gooooooooood when you ride and be fun and after the ride

[KnottedYet]

Somebody mentioned that your reach might be too long, and that's what I'm kinda thinkin' too. Sounds like your pelvis is trying to move forward or collapsing forward, and tilting the saddle is supporting it and forcing it back.

A new saddle (especially one that fits) will likely make a lot of difference, but I'd also look into bike fit and core strength. Your reach might be too long for your structure or too long for your core to support.

(now you have a gazillion things to check, don't you feel reassured? )

[Trek420]

Your reach might be too long for your structure or too long for your core to support.

New saddle and a set of matching PI arm-short'ners? we can shorten our reach?

[KnottedYet]

New saddle and a set of matching PI arm-short'ners?

Nuh-uh, arm-lengtheners!

[Trek420]

Can I get leg-lengtheners? Do they sell them on TE?

Ah never mind, I'd need a new saddle, new bike fit, even a new bike and I finally got that figured out .... If i need longer arms or legs I know where I can borrow them from a tall person.