tailbone pain

[Tokie]

I have a friend who goes early to spin class and puts on his own saddle instead of the spin bike saddle. He even switches out to his own pedals too. I get a sore tailbone from spin class (yes, history of fractured tailbone 38 yrs ago) and also on my trainer too, with my own comfy saddle. The difference for me must be that on my trainer and in spin class I habitually will sit straight up during warm up and cool down. I can't ride without hands on my handlebars, so I am never in this position on my bike on the road. And my tailbone never hurts from any biking on the road. something to experiment with? Tokie

[channlluv]

Hello, friends,

Okay, so I'm working up to longer road rides. I've got a trail bike, but I've only ever ridden on roads. I'm pretty big and I don't trust myself on trails. (5'4.5", 243 lbs, 44 years old as of September) I just started riding in earnest in late August. My daughter (10) and I did the 18-mile Tour de Poway (San Diego area) a couple of weeks ago. It was her longest distance, but I've been doing 20 mile rides for about four weeks now (2 - 3 per week). Last Sunday it was a beautiful day and I felt inspired to go an extra lap around my usual five-mile path, so I did 25 miles instead of 20. My knees hurt and my tailbone hurt, but my knees really hurt worse. I iced them and ended up resting them for a week. I got back on my bike today and was heading out for an easy 15 - 20, but it was a gorgeous day again and I was feeling pretty good, so I hung on for an extra lap.

About 18 miles in I started singing to myself, "I am powerful, and my bod feels great," over and over. I kept trying to stand and readjust, but man, my tailbone is hurting.

I can ice my knees. In fact, I'm doing that as I type this, but I've got nothing for the tailbone.

A few years ago I fell on my tailbone while roller skating and suffered severe bruising. No breaks or fractures, though, but as someone else said, I've had problems sitting on hard surfaces for any length of time.

I wear Pearl Izumi gel shorts, but I guess the padding isn't enough for my size.

On an upnote, the lycra is either losing its elasticity, or my legs are getting smaller. Woohoo! I'm voting for the latter.

What do you guys do for tailbone pain, though? Do I need a new saddle?

DH has bought me a new seat post that will move the saddle back about a half inch, which I'm hoping will relieve some of the knee pain. Might it help the tailbone pain, too?

Thanks, all,

Roxy

[channlluv]

DH thinks that gel seat covers are for sissies. I had a gel seat cover and he bought me a new saddle and said I wouldn't need the gel seat cover anymore. I took it off to try out the new saddle, and left it on top of the car and drove off, so it went flying somewhere along the way. Bye, bye, gel seat cover.

(He also won't let me get a kickstand, scoffing like all his triathlete buddies will laugh or something...why is a kickstand bad? He says it's because it will add weight that will add up on long rides. I say that I already way 240+ pounds, and a five-ounce kickstand won't make much difference except in protecting my car paint when I don't have to lean the bike against it anymore.

Hmmmm...nothing to do with tail pain, though.

Thanks!

Roxy

[Tuckervill]

If you want a kickstand, get a kickstand. I have a kickstand on my tourer and I love it.

You don't need that gel cover though. Last year when I got my road bike, I didn't like the saddle. My tailbone hurt all the time, even when I just got up from a chair. So I got a couple of Terry's to try (I'm not good at remembering which ones). I still use them both, one on my road bike and one on my mountain bike. If your tailbone doesn't start to feel better after losing the gel cover, you might want to try another saddle. (There are numerous threads.)

I also have a Brooks leather saddle on my tourer and I live IT, too.

Karen

[emily_in_nc]

My biking buddy has tailbone pain from an injury years ago. She found that a saddle with a split rear portion made a huge difference in her pain. I can't remember the exact model she got (it's rather hard), but look around. There are lots of different saddles with a split rear, and your choice will depend on your sitbone width, whether you need/want a cutout, etc. Check the saddles threads here on TE -- there are many of them!

[Tuckervill]

Yeah! My Terry's are made like that. (FTR, I think they are a Butterfly and a Liberator).

Karen

[OakLeaf]

It's possible your saddle is too narrow too - depending on how long your tailbone is.

I bruised mine once on a long ride, so I can totally sympathize. It hurt to do anything - including nothing.

[emily_in_nc]

Yeah! My Terry's are made like that. (FTR, I think they are a Butterfly and a Liberator).

Interesting, my Terry Butterfly saddles do not have a split rear portion (I don't need it). They may dip down a little there but don't actually split. I was thinking more along the lines of something like this:

http://www.wekeepyoucycling.com/en/s...?productid=114