really rough ride today..

[sundial]

We started early to avoid the heat. Index today was above 105. We only rode 15 miles.

Dang! Where do you ride?? Mexico??

I'm sorry you are having so much pain on a bike. I can sympathize with you because I rode my road bike, switched to mountain bike in the winter through the first part of this month and was mostly pain free (except for the dumb falls) until I got back on my road bike. I now have some pain issues with my achilles and I know how frustrating it is to want to ride but don't want to hurt while riding.

Since you are already acclimated to riding more upright on your mtb, perhaps you should consider tweaking a few things on your road bike to make it more comfie. Maybe add an adjustable stem to raise the handlebars up. Also measure for your saddle size by sitting on a Butt O Meter at a bike shop (Trek/Specialized dealers will have this). If this doesn't help matters, perhaps you should go shopping for a bike that does fit. Perhaps you'd like a bike that will allow you to sit more upright--like a commuter bike or cyclocross bike. In any event, hope you find a bike shop that listens to you and works to resolve your fit issues.

[F8th637]

Dang! Where do you ride?? Mexico??

The heat index for our part of the east coast is 105+ through tomorrow. We're suppose to get some respite come Wednesday.

[coyote]

+1 for the SuperFeet insoles.

I had a really bad time with one of my feet going numb...I was able to resolve it with the SuperFeet insoles.

I also had issues with my stem. I tried higher, lower, longer and shorter. Finally I had the reach correct but my feet and soft woman parts were not happy. I ended up going to another bike shop. The Bike Guru took one look at my bike and said Oh, why don't you start by making your handlebars the same height as your seat. I bought a handle bar raiser, the pressure went away on my front, my feet (along with the insoles) and my hands.

So, +1 on the more upright position. If you have room and can raise your handlebars, give it a try.

[aicabsolut]

A few thoughts on fit:

First, I agree that sitbone pressure from a saddle (and no soreness anywhere else) is just fine! Some saddles require a breaking-in period, plus your sitbones also need to get used to being back on a road saddle again. Get a little more cushioning from a better chamois and take it easy at first. Tilting the nose UP will distribute more of your weight throughout your crotch, which could help the sitbones, but it could make things worse towards the nose.

As for your hands, moving the saddle forward and down was probably the wrong way to go. Basically, you want the saddle fore-aft position to be far enough forward that if you take your hands off the bars (on a trainer), you won't fall on your face, with minimal extra support from your core. So find this point and then move it back a tad. This means you won't need your hands for support. This should roughly correspond to the position where your knee would be over the pedal spindle when at 3 o'clock. Some people like it back a little, some a little forward. So long as you don't have knee pain, you're in the right ballpark. From here, then you need to look at your saddle height to be sure you're square over the saddle and not hyperextending your knees or bottoming out too fast (forcing more heel drop than is natural for you).

As for hot spots on feet, they will get better with wider platform road pedals. However, even then, improper cleat positioning will still cause hot spots. A good rule of thumb for an average foot size is to have the first metatarsal joint (the ball of the foot under the big toe) around 5-8mm in front of the pedal spindle. That means the cleat is just behind the ball of the foot. Note that this may impact your saddle, because it impacts your reach to the pedals. So, change cleats first, saddle second. On hot days, you may also need to loosen your shoes over the course of the ride. Feet can get really cramped and sore, though this won't feel exactly like hotspots on the bottoms.

Now if you look at all of that and you still find you're upper body isn't doing the right thing, you may want to check your stem length and height. You may be all nice and balanced as far as the saddle goes, but you're getting too cramped or too stretched out by the bar position. Also, get some nicely padded cycling gloves to get rid of soreness from road buzz.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

You're supposed to have pressure on your sit bones. That's where all your weight should be. (or rather, your weight that isn't on your feet and hands)
However, if your sit bones are not used to this yet, they can be quitre sore and painful for the first few days of riding. This happened to me. It was VERY painful on my sit bones- hard to walk even! But my husband assured me this was normal and indicated my weight was in the right place, and that the soreness would go away soon.
It did- within a week or so my sitbones had gotten used to it and no more pain. In fact, I felt very very comfy from then on in. However, if I haven't ridden in a month or so like during winter, then my sitbones do complain again briefly when I start back in riding.

What you don't want is pressure up front on your girly parts.

[littlegrasshopp]

I'm going for a pro fit. We've moved the seat, forward, back, up, down, tilted.....We've rounded the bars upward, moved the grips inward. I'm sure we've done the right thing in each area - just not the right combo. And as I've said, I did two fits with the LBS that sold it, but he's apparently not knows for doing good fits. Great bike builder though.

I love the wool socks too. They're all I wear, and I have the insoles too. I always wear those too. I think the fact that I had cheap cycling shoes was part of the issue. The hard bottom should help. I'm about to go on a ride and find out. I will keep you guys posted. I can't wait to fit better on the bike. No long rides - 30 minutes is all I'll do. I'm working on hills. So I still get a good cardio workout but not as much wear on my arms and saddle area.

Oh the sit bone issue was more than pressure - it was blisters too. I keep forgetting that I need to clarify that.

As for the heat. It's HOT! Wednesday it's suppose to drop into the low 90's and everyone is excited. The humidity is way too high also! Glad the a/c is fixed!!

Again, thank you for all the advice and support. I'm still getting on the bike regularly. I'm still hopeful that it will work. I need a fit though. That's for sure!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oh the sit bone issue was more than pressure - it was blisters too. I keep forgetting that I need to clarify that.

You shouldn't be getting blisters on your sit bones. Blisters happen with skin getting pushed back and forth under pressure and/or friction from rubbing back and forth. Your sit bones should not be moving/rubbing back and forth over your saddle as you ride. I don't get it.

[posagirl]

I loved reading all the tips. I guess I am lucky on my fit so far, but time will tell. I have used Superfeet every day in my tennies and boots for years. They are the best! I use regular tennies with Superfeet in them on my bike, also (still a short distancer!). I, also, stay close to home until I am more fit and experienced. I don't want to end up miserable and far far far away. Cell service isn't consistent where I live so calling my hubbie isn't necessarily an option. You can buy Superfeet online. So far, Feet Relief http://www.feetrelief.com/feetrelief/superfeet.htm is the cheapest source I have found. Anyone find a cheaper price? Know that there are several styles of Superfeet, also, for different types of shoes.

[littlegrasshopp]

me either. But on my right one I had an open sore/blister from a long ride. I've done the sitbone measurement thing since all of that trouble and the saddles I'm trying now are very nice in that area. After last night's short ride - where DH did an adjustment to new saddle, I can really tell how tilting the saddle forward puts pressure on the hands. We're making the pro fit appt today. So I'll stop whining about my bike fit problems

Thanks so much for the advice and encouragement!!

[aicabsolut]

What shorts are you wearing?