Saddle Question

[feistyep]

I am sooo glad there are other women having this problem!! I will say that you definitely don't have to be a larger woman to have this problem!
I am finally in the 50 mile mark and am suffering from agony as well!!
I think I measured by "sits bones" correctly and they are only 3 inches apart!
I originally had front saddle pain, then switched to a Sella saddle (with the center of the front cut out) which alleviated the front pain, but now I have severe pain on my sits!! Barely was able to ride 45 minutes!

Any suggestions?

Suzy

[Cyclenewbie08]

All of your advice is appreciated. I will read through the old posts that you sent, Lisa, and the the "A" part of the diagram does show where my pain is.

Knotted....I will check out the Brooks website and see what I can find there.

Feisty....I feel your pain. Glad to know it's not just my weight contributing to my pain. These ladies are great on here and will probably be able to help you.

Have a great night!

Chris

[KnottedYet]

I am sooo glad there are other women having this problem!! I will say that you definitely don't have to be a larger woman to have this problem!
I am finally in the 50 mile mark and am suffering from agony as well!!
I think I measured by "sits bones" correctly and they are only 3 inches apart!
I originally had front saddle pain, then switched to a Sella saddle (with the center of the front cut out) which alleviated the front pain, but now I have severe pain on my sits!! Barely was able to ride 45 minutes!

Any suggestions?

Suzy

3 inches is astoundingly narrow. Is that the distance between the bones, or the distance from outside to outside of the bones? The ischial tuberosities are thick, wide, heavy, rocker-like bones. Start by measuring outside-to-outside while sitting upright to get your boney maximum. As you tilt yourself forward (rocking forward on those sit-bone rockers!) you will see that the out-to-out measurement decreases depending on your torso angle. And if you keep going forward onto the rami (thinner blade-like portions of the pelvis) it gets very narrow and tender. (which is why saddles for riding in an anterior pelvic tilt, like tri saddles, have such wide padded noses) The more saddles you test-ride, the more you can fine-tune the width you like best for your position on the bike.

Saddle shape can have a lot to do with pain, too. If your saddle is too pear-shaped or too t-shaped you can get some really miserable hamstring attachment/sitbone irritation. (look at it from the top: is it more pear or tear-drop shaped than your last saddle? Or does it look more like a capital letter "T"?) I haven't found a quick and easy way to determine what saddle top shape is likely to feel best. That's pretty much a matter of trial and error and comparison.

Sheldon Brown, RIP, has a lot of good stuff about saddles: http://sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

ETA: just for comparison, my out-out measurement is around 170mm or 7 inches. I ride on a saddle that is 210mm or about 8 1/4 inches wide.