How, exactly, do we develop bike butt?

[zoom-zoom]

Ooh, I hope I can lose some padding on my own backside...and frontside, and sideside!

[beccaB]

For us, we had to just keep riding through the discomfort. There is a distinction between discomfort and pain. During the end of a century ride the snack stops are welcomed because we need to give the butt a rest by that time.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If your weight is properly born by mostly your two sitbones, then they will adjust to the additional pressure after a couple weeks of steady riding. Sitbone soreness is expected at first, just like when you ride a horse for the first few times.

If, however, if the pain or numbness comes from your soft tissues or your 'girl parts', then those parts will NOT adjust well and riding through the pain can damage your nerves over time. If pain/burning etc continues in your soft parts or in the front area, then you need to change something.

[zoom-zoom]

If your weight is properly born by mostly your two sitbones, then they will adjust to the additional pressure after a couple weeks of steady riding. Sitbone soreness is expected at first, just like when you ride a horse for the first few times.

If, however, if the pain or numbness comes from your soft tissues or your 'girl parts', then those parts will NOT adjust well and riding through the pain can damage your nerves over time. If pain/burning etc continues in your soft parts or in the front area, then you need to change something.

DH could never understand why I loathed my clunky Schwinn mtn. bike, aside from the fact that it weighted a ton and was slow.

I kept telling him that no matter the seat/seat position my girl bits went numb and were in serious pain within a half mile. He thought I was pulling his leg.

Yesterday we did 30 miles on my new road bike (with new wider, firmer saddle than what came on the bike) and I had little more than mild discomfort. We probably need to tip my saddle back just a hair, since I had some issues with sliding forward, but other than that my butt was pretty happy and doesn't hurt today.

It's still a mystery how cyclists' butts adapt to riding. It's not like it's muscles that are being strengthened. The mechanism behind adapting to a bike saddle simply with riding over time still seems perplexing.

DH's theory is that as a cyclist gets stronger they put more of their weight on their legs and less on their rear-end...is that a logical theory?

I think the biggest issue with my mountain bike was that it was poorly fit (a teenage kid sold us the bike...reputable shop, but we should have had the kid's dad do the fitting). I should have had a size smaller. No saddle would help with that.

[lph]

DH's theory is that as a cyclist gets stronger they put more of their weight on their legs and less on their rear-end...is that a logical theory?

Well, my butt gets a lot more sore on recreational family rides where we're moseying around looking at the scenery than on training rides where I use my legs a lot. That's mostly because my bikes are set up for training rides with a fairly bent-over position, but I can tell a difference between slow "easy" training rides and fast in-and-out of the saddle rides.

[indigoiis]

I rode six months trying to get used to a saddle that didn't fit me. Your body does not adapt to a saddle that doesn't fit, no matter how hard you try. It is worth the money to invest in a saddle that your sit bones sit on. Now I can ride 100 miles on my saddle. When I swapped bikes I kept the saddle. It is nothing special as far as saddles go - it's a stock saddle from a Specialized Dolce. But it fits me perfectly.

If you are getting sores or blisters, I would recommend shopping for a new saddle.

[zoom-zoom]

I rode six months trying to get used to a saddle that didn't fit me. Your body does not adapt to a saddle that doesn't fit, no matter how hard you try. It is worth the money to invest in a saddle that your sit bones sit on. Now I can ride 100 miles on my saddle. When I swapped bikes I kept the saddle. It is nothing special as far as saddles go - it's a stock saddle from a Specialized Dolce. But it fits me perfectly.

If you are getting sores or blisters, I would recommend shopping for a new saddle.

I knew right away that the stock saddle on my Cdale Synapse (I think it's called Raven?) was too narrow. From measuring that saddle it appears to be 120-130cm at its widest, squishy, and not flat in the back. I think my sit bones are closer to 130-140. I purchased a Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow, which is wider, flatter, and firmer. Felt like a dream compared to the stock saddle...which I am suspecting is a men's/unisex seat.

[Juliegoddess]

If your weight is properly born by mostly your two sitbones, then they will adjust to the additional pressure after a couple weeks of steady riding. Sitbone soreness is expected at first, just like when you ride a horse for the first few times.

If, however, if the pain or numbness comes from your soft tissues or your 'girl parts', then those parts will NOT adjust well and riding through the pain can damage your nerves over time. If pain/burning etc continues in your soft parts or in the front area, then you need to change something.

I'm terribly afraid of this! My saddle is not fitting me well at all, and I'm having numbness in my "girly-parts" that is actually affecting my sex life! I'm quite worried about permanent damage. I won't be able to get my new road bike until spring, and my saddle right now is the Terry Cite X. My sit bones sit well on it, but it crushes everything else in front. It's cut out for women, but that doesn't seem to make any difference at all...GH...

[tctrek]

I'm terribly afraid of this! My saddle is not fitting me well at all, and I'm having numbness in my "girly-parts" that is actually affecting my sex life! I'm quite worried about permanent damage. I won't be able to get my new road bike until spring, and my saddle right now is the Terry Cite X. My sit bones sit well on it, but it crushes everything else in front. It's cut out for women, but that doesn't seem to make any difference at all...GH...

Please know that this is not normal and not good. A little bit of discomfort after a long time in the saddle is expected, but you should definitely not have this level of pain. Please ask your LBS for help and maybe get a fitting or a different saddle.

I personally cannot use any saddle with a cutout although there are plenty of riders on this forum that I'm sure will give a thumbs up to cutouts. I've personally found that a more "minimal" saddle (zero padding) works best for me although for the life of me I don't know why.

[Juliegoddess]

Please know that this is not normal and not good. A little bit of discomfort after a long time in the saddle is expected, but you should definitely not have this level of pain. Please ask your LBS for help and maybe get a fitting or a different saddle.

I personally cannot use any saddle with a cutout although there are plenty of riders on this forum that I'm sure will give a thumbs up to cutouts. I've personally found that a more "minimal" saddle (zero padding) works best for me although for the life of me I don't know why.

I totally agree...now how do I find out how wide my sit bones are? and I'm wondering if I should just take my current bike to my LBS...would I be able to try out different saddles on it there? (shows how I don't know much about this stuff!) Ignorant me thought that if I got a woman's specific saddle that I'd be fine. Well, I'm not! All I know is that my "girly parts" used to be really sensitive, and now they are NOT so much. And I noticed that when I rode my stationary bike, I did NOT have the discomfort I have when I ride my bike. My stationary has a shorter reach, that's for sure. Maybe I should just ride it until spring, when I get my road bike!! ha!!

[OakLeaf]

Here's one thread to get you started. There are several. Search the forum for measuring sit bones, cut-out test, etc. if you want to read more.

Or, Specialized and Trek dealers have a pad they use for measuring.

Some LBSs, but not all, will let you try a saddle for a certain amount of time; it never hurts to ask. There are also some places where you can order saddles online with an option to return them.

I think that just sitting on a saddle on your bike at the LBS might eliminate some that definitely won't work for you, but IME I really need several rides, including some long ones, to know for sure if a saddle is going to work. Plus, any time I put on a new saddle, the rest of the fit changes and I need to make some tweaks before I can really form an opinion. Some people get lucky and find a saddle that works pretty quickly, for others it can be a long and expensive search. If you see a saddle you want to try, don't hesitate to post an ad in the For Sale/Wanted section, someone may have one that they didn't like.

Good luck!

[OakLeaf]

I'm terribly afraid of this! My saddle is not fitting me well at all, and I'm having numbness in my "girly-parts" that is actually affecting my sex life! I'm quite worried about permanent damage. I won't be able to get my new road bike until spring, and my saddle right now is the Terry Cite X. My sit bones sit well on it, but it crushes everything else in front. It's cut out for women, but that doesn't seem to make any difference at all...GH...

Have you read the threads on here about saddle fitting?

I've never been to a LBS that was any use with saddles. I'm sure there are some out there - Denise comes to mind - but you may be on your own. Knowing how wide a saddle you need and whether or not you need a cut-out will narrow your search considerably. Then you should be able to figure fairly quickly whether you need a more "T-shaped" saddle (where the rear transitions sharply to the nose) or a more "pear-shaped" one (where there's more of a uniform curve).

You're right to be concerned about permanent nerve damage! Hope you find a better saddle soon.