How, exactly, do we develop bike butt?

[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!

[mhami]

Hi,

I found this website http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bicycleseats.html that might be useful to a newbie that knows nothing about bike saddles (ie. me). It may not answer any questions regarding this post, but since it is about saddles I thought it applies.

I hope it helps someone.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

A lot of us here like to ride on hard leather Brooks saddles.
You can try one out for several months and then return it (if you don't slather it with gunk or other changes) if you order it from Wallingford: http://www.wallbike.com/index.php
I have very wide apart sit bones and I ride their men's B68, thier widest saddle. A normal pelvis woman might want to try their slightly narrower model, the B17.

Keep in mind that sometimes a more padded saddle can actually be more painful to your soft tissues. It was certainly true for me, and for others like me.

Trying a brooks saddle is one option for you to test.

[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.