Saddle soreness and questions

[Owlie]

Sky King hit on another thing--saddle tilt. Just be careful not to tilt it too far, as you'll start to slide! Three degrees in either direction is the usual guideline.

[Biciclista]

You probably need a different saddle, but a bike fit might be cheaper in the long run! you can rule out the saddle quickly, better than trying 50 saddles and never getting it right, get the fit right and then if they tell you the bike is fitting you perfectly and you still hurt it's the saddle.
Do not tolerate labial pain. that part of your body is not supposed to get "calloused" or "used to" bearing weight like that.
it is not acceptable. really.

[OakLeaf]

Uh-oh, we're going to start confusing the OP. I say saddle first, fit second. Every time I've changed saddles, even to a saddle that appears very similar, it's really altered the fit. So unless your fitter will do a complimentary re-fit when you replace the saddle - and unless you have time for a second fitting - get the saddle sorted first.

[ny biker]

When did you get the Madone? If it's a 2011 or 2010, I think it came with a Bontrager Affinity saddle. probably 144 mm. if you look at the saddles for sale at your LBS, you might be able to figure out which model you currently have (R, RL or RXL) and which width. Then have them measure your sit bones to make sure you have the right width.

Is the soreness caused by chafing or too much pressure? Either way, if the saddle is the correct width, changing the position slightly might help.

[MollyJ]

This has actually been really enlightening! I am inclined to try the tilt on the saddle first and I think I will try some of the cremes too.

I have overall been really pleased with the fit on my bike. I actually was surprised at how little soreness I had. A little in the neck and shoulders but since I was going from an upright position to road bike, that didn't surprise me. I think I will explore the seat thing also and do some of that recommended reading.

As always, very helpful info.

[MollyJ]

NY Biker, my Madone is this year's model. It is a 4.5 and I am totally smitten with it. But I had heard all along that seats were relative weak points.

[ny biker]

Well according to the website, your bike came with an Affinity 1 WSD with steel rails. None of the saddles they sell individually has steel rails. Very interesting. I will ask the next time I'm at the LBS to try to find out how the stock saddles differ from from the other Affinity saddles.

But yeah, I think it still makes sense to play around with the position and tilt a bit, to see if you can improve things. Even if it doesn't resolve the problem completely, you might learn something that helps you figure out what saddle to try next. And in the meantime you might make it less uncomfortable while you're looking for a better one.

I found that moving my Affinity R forward a few millimeters caused soreness on the pubic bone as well as some chafing. It's amazing how small changes can have such a big impact.

BTW, I was going to buy that same bike, but they had a 2010 Madone 4.7 on sale for the same price so I got that instead. It really is very nice!

[ny biker]

The Affinity R has chromoly rails. I have no idea how that compares to steel in terms of cost (or weight). I know they are heavier than the titanium. The R is also significantly less expensive than the RL or RXL.