More attention being given to saddles issues for women

[Kathi]

One thing about this article is that it pays no attention to bike fit.

"The women took their personal bikes and saddles into the lab. The researchers mounted the bikes on a stationary machine, and had the riders position their seats and handlebars according to their preference".

In the days before I had my bikes fit the shop would place my handlebars and saddle where they, or I, thought was comfortable. Handlebars were always placed lower than the saddle because that's the way the guys did it. No matter that tt's were usually too long for me and I have short arms which made matters worse. One mtn bike had the same length stem as my 5'9" SO. I'm barely 5'2".

If you read Knot's post there's a list of fit issues to look at before one determines if the saddle is the issue. None of this was mentioned in the article. Knot doesn't go into detail but mobility of the spine plays into the position that one has on the bike. My solution was to tilt my saddle down but then it caused me to slide forward. Most likely I didn't have the mobility in my spine to tolerate the low handlebar position my unfitted bikes were put in. Even on my very well fitted bike I couldn't ride with the tilt that Knot mentions. Bike position was something that I too totally overlooked back then. My PT says I probably had the flat back (think tail bone pointing down instead of up) position most of my life. Such a position caused me to bend from the waist instead of from the hips.

Most people don't pay attention to body position until they have issues such as the SI joint and low back pain that I have. Bike fitters and PT's often don't recognize it either. Fortunately for me I found a female PT who recognized my flat, stiff back was contributing to my pain, both on and off the bike and helped me restore mobility and my natural curve. The Hab It website is helping me to connect the dots to strengthen core muscles important in my daily and athletic life.

I'm so sorry that this article promotes the myth that cycling is uncomfortable because of the saddle. Body position, bike fit and the correct saddle is the key, not a saddle without a nose. My goodness, someone with too much curve in their lower back could potentially fall right off the bike.