Long Torso, Short Legs.

[kelleil]

It could be any number of things: Bike fit (have a proper fitting done!), gloves, core strength (or lack thereof), bad saddle fit (the saddle is compressing soft tissue, so you shift most of your weight to your hands to give yourself some relief).

I was chafing up in my business! Any saddle fit recs?

[Owlie]

To answer both of your questions;

1) Gloves: Yes, too much padding can be a problem. As you ride, the padding compresses, and is slightly redistributed so that it puts pressure in all the wrong places, such as the ulnar nerve (if I recall correctly). My gloves are the Pearl Izumi Gel Vent. I got them for the ventilation, but as a bonus, they aren't padded as such--they have a flexible plastic thing on the palm that's vented and provides a bit of cushioning, but doesn't compress.

2) The saddle problem might be compounded by the core strength issue, which is probably fairly common when riding an aggressive bike. I recently had my "endurance geometry" bike fitted, which resulted in a more aggressive posture. The first couple rides were really painful in the saddle area, even with a saddle I had previously found comfortable. I've been not-terribly disciplined about doing some core-focused yoga, and it's been a lot better. Not perfect, but better.

On the saddle fitting front. You might want to make yourself your beverage of choice while reading this: http://http://forums.teamestrogen.co...ad.php?t=39475