Is it the saddle or me?

[ny biker]

This is probably TMI but I'm so bruised and swollen down there. Is this a saddle problem or a fit issue?

I'll check into another professional fitting. The LBS that gave the best went under a couple of years go but I'll call a couple of stores. I had the bruising problem once over the summer. I went for a couple of days..an hour or so each day for 3-4 days and ended up with the same problem. I was off the bike for 3 weeks until I healed up. Maybe a center opening would prove useful. I thought I was doing good until today.

If you haven't yet measured your sit bones, start with that. It's free (unless you need to buy a tape measure) and you can do it at home.

As for the cutout, if the problem is chafing, then a cutout might help. If it's bruising from too much pressure, then a cutout will not help and may make it worse.

Look here for more on measuring sit bones and testing to see if you could use a cutout.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=39475

[Bethany1]

Thanks for the links to all the saddle threads. Have read them again. I believe I have a men's 4ZA Stratus on my bike. It's their lowest end saddle. My next question is, how do you tell what shape a saddle is? I think my B17 is considered pear and my saddle is T shaped? I put an order in on Amazon.com for a Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow saddle. If it's more of a T-shape problem, cancel the order or give it a try? I haven't measured my sit bones..can't find my measuring tape at 1 am..lol but I think the last time I did a test I was around 150 something.

[ny biker]

If you have the men's saddle, it's either 130 or 145 mm. Either would be too narrow if your sit bones are ~150 mm. Looking at the dimensions diagrams, this saddle looks pretty pear-shaped to me.

http://www.4za.com/saddles/stratos

I think the Brooks is considered more t-shaped.

The SI Diva looks to be 160 mm, which would probably be better for you, but may be too wide (which would cause chafing). But the only way to know would be to try it.

[Sky King]

yes, a sit bones measurement is in order. Sounds like most of your weight is on your soft tissue instead of your bones. I think many of us "sit" differently when on a trainer which can also add
to the problem. I tend to find myself more upright and as I am stationary I somehow seem to change the curve of my back which can shift the weight to the soft tissue spot instead of the sit bones.

Wishing you luck! Hate the saddle hunt. I had a B17 imperial on my new bike and realized the "fenders" of the Brooks aren't for me so am ordering a new Rivet Pearl in black (matchy, matchy)
Love my Rivet!

[Bethany1]

Woot! Called up a LBS and asked if they had time to do a saddle fitting and they said yes. Drove up to Lincoln and he measured me out. I fit a 155 Specialized saddle and came home with a Lithia saddle. He set it all up for me and had me test it in the parking lot for a few minutes. What a HUGE difference and no pain. I have to come up to Lincoln next week and he said take it home, try it out and bring it back if it's not what you want.

He was so sweet to make sure it fit right and was leveled out on the bike. I canceled the other saddle. Fingers crossed this is the saddle. If not there were a couple of others that might work like the Amira and the Ruby.

[Wahine]

Bethany, when you say bruising down there, are you talking about bruising on your ischial tuberosities or farther forward, more toward either side of your vaginal opening? I'm guessing it's the latter. With that information and some of the other things you've said here, it sounds like you're not being supported through your sit bones area. There are a couple of reasons why that could happen. It sounds like you could be sliding forwards on your saddle such that your sit bones are no longer on the wide part of the saddle. Or the saddle could be too narrow at the sit bones area, too pear shaped, have too wide a nose or too dome shaped.

The first thing to do would be to sit on your bike, on your trainer with the bike set to as perfectly level as possible. Try sitting up (no hands) while pedaling lightly and see if you slide forward. If so, you may need to adjust saddle tilt to stop that from happening. Leveling a saddle is a tricky thing because level may not look level depending on the saddle shape. I would try tilting the nose of the saddle up slightly to see if it helps. Do the sit up test again and ride normally as well. If that doesn't work, you're likely getting pushed forward on the saddle by the shape and you may need something with more T-shape to it or a narrower nose.

If you are not sliding forward on the saddle you may be sliding off it because it's too narrow or dome shaped. The best way to check this is with the help of a good friend, and I mean good friend. In your normal riding position you lift your bum up and have a friend put their fingers on the saddle (right and left, one hand for each bum cheek) pads up and sit down on their fingers and lightly pedal. They should be able to give you some feedback about whether or not your sit bones feel like they are being supported by the saddle or if you're wider than the high point of the saddle and are sliding off. The best part of being a female fitter with a medical background is that I can get away with doing this with clients (with permission of course) and no body seems to get weirded out by it.

Cut out or no cut out is another entirely different topic.

I hope that gives you some ideas of things to try.

[Bethany1]

Sit bones are fine, it's more toward the vaginal opening that is really sore. The stock saddle has never been terrible so I hadn't bothered to change it out but I wasn't putting tons of miles every week..just a couple of short rides..10 miles or less. I'll put my bike up on the trainer tonight..might take it out tomorrow since the weather will be nicer and go from there given your recommendations. Guy leveled out the new saddle when he put it on the bike and happily fiddled with the set up.

[Wahine]

Saddle leveling is tricky business and I wouldn't assume that it's quite right yet. "Level" as a lot to do with saddle profile and sometimes functional level is not the same as visual leveling because of the saddle shape from front to back.