Knotted -- the "stock" seat is wide as a house and noisy as all get out. Sliding back on it was like, NO ONE has sit bones that wide! (think tractor seat....) I do know that I was trying to sit farther back on it, since something about it wasn't working well. First attempt at fixing the whole seat issue, I was talking with one fo the guys in the LBS service dept. about continually scooching back, so he moved that seat back as far as possible. This fixed the scooching back issue, but oh, my butt!, and the squeaking springs.... (think cheap hotel room -- the one next door, where you can't sleep because...) On the other hand, Earl has that icky seat too, and I can usually tell where he is since he squeaks just as badly! (I wonder how long until he realizes he could change that thing out too?)

Posture is definitely something to look at -- arching my back is EASY, since I have a sway already. the other direction is somewhat of a challenge, and I couldn't be doing that for 20 miles without some serious pain in other parts of me!

Dok-torr -- Picture me out in the garage, checking foot/knee/shoulder alignment using my big ol' Durango as a balance -- in my jammies! Shoulders are a bit back, but other alignment can be good, but then OWWWWWWWWWie! A clue, though: I couldn't KEEP myself positioned so that my knee/foot lined up. The shoulders -- that's going to mean a change in handlebar height, and I'll get to that as my core strength improves! (yes, I WILL make this change eventually, probably sooner than I think!) I find now that I get more power when I put my upper body a bit more forward than it is now. Can't maintain that for very long yet, though.

When _I_ put the firmer seat from my old bike on this bike (Nanci, I borrowed my old Serfas saddle, which is FAR above the not-so-comfort seat a week ago already) I positioned it back like the bike guy did, but, and looking at it this morning it's OBVIOUS as all get out, I gave it a horrid forward-tilt! (how did I miss that???) So, yes, after experimenting with Dok-torr's alignment question, I looked carefully at my seat, and then got out the tools again (I guess this is like where I was with my computer a while back: knowing enough to be dangerous?) and adjusted the tilt of the seat.

GEEZ: I did this to myself -- fixed my bike so I had to keep pushing the painful parts into hard bike parts and make 'em ache still more!

The good news is that pressure is off the wrong parts of my butt. That doesn't mean that this seat is going to do the job -- fixing my butt-bones is definitely bad news for bits farther forward. (how did i think it was good last year?) But at least I don't squeak when I ride! (I'll be off to the bike shop, though -- no 20 milers for me on this seat!)

So, thank you ladies, I think that if my tail ever feels better, we've figured this out!

Tater-- Hi!!! Got any good routes to suggest? Gentle hills are probably best for now, as we come off half our lives as sloths. We enjoy the Greenbelt, and have been exploring subdivisions out here south of town, since hubby is SURE that it's not safe for ME to be in traffic, because HE feels so exposed on his bike! We live along the New York Canal, which has nice, big "ditch roads" to ride, which motivated our staying away from true road bikes. (Goat heads are an issue though, and my tires seem to be "goat head magnets." HOORAY for slime!) Once in a while we go on other dirt trails, but I can tell that I'm a roadie by nature -- those narrow, rocky, rutted, hilly trails.....

Thanks again Ladies! Back to learning from you! (and back to the bike shop!)

Karen in Boise