Saddle, shorts or lube?

[lo123]

I have 2 Treks and even the Bontrager saddle on my Madone was a "gotta go". Pretty white saddle, but no way could I ride on it.

Ditto. I HATE the Bontrager that came on my Madone. It's evil in my opinion

ultimately, saddles are a very personal decision though, so I'm sure there's somebody out there somewhere that actually likes the Bontrager saddle.

[jenniferh]

Thanks for the help everyone! I went today and tried on a bunch of new shorts. I realized my were WAY to big. I bought XL (I normally wear a US14). When I tried on the L and even a M they fit so much better. I went from feeling like I had a towel between my legs to just feeling like a form fitting padding. I ultimately bought the Terry Bella to try.

I'll go out tomorrow and try riding in regular shorts for a bit and see how everything feels. I'd switch to my hybrid saddle, but I hate it. It is a Terry Liberator and it is ok for teh first 5mi, but then it makes my girly tissue numb. I need to replace it, but I was planning on making that my "ride around teh neighborhood with the kids" bike so I'm going to get a huge cruiser padded seat.

Someone asked my outside-to-outside ischial tuberosity span?

I don't know...I don't have any pain in my sit bones. They feel supported and so I'm guessing that is pretty good fit. I did catch myself scooting back on the seat to ease the pressure on the front.

I'm going to try riding in street clothes tomorrow. If all is well then I'll test out the new shorts. If all is still well then I'll concider a new saddle next. I'm pretty sure when I start doing longer rides I'll want one since the stock saddle seems to be so hated

[KnottedYet]

Someone asked my outside-to-outside ischial tuberosity span?

I don't know...I don't have any pain in my sit bones. They feel supported and so I'm guessing that is pretty good fit. I did catch myself scooting back on the seat to ease the pressure on the front.

You wouldn't have pain in your sit bones from a poor saddle fit.
You would have pain in your vulvar area.

If you are scooting back to ease pressure off the front of your crotch, something about your saddle is wrong.

If you sit on a kitchen chair, does your vulva hurt after 20 minutes? Do you have burning pain sitting on a kitchen chair? When you stand up from a kitchen chair, does your crotch continue to hurt for hours?

No? That's because when you sit on a hard chair your weight is on your sit bones. A bike saddle that fits and is set up right should be no more uncomfortable than a hard kitchen chair. Your weight should be on the bones, just like it always is (they are tough).

Don't be frightened of measuring your own pelvis. It's easy.

After you get your measurements, check the cut-out test.

Terry Liberator shouldn't make you numb after 5 miles. No saddle should make you numb. The Terry doesn't fit you either. Either it's too narrow, or it's too pear shaped and you scooted forward on the Terry just like you did on the Bontrager. Terrys are notorious for being pear-shaped. (They are also sometimes over-padded, which can cause problems as well.)

[Trek420]

..... I'm sure there's somebody out there somewhere that actually likes the Bontrager saddle.

.... but I've never met one

But seriously saddle preference is a very personal thing. My fave LBS offers a "no questions asked saddle exchange", love it or exchange it. I'm fickle and have changed favorite saddles over the years. With bike and saddle fit the ride's always been pain free.

[tiva]

Don't be frightened of measuring your own pelvis. It's easy.

Can you give me a link for doing this? I've tried and I keep getting different numbers.

I'm also having a problem with saddle pain--not on my vulva, but on the inside of my left sitz bone. I've tried 3 different saddles, different seat positions (slightly forward, slightly tipped down), and different shorts, and it's getting better, but it's not yet great. My old squishy serfa cutout on my hybrid bike feels just fine, however!

[Trek420]

Can you give me a link for doing this? I've tried and I keep getting different numbers.

Start with the "Read me first" file of TE saddle threads

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=25954

[tzvia]

Boy, so many good responses and ideas here already and I think you are on the right track. Start with making sure you have comfortable pants/shorts. If using lycra shorts, they should fit (and I see you are good there now.) In winter, I can commute to work in jeans but in summer when it's hot I sweat and need to wear shorts with chamois to keep from chaffing.

You had an initial fit to the bike, so that gave you a good starting point.

Your stock saddle may be part of the problem (yea I agree with the others here on that one). The stock Bontrager saddles are too padded and not too comfy (they are not the much better Inform-and even those in WSD are way too padded IMO). More padding does not always mean more comfort, is is usually just the opposite. You don't want to sink in like on an old couch. That's not support.

Did you try your old saddle on the new bike yet?

Another thing to be conscious of when riding: how you sit. On most flat-bar type bikes, you are more upright, which puts you on the sit-bones and not the soft tissue. When put on a road bike with drop bars, it is easy to make the mistake of rolling the hips back to get bent down to reach the bars, basically flat back and levering down as opposed to sitting like on the flat-bar bike and bending at the lower back. This takes some getting used to, and good core strength to support yourself on the bones and not collapse your weight on to your hands. Rolling the hips back puts your soft parts on the saddle and can cause burning/chaffing/numbness.

[KnottedYet]

I'm also having a problem with saddle pain--not on my vulva, but on the inside of my left sitz bone. I've tried 3 different saddles, different seat positions (slightly forward, slightly tipped down), and different shorts, and it's getting better, but it's not yet great. My old squishy serfa cutout on my hybrid bike feels just fine, however!

Asymmetry is always fun to deal with...

Freebie Option - try rotating the saddle, pointing the nose slightly left or slightly right. Depending on why that left sitz is getting wolloped, it could be either direction, so I'd just try both. You'll know in a hurry if you make it worse!

Time and Tools Option - move the squishy saddle (which probably gives under the wolloping side) to every bike you ride

$100 Option - buy another squishy Serfas saddle or two if the Serfas is perfect on every bike, or buy a "pure" leather saddle that will gradually shape itself to your asymmetrical heinie/hip action.

(of course, this is assuming you've already done all your measurements and the saddles you are on truly fit, and the problem isn't just that the saddles you've been using are a touch narrow so your body has been shifting a bit to the left and putting all your weight on the right sitz, leaving your left to grind against the saddle edge. We often see that, where a woman can really only get one sitz completely supported on a narrow perch while riding, so the body chooses one and leaves the other flapping in the breeze. ALWAYS MEASURE FIRST!)

[jenniferh]

I did like suggested and just got back from a short ride in my normal athletic shorts (the kind you wear for running) and regular underwear. My labia/vulva were totally smooshed. They felt like they were being pushed to the sides becuase the seat was in the way. That led to burning, but no numbness. My sit bones still feel good. I have the beginning of a little chaffing on the lips but I didn't ride long enough for it to become actual chafing.

So...I think that means, from what you are saying, that my saddle is a big part of the problem. I'm going to run up to the lbs today and try a couple of new saddles with a cut out and without and more t-shaped.

I also tried keeping my back a little more rounded. The first time I rode I was aiming for board flat and the curve helped eliminate the shoulder blade pain. I think I was pushing my shoulders back the first time.

The spot between my thumb and index finger where it holds the hoods still feels sore, but I'm guessing that just needs time to adapt to the new bike.

Thanks everyone for the help.

[KnottedYet]

So...I think that means, from what you are saying, that my saddle is a big part of the problem. I'm going to run up to the lbs today and try a couple of new saddles with a cut out and without and more t-shaped.

Measure you sit bones before you go.

Going saddle shopping without even knowing the two basic spans of your ischial tuberosities is about as good an idea as randomly buying shoes without knowing what size your feet are.

Measure. Your. Bones.

Chances are very good that your size 14 butt hides a larger pelvis than your size 6 friend's perky little tush. And a larger pelvis than the "average" used for saddle design.

Cut-out or t-shape won't matter one bit if your ischial tuberosities are not COMPLETELY supported by the saddle AS YOU RIDE.

Measure. Your. Sit. Bones. First.

If you had much larger than average feet, would you expect to be able to wear your friend's size 6 shoes without any problems? Would you be trying different socks to make the fit better? Would you go for size 6 shoes with a cut-out (aka "sandals") hoping they would hurt less before you even considered measuring your feet?

Touching your own butt with a tape measure isn't a sin. We don't even take our clothes off to do it.

(touching random stranger's buns could get you into some trouble, however)

Size 14 is big. That's a big butt. I'm a size 16, so I can be honest here and tell you your butt is big. Your pelvis probably isn't little, either. (huge butts can have little sit bones and vice versa, but chances are good that you really need to measure because you might be outside the norm.)

Measure.
Your.
Sit bones.
Before.
You.
Spend.
More.
Money.

[KnottedYet]

I did like suggested and just got back from a short ride in my normal athletic shorts (the kind you wear for running) and regular underwear. My labia/vulva were totally smooshed. They felt like they were being pushed to the sides becuase the seat was in the way. That led to burning, but no numbness. My sit bones still feel good. I have the beginning of a little chaffing on the lips but I didn't ride long enough for it to become actual chafing.

The saddle is too narrow, so you are weighbearing on the pelvic floor and the pubic arch. Your vulvar tissues are being pushed to the sides because you are jamming that saddle up your crack until it hits something and stops. It's missing your sit bones and lodging in the gradually narrowing angle of your pubis.

A picture is worth a thousand words: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelvis

[ny biker]

The spot between my thumb and index finger where it holds the hoods still feels sore, but I'm guessing that just needs time to adapt to the new bike.

I don't think this problem will be solved with time, either. Are you wearing gloves with thick padding? I actually find that thinner padding is more comfortable. Also I used to have big problems with hand pain before I went for a fit adjustment at the LBS and they tilted my handlebars up a bit.

[Catrin]

(touching random stranger's buns could get you into some trouble, however)

I know this is a serious topic, but this made me laugh out loud - thankfully I wasn't taking a drink when I read this. I just got the wildest image - the attack of the masked measuring-tape bandit

[Trek420]

I just got the wildest image - the attack of the masked measuring-tape bandit

Yes! The return of the masked tape measuring bandit. Last seen riding off into the sunset wielding a tape measure and carrying a satchel of assorted saddles (none of them Bontrager).

[Catrin]

Yes! The return of the masked tape measuring bandit. Last seen riding off into the sunset wielding a tape measure and carrying a satchel of assorted saddles (none of them Bontrager).

LOL, yep!

On a side note, I seem to be the only one on this forum who has had no noticeable discomfort with her stock Trek saddle - which is of course a Bontrager. We will see what happens when I take my first really long ride on the Trek - assuming I ever do. The LHT just feels so much better overall....