Sore from riding, is it my seat?

[lauramaili]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum...

So I ride my bike on average about 30 minutes a day, on the street. I'm 5'4" and my bike is a 49cm cannondale caad4 roadbike. The problem is my crotch has been sore recently after riding, and I can see that I am sitting on the front part of the seat while riding.
Is this something that can be solved by getting a better seat (I know mine is not the best quality)? Is there a certain seat post I can buy that will provide me another inch or so I can sit closer to the handlebars?

I'm planning on getting a better seat, but I'm that wont me the end of my problems.

Any suggestions?
Thanks!!!

[OakLeaf]

Search in the Gear forums for saddle fitting, cut-out test, and measuring sitbones. There's some trial and error involved (it can be a lot of trial and error, for some people, unfortunately), but when you know what you're looking for, it makes the search a lot easier.

[Melalvai]

It may not be the saddle, it might be the position. It is very common to have sore "girl bits" until the saddle position is just right. Try tilting the nose of the seat down. Most places say it should be level but mine is most comfortable at a slight tilt.

The best saddle in my opinion is a leather brooks saddle. It takes on average 100 miles to break them in but once it is broken in, the leather is conformed to your behind. That makes them more comfortable than a softer seat. Mine took about 30 miles to break in, and even during the break in period I didn't feel that it was uncomfortable.

That was the best $84 I have ever spent.

Later I got a Woman Specific Design Trek. Having the handlebar closer to the seat lets me sit more upright, which helped a lot with my wrists. I haven't had sore girl bits since I got the brooks saddle, so I didn't notice any difference there.

[OakLeaf]

True about the tilt - and actually, it can go either way. Tilt the nose too far up, and it presses up into your "parts" - tilt it too far down, and you may slide forward onto it.

If you don't have a micro-adjustable seatpost, you can make small adjustments by cutting a shim out of a steel can.

But if your saddle is way out of the range of what might fit you, then all the tilt adjustments in the world won't help - it's best to at least know what size you need and whether or not you need a cut-out.

[Aquila]

It sounds sort of like you've been riding this seat for a while, and it's been fine, and now it's a problem?

Is there something else that's changed recently? Have you had the bike in the shop?

(I had my bike fixed from a non-seat problem, but they move the seat to clamp it, and left the seat about half an inch higher than it was before. It took me a while to figure it out because it wasn't a huge change, but lowering the seat back solved my soreness at once.)

[lauramaili]

Thanks so much everyone!

Melalvai, I was looking into a brooks saddle actually, more recently a cardiff saddle.

Aquila, I never noticed a problem because (I'm assuming this is why) I lived in san Francisco and a lot of riding was done standing up trying to get over the hills. I was hardly seated.

Oakleaf, thanks for the hints, I'll check that out. I did actually put a different saddle on today that was wider, tilted it slightly forward, but I ended up sliding to the front of the saddle anyway.

I just need to figure out how to sit closer to the handlebars, i think Im too small for my bike but its a great bike and honestly i cant afford a new one, so I got to make this one work!

I don't really know the names of the parts on my bike, but I'm assuming I can get a stem that brings my handles closer, and a seat post that extends towards the front of my bike a bit...? At least I hope so!

[lph]

Yup, stems come in different lengths and can change your position on bike quite drastically. They are easy to switch. Be careful about buying a very short stem, it can make your bike feel very squirrelly. How long is the one you have?
Seatposts can come with "setback" which in fact gives you the opposite, bringing the saddle further back. You can also slide most saddles back and forth on the rails quite a bit to adjust the fore-and-aft position. The rough rule of thumb however is that the saddle should be positioned so that the front of your knee should be directly above the pedal spindle when the pedal is in a 3 o'clock position (google KOPS and bike fitting). But if your knees don't hurt, I wouldn't worry too much about this being accurate.

[Melalvai]

I don't really know the names of the parts on my bike, but I'm assuming I can get a stem that brings my handles closer, and a seat post that extends towards the front of my bike a bit...? At least I hope so!

My old bike was too big and too small at the same time. Eventually I made it work, by doing the things you're trying. A new seat post took care of "too small" and I was able to get the seat height right without being in the "do not raise above this line" range.

On my new WSD bike, I felt that the handlebar was too low. The great thing was, my bike mechanic put a taller stem on but wouldn't let me pay for it until I'd ridden on it for a couple months, made a million other tiny adjustments, and he was sure that it was the right stem for me!