Need help with swelling before biking Ireland!

[docking]

Hi,

I'm biking Ireland in August, and can take a bike seat with me (the tour provides the bike).

I've seen lots of posts and articles about sore butts and sore crotches, but nothing about swollen-upper-inner-thighs. The swelling is right about where the thigh turns into the butt, and it can get up to an inch bigger on each side after a long ride. I can ice it and treat it here in the US, but don't know what I'll have access to in Ireland.

The problem is not that I need a cut out for my lips, or a bigger or smaller seat for my butt, it's that I need less weight on my inner thigh bones, where they connect to the groin area.

Anybody know what I mean, and or have suggestions about a bike seat to break in before I go?

Thanks!

[ny biker]

What kind of bike and saddle do you have now? How wide is the saddle and how wide are your sit bones?

[Kiwi Stoker]

Are you wearing bike shorts with a chamois? Do you use chamois cream?

Is the swelling hot, red and sore? If so it's chafing. Chamois cream on that area will help prevent it and aloe vera cream or diaper rash cream can help heal it.

[OakLeaf]

My guess is a saddle that's too wedge-shaped - irritation in that area is a pretty classic sign. As nybiker asked, what saddle are you riding now? What's your sitbone width? That could give us a lot of clues.

[docking]

Home late tonight, will measure my sit-bones and seat and post tomorrow - thanks to all for the feedback, I feel more hopeful that there are solutions now

[docking]

OK - my husband laughed his butt off when asked to measure my butt - LOL
My sit-bones are 5" apart.
My seat is 6" across at widest point, and 11"long.
(picture attached)
I'm thinking of a Selle SLR Diva Gel Flow - there's actually a test-ride place not too far from here......
Thanks to all!

[KnottedYet]

OK - my husband laughed his butt off when asked to measure my butt - LOL
My sit-bones are 5" apart.
My seat is 6" across at widest point, and 11"long.
(picture attached)
I'm thinking of a Selle SLR Diva Gel Flow - there's actually a test-ride place not too far from here......
Thanks to all!

That is a very wedge/pear shaped saddle you've got there...

I second what the others have said, find a more T shaped saddle with a more abrupt transition from the nose to the sits.

[docking]

Are you wearing bike shorts with a chamois? Do you use chamois cream?

Is the swelling hot, red and sore? If so it's chafing. Chamois cream on that area will help prevent it and aloe vera cream or diaper rash cream can help heal it.

It seems to be more like bruising from carrying all of my weight on my inner thigh/crotch bone. The swelling isn't red or hot, just so so so tender. I do use bike shorts, and Glide....

[ny biker]

If the SI Diva doesn't work out -- in addition to the Specialized saddles, some other t-shaped saddles are the Selle San Marco Aspide Glamour, which is very firm (not padded at all), and the Bontrager Affinity WSD. The widest Affinity is almost exactly the same size/shape as the Aspide Glamour, but it is available in 3 different levels of padding, with the RXL being firmest and the R being most padded.

Good luck!

[docking]

That is a very wedge/pear shaped saddle you've got there...

I second what the others have said, find a more T shaped saddle with a more abrupt transition from the nose to the sits.

I guess I'm not understanding how to tell the difference between a T shape and a wedge, they look very similar to me.....

[docking]

Narrowing it down -
Is the Selle Diva considered T-shaped or Wedge shaped?
Also looking at Bontrager Affinity R and Specialized Jett.
Pictures of all 3 attached:

[ny biker]

A wedge-shapped saddle is similar to a triangle. There's a very gradual transition from the wide part to the nose. The part between your legs is generally wider as a result.

This is an example of saddle that I would consider wedge-shaped. Click the arrow to the right of the default photo to see a top-down view.

http://www.fizik.it/product.aspx?c=VITESSE-HP-WOM

A more t-shaped saddle has a more abrupt transition from wide part to nose.

This is an example of more t-shaped saddle.

http://www.amazon.com/Selle-San-Marc.../dp/B000O8BECQ

We're recommending something more t-shaped because you basically want the part between your legs to be narrower.