saddle pain

wicklaman83

i have been cycling a mountain bike for 2wks now due to the recession needed to find a past time.i now find and it is getting worse that the saddle is making the side of my crotch area very sore.is there anything out there that i can use to releive this and make my cycling more comfortable.i was hoping i wouldnt have to get cycling shorts etc.any help would be appreciated

Caroline_ie

darren254 wrote: »

i was hoping i wouldnt have to get cycling shorts

Cycling shorts ... you can get baggies, you are allowed on a Mountain bike. That or you will be spending your freetime watching daytime telly which really isn't worth it.

Get the shorts.

Funkyzeit

...and chamois cream... I'd recommend this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=19150

paddy's hill

Why don't you want to wear shorts?

petethedrummer

Buy cycling specific baggies, they reduce the size of the seam around your crotch, compared to regular shorts. If you look at your jeans right now there will be a big lump(no, not your pen!s) where material is all joined. This is reduced in the cycling shorts.

They usually come with padded liner inside. I prefer to throw out the liner and use lycra padded pants underneath but you might find the liner perfectly agreeable.

wicklaman83

paddy's hill wrote: »

Why don't you want to wear shorts?

the cycling shorts i do see are glued to the riders.i would be described as very self conscious and i wouldnt exactly have a body to show off

Caroline_ie

People only stare if you look good they have no interrest if you look crap. If there is one thing I love about ireland is that noone bothers you over the way you look/dress/weight etc.
the baggy shorts ( padded ) are a good idea, or you can also find padded undies you can wear under your own clothes, or even, like pete was saying a pair of cycling lycra can be worn as underwear and are invisible.

blorg

darren254 wrote: »

the cycling shorts i do see are glued to the riders.i would be described as very self conscious and i wouldnt exactly have a body to show off

To a certain extent every cyclist just has to get over this at some point, they are so comfortable that you are unlikely to give them up. Also they look perfectly normal on people riding a bike. I used to wear them under non-cycling shorts myself but one day on a hot climb took off the outer layer and have not looked back.

Captain Havoc

I'm off the bike at the moment also. I don't which is hurting me more, not being able to cycle or the saddle sore. Anyway has to be done if I want to do the Tour of Kildare this weekend.

petethedrummer

These are the ones I wear into work, bought in great outdoors chatham st.:
http://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=6249

Some of these will have padded liners or stick lycras underneath:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/c/cycle/7/Shorts_-_Baggy/
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=1084

paddy's hill

Get a heavy duty band aid plaster. They come in a role, cut the required size, stick on affected area and forget about. I had real bad sore a few days into Ras, this worked a treat. Eventually it will fall off in the shower.

hillclimber

OP Dont let the shorts thing put you off, the baggies are one option (recently got two pairs of Alturas Summits and find them great), but both Altura and Endura both do full length cycling specific trousers if you really cant cross over to the dark side!:)

Jumpy

paddy's hill wrote: »

Get a heavy duty band aid plaster. They come in a role, cut the required size, stick on affected area and forget about. I had real bad sore a few days into Ras, this worked a treat. Eventually it will fall off in the shower.

You would damn well hope they come off in the shower. Otherwise you will be giving yourself an unwanted bikini line.

BostonB

Maybe its the saddle. I'm guessing its the one that came with the bike?

I changed the saddle on my old MTB for a cheap gel one and the difference was night and day. Unfortunately a year later (just recently) it broke and I'm struggling to get comfy on the replacment. THe first saddle I tried was too plasticy and I kept sliding on it. I've changed it again last week for a specialized saddle and still haven't got it adjusted quite right yet.

jwshooter

hi there, is there any pictular name s in cycling shorts that would have good padding .to suit a road bike saddle

blorg

Any decent brand, it is a personal thing. You don't want a lot of padding, just the right amount in the right place. I have a tri suit with very little padding and it is still very comfortable. I like Descente myself because they fit me well and I got them on special, others will have their own suggestions.

jwshooter

blorg wrote: »

Any decent brand, it is a personal thing. You don't want a lot of padding, just the right amount in the right place. I have a tri suit with very little padding and it is still very comfortable. I like Descente myself because they fit me well and I got them on special, others will have their own suggestions.

i was in the bike shop in wexford town this eve getting a few bits and high5 go harder stuff ,i was looking at a of shorts pair they were very well padded , my next buy .

FrankGrimes

jwshooter wrote: »

i was in the bike shop in wexford town this eve getting a few bits and high5 go harder stuff ,i was looking at a of shorts pair they were very well padded , my next buy .

Just be careful to make sure that the padding is in the right place. I bought DHB Finchdeans cos they had loads of thick padding with gel inserts. Was comfy at the back but the padding was just too thick towards the front and caused pressure build-up and the dreaded numbness. The Assos shorts I now wear have much less padding but it's perfectly positioned and thinner towards the front and extremely comfy. Assos are insanely expensive so you mightn't be going for them but just thought I'd share my experience that it's not just about quantity of padding.

Lumen

IMO the starting point should be a well-fitting, lightly-padded (i.e. no gel) saddle.

You should be able to cycle the bike in normal shorts and underwear for (say) an hour a day without significant discomfort.

Once you have the saddle sorted get some not-too-thickly padded cycling shorts to give the extra comfort for long rides.

Starting out with the wrong saddle will just put you into a cycle of more and more padding (and more expensive shorts, which will need replacing from time to time), which will then make numbness issues more likely.

ROK ON

@JWShooter: Shorts are a personal thing as regards comfort.
My favourite are
Etxeonodo: http://www.prendas.co.uk/details.asp?ID=2366
I am going to get more shorts from this manufacturer, they are fantatsic, really really comfy.

Rapha: http://www.rapha.cc/bib-shorts/
Campag also do nice shorts that are comfy.

FWIW, the most comfy shorts I have on a long cycle tend to be tight, as in tight enough that they do not move around. I have taken to getting shorts that are 1 size below what is recommended and find that it is pretty comfy. Nothing worse than a 'saggy' pair of shorts.

jwshooter

i called into the bike shop in wx this eve and bought a pair of sugoi shorts.
there were down form E110 to E55 ,there very well padded .
i went for a quick hilly spin of 25k ,i must say i enjoyed it my ass was a little sore as i have done 150k all ready this week but im a new man .
why did not skimp on the price of the last pair.

gerrymadden1

I thought it was only happening to me... I bought a super Giant Hybrid road bike and took it for a few short spins... 10 - 12 K.

I'm in my 50s so trust me, that was a lot!

I also bought a pair of cycling shorts for €27 which were recommended in the cycle shop.

Problem is I got really sore "down there"... I was in agony for a full day after each cycle.

The saddle on the bike is the original Giant saddle and I was reluctant to change it but I think that I will have to because I'm now using it as an excuse not to cycle! Yep, I'm a lazy sod with good intentions!!

Any saddle recommendations???

Lumen

gerrymadden1 wrote: »

Any saddle recommendations???

You have three nether challenges:

1. When starting cycling you're not pushing on the pedals very hard so you tend to bear more weight on your arse.

2. Riding a hybrid rather than a "racer" type bike gives you a more upright position, which means you bear more weight on your arse. (If you rode a racer you'd probably have sore arms instead).

3. You're new to cycling and your arse needs to harden up a bit. Once a few nerves die off it'll be a lot more comfortable.

The upshot is that given your type of cycling saddle choice is very important, but also you have different requirements to a more experienced cyclist on a racer, who will have their hips rotated such that their "sit bones" present a narrower profile to the saddle.

So, you need something wide enough at the back that your sit bones are not sliding off each side, but not so wide in the central section that your thighs are rubbing excessively.

In addition to all that, everyone has different width sit bones so it's difficult to make recommendations.

But since you asked, a Specialized Toupe 143 is (in my experience) the Greatest Saddle On Earth.