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Uncomfortable Saddle After How Long?

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  • April 5, 2019 at 6:20 am #29508
    ibr17xvii

    Appreciate this is a very personal subject but here goes anyway:

    I ride a Fizik Antares VS & have done for the past 3 years but on longer rides I find it gets very uncomfortable.

    Most of my rides are 1 – 2.5 hours which is fine but anything 3 hours & over my backside is sore. I do all the usual things like changing position & getting out of the saddle every 15 minutes or so but still the same.

    My question is at what point do I think about changing? Is that just the way it is for 3 hours plus for me? Should I just MTFO & get on with it? I’ve always ridden a saddle with a pressure relief channel & the newer Fizik models have a cut out so maybe I should be trying that out?

    Testing saddles out can get very expensive which is something I’d rather avoid obviously but I just can’t get this nagging doubt out of my mind that it shouldn’t be like that & it should be more comfortable for longer. Maybe I’m kidding myself.

    Just wondered if what I’m feeling is the norm or if I should be doing something about it?

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  • April 6, 2019 at 6:03 pm #938871
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    ibr17xvii
    Pilot Pete wrote:
    Where abouts in the NW are you ibr17xvii? I’m in Congleton, 5 miles east from J17/18 of the M6. If you want I can do a basic bike fit for you. I’m a BC coach with no specialist skills, but I’ve done loads for mates and club members, all of whom are happy and the feedback is they are more comfortable – I even did a TT bike fit for a lad who joined our club several years back and he’s now the current Cheshire Points TT champ!

    Best of all, I only charge a ‘middle shelf’ bottle of Shiraz! 😉

    PP

    Hi Pete. 

    Very kind of you mate, I might just take you up on that, I’m not a million miles away from you, probably an hour. 

    For now I’ve persuaded  a mate to lend me a Selle Italia saddle that seems to be in the right ballpark (snigger again) so I’m just gonna see how I get on wit that for now. 

    Even if I can get this sorted I’ve been thinking about getting a fit done anyway so you could just be the man!

    Thanks again. 

    April 6, 2019 at 2:15 pm #938869
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    Pilot Pete

    Where abouts in the NW are

    Where abouts in the NW are you ibr17xvii? I’m in Congleton, 5 miles east from J17/18 of the M6. If you want I can do a basic bike fit for you. I’m a BC coach with no specialist skills, but I’ve done loads for mates and club members, all of whom are happy and the feedback is they are more comfortable – I even did a TT bike fit for a lad who joined our club several years back and he’s now the current Cheshire Points TT champ!

    Best of all, I only charge a ‘middle shelf’ bottle of Shiraz! 😉

    PP

    April 6, 2019 at 11:27 am #938867
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    hawkinspeter

    A foil measurement will be in

    A foil measurement will be in the right ballpark (sniggers), so you should now know whether your current saddle is too narrow or too wide. Just use a ruler to see what your sit-bone width looks like across the saddle.

    A bike-fit is definitely a good idea – it might pick up on something cheap and easy to fix whereas getting the right new saddle can be a literal pain in the arse (and expensive if you don’t get the right one).

    Edit: I found the Selle Italia sizes confusing until I found some more info:

    S1 – “Narrow” intertrochanteric distance and low pelvic rotation
    S2 – “Narrow” intertrochanteric distance and average pelvic rotation (Flow saddles)
    S3 – “Narrow” intertrochanteric distance and high pelvic rotation (Flow and SuperFlow saddles)

    L1 – “Wide” intertrochanteric distance and low pelvic rotation
    L2 – “Wide” intertrochanteric distance and average pelvic rotation (Flow saddles)
    L3 – “Wide” intertrochanteric distance and high pelvic rotation (Flow and SuperFlow saddles)

    The numerical part relates to the central hole, so L3 has a wider hole than the L2 as far as I know.

    April 6, 2019 at 11:15 am #938865
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    ibr17xvii
    hawkinspeter wrote:
    There’s a reasonable amount of give and take with sit-bones/saddle measurements so adding 15-30mm to your measurement should be fine.

    Have you measured yourself yet? It’ll only take a couple of minutes to get a rough idea of whether you need a wider saddle or not (and costs nothing).

    (I’m currently using a Selle Italia SLR Superflow L3 that’s wide and has a large cutout).

    I measured myself pretty basically using the foil method & that’s the 1st time I’ve done it so guess I at least have a starting point now. 

    Used a Selle Italia saddle a few years ago which I liked, according to their match system I should be looking at L2. I think I would like a “proper” measurement 1st though before I did anything. 

    April 6, 2019 at 10:26 am #938863
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    StraelGuy

    I have cheap industrial nylon

    I have cheap industrial nylon carpet on my stairs so I doubled up a piece of foil and sat on the top step on the foil. There were two very distinct stippled areas on the foil from my sit bones so it was easy to measure (110mm in case I forget). Cost peanuts. Still not looked at saddles again though…

    April 6, 2019 at 10:26 am #938861
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    StraelGuy

    I have cheap industrial nylon

    I have cheap industrial nylon carpet on my stairs so I doubled up a piece of foil and sat on the top step on the foil. There were two very distinct stippled areas on the foil from my sit bones so it was easy to measure (110mm in case I forget). Cost peanuts. Still not looked at saddles again though…

    April 6, 2019 at 9:53 am #938859
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    hawkinspeter

    There’s a reasonable amount

    There’s a reasonable amount of give and take with sit-bones/saddle measurements so adding 15-30mm to your measurement should be fine.

    Have you measured yourself yet? It’ll only take a couple of minutes to get a rough idea of whether you need a wider saddle or not (and costs nothing).

    (I’m currently using a Selle Italia SLR Superflow L3 that’s wide and has a large cutout).

    April 6, 2019 at 8:52 am #938857
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    ibr17xvii
    CXR94Di2 wrote:
    All riders should use a cutout or noseless saddle to remove any pressure centrally EG Selle itallia SLR. 

    Then have sit bones measured either yourself(easy to do) or at a shop.

    If your sit bones are 120mm saddle with should be around 15mm wider @135mm.  

    There are a few shops which allow trials of saddles for a week or two with free return.  I bought my ISM Adamo saddle this way.   

    https://outlet.upgradebikes.co.uk/Outlet/ISM/ISM-Range/Demo-Program

    Most stuff I’ve read online says to add 25-30mm onto your sit bone width?

    A 135mm saddle seems quite narrow to me but I’ve never tried one so it might be where I’m going wrong!

    Briefly tried a Fizik Antares without a cutout & didn’t get on with that at all so some sort of pressure relief is a must.

    April 6, 2019 at 8:14 am #938855
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    CXR94Di2

    All riders should use a

    All riders should use a cutout or noseless saddle to remove any pressure centrally EG Selle itallia SLR. 

    Then have sit bones measured either yourself(easy to do) or at a shop.

    If your sit bones are 120mm saddle with should be around 15mm wider @135mm.  

    There are a few shops which allow trials of saddles for a week or two with free return.  I bought my ISM Adamo saddle this way.   

    https://outlet.upgradebikes.co.uk/Outlet/ISM/ISM-Range/Demo-Program

    April 6, 2019 at 7:00 am #938853
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    ibr17xvii

    Thanks for the replies,

    Thanks for the replies, certainly food for thought. 

    Don’t live near London unfortunately so that’s out so will probably go down the line of a basicish bike fit & see what that turns up. I don’t think throwing more money at trying different saddles is the way to go although I am still tempted to see what I can pick up on eBay just for curiosity really  

    It’s nice to know that there’s potentially something I can do about it rather than suffer in more ways than one when the mileage is increased. 

    Seems to be plenty of choice for bike fitters in NW England so will make some enquiries over the coming weeks. 

    April 5, 2019 at 8:53 pm #938851
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    John_S

    Definitely agree with people

    Definitely agree with people about getting a bike fit.

     

    Also do you live anywhere near London because the London Bike Kitchen have a saddle library and you can go there for a saddle fit and then pay to loan a saddle to try so you don’t just have to take the plunge and pay full price for a brand new saddle only to find out later on that it doesn’t work for you.

     

    https://lbk.org.uk/pages/saddle-library

     

    Good luck finding the right saddle for you!

    April 5, 2019 at 8:02 pm #938849
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    jova54

    I’d say there is someting

    I’d say there is someting wrong with your saddle position either height or fore/aft poistion which means your hips could be rolling side to side or front to back, or both.

    I’d endorse getting a basic bike fit especially one which checks your sit bone width, certainly before you spend more money on another saddle that might make no difference. 

    I had the basic one at a Specialized store in advance of Ride 100 last year. I didn’t have any particular problems but I hadn’t ridden 100 miles before and I set the bike up when I got it 5 years ago. It took about 4 hours and cost a bit but was worth the cost and I didn’t have any saddle sores or comfort issues for the 7+ hours it took me to complete the ride.

    April 5, 2019 at 6:19 pm #938847
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    hawkinspeter

    I had the cheaper bike fit at

    I had the cheaper bike fit (as opposed to the full-on video analysis) at a Specialized store a few years ago which lasted a couple of hours or so and definitely recommend it. I discovered that my sit bones are quite wide, so ended up being sold a wider saddle which was indeed more comfortable. The width of your sit-bones isn’t particularly related to the size of your arse, so it’s not immediately obvious what kind of saddle is a good fit.

    The measured my sit bones with a pressure pad – you sit on it for a bit and it changes colour according to the heat/pressure of your bum. You can do the measurement yourself with something like a pristine piece of cardboard or tin-foil.

    April 5, 2019 at 6:12 pm #938845
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    ktache

    I have seen, in more women

    I have seen, in more women centred articles on their saddle problems, and if we thought we had it bad, sometimes in the Guardian, of certain shops offering saddle fits with pressure measurements.

    April 5, 2019 at 6:00 pm #938843
    0
    ibr17xvii
    maviczap wrote:
    Go get a bike fit and see if the fitter can see what might be causing the problem.

    One in my area does a bike fit option to sort a saddle out, and does Selle SMP test saddles, and I know one of the phyios at the Boardman prrfperform centre also does them, or did when she was working at her own practice in Essex. I forget her name right now.

    I’m having a similar issue with my Fizik Aliante Vs which was my saddle of choice, but lately it’s causing discomfort over longer rides.

    I’ve considered a bike fit a number of times but never really felt the need I guess. I have a Specialized store fairly near to me & I think they do saddle tests so that could be an option if I didn’t want to get a full fit.

    I gues it’s just a case of trial & error to see what’s what but either way it’s a bit frustrating.

     

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