Some pain on longer rides... help?

I have been having some trouble with both my sit bones, and the balls of my feet hurting on rides of about 15 miles or more...

I had much more trouble with the balls of my feet and my big toes hurting before I got shoes that fit me better (had too big of shoes) But they still give me some grief, mostly start going numb, but after that a bit they start hurting fairly badly. This seems to me a common problem, I've seen it alot on forums. But does anyone have any solutions for it?

Also, about the sit bones... there is a bike shop a good distance away from here that has a neat little pad that you sit on and can see the shape of your own rump... pretty nifty... Would I need to do something like that to see what kind of a butt I have and buy a saddle to match?

Thanks in advance

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The power bars and energy drinks... that's the only reason we all ride.

That does sound like a nifty gadget the bike shop has....

If you have the time, I'd say go give it a try and see what they say is the best type/width saddle for you.

Unless you are familiar with the folks at this bike shop and have good reason to trust their judgement, I'd verify their findings before I actually bought anything from them.

Or at least make sure I could return it if it didn't solve the problem.

Foot problem: Shoes too tight? try loosing them up and see; if the pain is on your the ball of your foot, you could try moving cleat farther back, 1 cm past the ball of your foot; Pedal surface too small? get pedals with larger contact area. Shoe sole too soft?
I also use gel insoles; they help
Saddle: Specialized has the seat pad to measure sit bones; you can also do it by seating on flat cardboard (butt naked is best) then measure the width of the indentation left on the surface of the cardboard. This is the minimum width you want at the point your sit bones contact the saddle... Make sure your LBS allows you to try saddles until you find the one you like. Mine let me try a bunch, i could return them as long as they did not look "worn"

I don't think you're going to find a solution until you get a good fit done. Saddle discomfort and foot discomfort can be worsened or even caused by a bad fit.

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Sex is horrid
Pain is Fun
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One by one

Exactly. I had the same problem on all of my rides, after a short while, my toes would fall asleep and the ball of my foot would kill, so I moved my cleat back and problem was solved.

As far as the seat, I had that problem as well, and it turned out I had the saddle too far back, and the nose was too high up, but that was me, you should definitely get fitted by a pro.

-Greg

+1 on getting fit by a pro. And I don't mean a random bike shop that does 'fits'. Find the expert, somebody that is well versed in exercise physiology. It'll make a huge difference for comfort as well as power transfer.

The gel pads that specialized and bontrager have (and their low-tech cousin, cardboard sheet) work well to determine approximately how wide a saddle you should be on. It gives a good starting point for trial and error process of finding one you like the best. I'm willing to bet you could do the same thing with a close friend and a ruler...it would just look strange if your wife/husband walked in right in the middle of it. You bent over with your shorts around your ankles and your friend holding the ruler, staring intently at your sit-bones. You get the picture.

I go to Fit Werx in my town, they only have 2 locations, one in MA and other in VT. but they are the best of the best I believe. I got my bike from them also and should have it this week.

Heres a link:

www.fitwerx.com

-Greg

Looks totally legit. Every town should have a place like that within driving distance. In Texas, we're fortunate enough to be within driving distance of this guy, as well as some very knowledgeable people in Austin: Bike Fit with John Cobb

That looks great as well S.

+1 on the pro's. I found that most if not all of my LBS's don't really care about your best interest and just want to sell you anything for any $$. Most of them don't even have enough experience and/or knowledge to give you what's best for you. The guys at fit werx are all ironman triatheletes that will help you 1st, then the business comes naturally, you know?

Thanks for the advice guys I moved my cleats backward about half a cm, I have yet to ride on them for a good distance yet. To see if it helps.

And I'll probably try a few adjustments with my saddle as well... unfortunately I don't live in an area where there are any good fitting shops around here... there is one, but it's a good distance, and they are generally over-priced... So I'll just try a few things, adjusting this and that, if I never come up with a good adjustment, Ill probably fork out the cash, but for now I'd like to go at least a full month without giving away another 100$ to cycling.

I'll keep you all updated on if anything helped.

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The power bars and energy drinks... that's the only reason we all ride.

Dr, I don't know where you live or what bike shop you would go to.......nor do I need to know.

But, I'd really be disappointed to hear that you don't have a bike shop that wouldn't help you get your saddle/handlebars/cleats adjusted for free.

It should take less than 15 minutes for them to watch you ride the bike in the parking lot and then make a couple of adjustments if needed.

Now, if your bike is incorrectly sized for you and major changes need to be made (changing out seat posts or handle bar stems, etc ), then I certainly wouldn't expect them to do that for free.

My local bike shop can't compete with the big internet stores on parts pricing, but they are great on customer service. That's what keeps us going back to them, they are wonderful to work with.

Cardboard, that's a great idea! Though I've heard that your sit bones will be different lengths apart depending on how hunched over you are... So what position should I be in when I go sitting on this perfectly good piece of cardboard?

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The power bars and energy drinks... that's the only reason we all ride.

Get a torpedo level or line level. Check the level of your saddle both side-to-side and fore-to-aft. You may be surprised at how far off level the saddle is.
Saddle height is also important. Your leg should go to almost full extension at the bottom of a stroke. Move the seat post up and down as necessary.
Placement of the saddle on the seat post is also important. Get the saddle level and the height close to be correct and then work on fore-to-aft adjustment. Don't forget to check seat level when you do these kinds of adjustment.
Most importantly take the time to read about the subject.