Ended up in Hospital - Newbie Needs Seat Advice

[Ohio_Flyer]

Hey everyone,
I'm new here and I need some help. I just bought a bike and started training for a 60 mile ride. I rode three rides in the first 10 days (8, 21, 26 miles), and my thigh nerves developed an incredibly painful sensation that put me into the hospital overnight. The neurologist team said the small/hard bike seat may have pinched a nerve in my pelvis region. I am really skinny...God did not bless me with any natural padding. I bought SUPER gel padded shorts, but my butt bones still hurt for days after riding.

Can anyone recommend a seat that would be more forgiving to my butt?

Thanks,
O_F

 

[cyberlegend1994]

Sometimes too much padding can do more harm than good. Try experimenting with different shorts and saddles and use whatever feels most comfortable.

 

[reub2000]

Sheldon Brown wrote a good article on saddles:
http://sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

 

[Eden]

Hey everyone,
I'm new here and I need some help. I just bought a bike and started training for a 60 mile ride. I rode three rides in the first 10 days (8, 21, 26 miles), and my thigh nerves developed an incredibly painful sensation that put me into the hospital overnight. The neurologist team said the small/hard bike seat may have pinched a nerve in my pelvis region. I am really skinny...God did not bless me with any natural padding. I bought SUPER gel padded shorts, but my butt bones still hurt for days after riding.

Can anyone recommend a seat that would be more forgiving to my butt?

Thanks,
O_F

soft saddles are not usually the answer, they actually can put more pressure on your soft tissues - what you should do is go to a reputable bike shop that can measure your behind.... really there is a thing you sit on that measures the distance between your sit bones and then get a saddle that is the right width. Your sit bones should be what is is contact with the saddle - your weight should be held up by them. With that history you might want to be sure that what ever saddle you get has either a cut out or a groove to relieve pressure too.
Most people are fine once they get a properly fitted saddle - it will take some time to break in your backside - expect to feel some sit bone soreness for a week or two, but definitely not thigh pain.

 

[rparedes]

Hey everyone,
I'm new here and I need some help. I just bought a bike and started training for a 60 mile ride. I rode three rides in the first 10 days (8, 21, 26 miles), and my thigh nerves developed an incredibly painful sensation that put me into the hospital overnight. The neurologist team said the small/hard bike seat may have pinched a nerve in my pelvis region. I am really skinny...God did not bless me with any natural padding. I bought SUPER gel padded shorts, but my butt bones still hurt for days after riding.

Can anyone recommend a seat that would be more forgiving to my butt?

Thanks,
O_F

Check my post on a great saddle. I've had losts of discomfort with many saddles but the Rido saddle is great... The way it's made there are no "pressure points" so it should help...I bought mine at Bikemania, it's cheap. It took a while to get to me though. They come from England (i think) and the shipping is not that consistent. It took about a month...

 

[threaded]

Hey everyone,
I'm new here and I need some help. I just bought a bike and started training for a 60 mile ride. I rode three rides in the first 10 days (8, 21, 26 miles), and my thigh nerves developed an incredibly painful sensation that put me into the hospital overnight. The neurologist team said the small/hard bike seat may have pinched a nerve in my pelvis region. I am really skinny...God did not bless me with any natural padding. I bought SUPER gel padded shorts, but my butt bones still hurt for days after riding.

Can anyone recommend a seat that would be more forgiving to my butt?

Thanks,
O_F

Well, apart from biting off more than you can chew: try changing stuff, starting with cheapest first: undies: are your favourite calvin kleins really all that much better than them raggy pale blue Y fronts? Then move slowly up to: what is your hip size? You may well be thin, but are your hips like a girls? a wider seat might help (just talking examples here, don't kill me, I don't mean it as an insult.) Or are they narrower, a child seat might be better. Do you have your seat too far up? i.e. over extending your legs and bobbing side to side.

How do you pedal: do you bounce in the seat when pedaling fast?: You need to learn to scrape that dog sheet off the bottom of your shoe...

So many questions...

 

[tiggere]

Not so sure its the saddle...my ass hurt for at least two weeks when I first started riding...it will toughen up a little bit as time goes on and won't hurt as bad on some of those longer rides...I have been riding about 50 miles per week for a couple of months and a 30 mile ride at one time leaves me a little sore in that area still...nothing unbearable mind you just enough to let me know I just rode 30 miles...I wear Pearl Izumi shorts (3D chamois)...


If you were not fitted at your bike shop it might need to be adjusted though...

 

[Ohio_Flyer]

Is the Rido Saddle available in the states (in stock)? I have to start training ASAP to prepare for the 60 mile ride...which is in 3 weeks.

Anyone have a used one available?

O_F

 

[rparedes]

Is the Rido Saddle available in the states (in stock)? I have to start training ASAP to prepare for the 60 mile ride...which is in 3 weeks.

Anyone have a used one available?

O_F

I got mine at Bikemania. They said it was a shipping mix-up and that's why it took so long (almost 1 month). They assured me typically it's only about 10 days.
http://www.bikemania.biz/
You could try eBay... But when I did I could not find a used one...

 

[kdelong]

Is the Rido Saddle available in the states (in stock)? I have to start training ASAP to prepare for the 60 mile ride...which is in 3 weeks.

Anyone have a used one available?

O_F

IMHO, the Rido Saddle looks a bit like a gimmick. My advice for your situation is to go to your LBS and let them see what you have now and your position on the bike. If they do not do a fitting of your backside, go to a different LBS that does. This will give you a guideline to use in finding a good saddle, and then all you really can do from this point on is try saddles until you find one that works for you.

As other posters have said, lose all the excess padding on the saddle but try a pair of slightly padded shorts along with Chamios Butter. If you talk real nice to the LBS, they may let you use different saddles for your training rides until you find one that works for you. You definitely want to make sure that the seat height, angle, and setback are right and your LBS is probably your best resource to help you with that.

What part of Ohio are you in? If you are near Cincinnati, try Montgomery Cyclery. There are several good bike shops in the Dayton area and Springfield that I can suggest too, but that is about as far as my LBS experience goes.

 

[dhk2]

Is the Rido Saddle available in the states (in stock)? I have to start training ASAP to prepare for the 60 mile ride...which is in 3 weeks.

Anyone have a used one available?

O_F

If you were in the hospital overnight recently with saddle-related trauma injury, believe you need to seriously consider postponing that 60 mile ride. It takes most of us a couple of seasons to get comfortable on the saddle; IMO you're likely to hurt yourself again if you push things too fast.

I've never seen the "Rido" saddle, but seriously doubt it's a "magic bullet", or a replacement for many thousands of miles of backside conditioning.

 

[dekindy]

I have never heard of someone having a saddle problem this extreme. IMHO the advice you need is way beyond a normal cyclists ability to advise you. You might have to seek some type of medical or sports specialty consultation to solve this problem without further extreme pain or risk of permanent injury. I would proceed very cautiously and not take anyone's advice unless they have experience with this extreme situation or a medical or sport general/specific training.

Try this shop if they are close. If they cannot help you they will say so and may be able to direct you to someone that can.
http://bikewiseoxford.com/
or Montgomery Cyclery.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Ohio_Flyer, your problems may not even be related to your seat, shorts or fitness level. The problem may be in the sizing or setup of your bicycle. Have you had an expirienced rider look over your position on the bike?

 

[rwinthenorth]

If you were in the hospital overnight recently with saddle-related trauma injury, believe you need to seriously consider postponing that 60 mile ride. It takes most of us a couple of seasons to get comfortable on the saddle; IMO you're likely to hurt yourself again if you push things too fast.

I've never seen the "Rido" saddle, but seriously doubt it's a "magic bullet", or a replacement for many thousands of miles of backside conditioning.

Amen! It definately takes a while in the saddle to get the feel of a saddle to see if you even like it! I'm with dhk2, postpone the ride or make a reservation for a private room at the hospital. No one's gonna want to hear that moan all night long.

 

[Ohio_Flyer]

It may not be the smartest thing to do, but nobody is going to keep me from riding. During the last 6 months, I was diagnosed with and beat aggressive cancer. I decided to buy a bike, raise money for cancer research and sign up for the ride with Lance Armstrong. After what I went through earlier this year, the nerve pain was nothing.

I have already raised money, so I will definitely be in Austin for the race (October 14th). I am switching to bibs and will try a new seat. Hopefully that will do the trick. Thanks so much for the help. I'm 30 and am really enjoying the sport so far. I am hoping the new gear arrives later this week, so I can get back on the bike next week! Say a prayer for my ride, as I don't want that pain to come back!!!

OF

Amen! It definately takes a while in the saddle to get the feel of a saddle to see if you even like it! I'm with dhk2, postpone the ride or make a reservation for a private room at the hospital. No one's gonna want to hear that moan all night long.

 

[cheapie]

well...that def changes things a bit. congrats!!!

and yeah, see if your local bike shop can do some fitting. 60 miles isn't that many to bang out w/o much preperation. you just don't want to do any damage while doing so.

 

[steelem]

Hey everyone,
I'm new here and I need some help. I just bought a bike and started training for a 60 mile ride. I rode three rides in the first 10 days (8, 21, 26 miles), and my thigh nerves developed an incredibly painful sensation that put me into the hospital overnight. The neurologist team said the small/hard bike seat may have pinched a nerve in my pelvis region. I am really skinny...God did not bless me with any natural padding. I bought SUPER gel padded shorts, but my butt bones still hurt for days after riding.

Can anyone recommend a seat that would be more forgiving to my butt?

Thanks,
O_F

selle italia max flte gel - its amazing