New saddle? or adjustment period necessary?

[KatieLeigh323]

I just purchased my first "real" bicycle- excited! It's a fitness hybrid. After only 10 minutes of riding, I already had bruises on my butt in this short amount of time. Is this normal? (I'm a female).

The bruises are in a straight line on either side of my inner "gluteal sulcus" closer to my lady parts (kind of uncomfortable to show this area to a bike shop employee, I mean I literally had to spread my butt and lift it up and arch my back to find the bruises).

Can anyone tell me if this is an indicator of what is wrong with the position or size of my seat?

 

[Motosonic]

I'm not a saddle professional, but here's my 2 cents.
The saddles that come with bikes are typically junk and most people will replace them with something more appropriate. But, with that said there's definitely an adjustment period for your body to get used to cycling. When I started cycling a few years back, My bum was sore for days, weeks even..until my body got used to riding. It's more than just the saddle.. it's the muscles you're using that haven't been used, etc. There could definitely be a saddle height adjustment needed. I wouldn't rule that out, but I assume the shop where you purchased it would have fit you before you left? If not, just go back and ask them to fit you properly.
What can help is a proper pair of cycling shorts (with chamois pads), too. It's hard to say without seeing you on the bike, but typically when you pedal down to the ground, your leg should be almost fully extended (just a slight bend) while you're sitting on the seat. Most people check this by leaning the bike against a wall and hopping on and using the wall to brace themselves.
hopefully this helps.. and welcome to the world of cycling!

 

[dabac]

You've got two bony knobs on your pelvis usually called the sit bones. Its these, and the tissue over them that carries your weight when you sit on the saddle.
The surface of the sit bones is fairly small, less than the area of one heel.
If you haven't ridden in a long time, it'll take awhile for these areas to toughen up and get used to riding - even if it is the right saddle for you.

If 10 minutes messed you up, do 5 minute rides every day or every 2nd day for a week or two to let your body adapt.

You can sit on a bit of corrugated cardboard to get two indentations from your sitbones, measure the center-to-center spacing and get an idea of which saddle width that is likely to work for you.

I do NOT recommend gel or thickly padded saddles. The deeper your sit bones sink in the padding, the more pressure you get on the soft tissues inbetween. Kinda like walking barefoot in sand. Comfy at first, but pretty soon your arches start to get sore.

Apart from height, also check angle. Start with the saddle horizontal. Make small changes from there.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Many high-end bikes come with craptastic saddles. The builder specifies whatever he can buy really cheao in most cases and turns the savings into profit or a lower selling price point.

Most experienced cyclists will unbolt the OEM saddle and immediately replace it with one they know works comfortably and efficiently for them.

Since you are inexperienced and probably have no clue what saddle is going to work best for you, seek out a really good bike shop and get your posterior measured and start trying out their loaner saddles or try out their recommendations.

Finding a saddle the works can be frustrating, painful and is often so 'trial & error' that we just stumble across something that finally works and feels pretty darned good. You may never find a completely 'sofa king comfy' saddle, but if the thing hurts your backside on short rides over smooth roads...you've got the wrong saddle under you.

 

[jeremyrundle]

Buy a decent saddle, as anyone will tell you any that come with the bile are ****.

The best are

http://www.brooksengland.com/en_uk/...RxxVDV_MUMgPxGenNiufhSNMUAfjBluud4aAmdU8P8HAQ

 

[jeremyrundle]

well she never came back