Saddle soreness



Sublime99

New Member
Jul 25, 2005
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I am a fairly new rider and i have a road bike that was measured by a local bike shop. However i had to set the saddly height and handle bar height. When i ride i have padded shorts and my saddle rest right in between the jewels and the a-hole........... lets just call it the gooch. I get really sore after a short 20 mile ride and can hardly stand to ride the next day. What is the proper postion for me to sit in, should it be further back on my butt or is this just someting you have to endure? I have been riding for a couple 5 months and have endured it thus far, but i am getting discouraged and frustrated.

Also when i ride i rest my hands on the hoods and they go numb. I want to focus on a comfortable saddle first then worry about the numbess. I feel as if i am putting alot of weight on my hands when i ride.
 
The seat may be a little to high. The seat may also be the cause of the sore hands because it's too high and has you bending more than you need. The hands could also be the height of your bars, but start with the seat since it's so easy. Try lowering a cm at a time and remember not to go to low because you'll change your leg extension to much.
 
tfstrum said:
The seat may be a little to high. The seat may also be the cause of the sore hands because it's too high and has you bending more than you need. The hands could also be the height of your bars, but start with the seat since it's so easy. Try lowering a cm at a time and remember not to go to low because you'll change your leg extension to much.


I will try that and let you know the outcome, where should the pressure be when sitting in the saddle?
 
Soreness can also be caused by the tilt of the saddle. If you have the nose too high it will cause soreness in the "gooch." If too low it will rock your hips too far forward.

Also, if you wear underware under the shorts, the seams will also cause soreness.

In terms of the hand soreness, everbody has there own preference, but I prefer the top of the handlebar to be at the same height as the seat. This is a little higher than most LBS recommend, but it has helped with hand soreness and also with my neck and shoulders.

--Jeff
 
I haven't tilted it forwad or backwards as of yet, you think mybe if i tilt it a little forward it will take pressure of the gooch? Or is it the other way around?
 
If it's tilted up, it'll kill the Jewels area that you described. Put a torpedeo level on the seat when the bike is on a generally flat surface. Seat should be level or slightly tilted down.

Do a search on seats and you can read about other's problems and suggested fixes.
 
I tilted the nose down a bit and rode around for a while and adjusted it to where there is little to no pressure on the gooch and more on my sit bones (i had to look that up). Man my morning ride was a dream not only was i comfortable but without the pain i was able to concentrate more on the ride and goal i was trying to accomplish. Thanks guys!:cool: :) :) :)
 
Another thing to try is the seat. Racing seats are always more sore, as opposed to touring types. I ended up getting a gel cover for my current seat -really comfy. Before, i used a Specialized "nut saver" as the shop guy called it - no center section at all, shaped like a wishbone. I worked great too, till it broke :p

Good luck with your balls!:D
 
Ok now to hand numbness my hands go numb about half an hour into the ride and i have to keep shaking them out then they get tingly. I switch my hand position frequently on the handlebars. Are you supposed to lean on the bars or use your abs and back to hold you up? The handlebars are about an inch below the seat level and i have tried it higher and lower.
 
Sublime99 said:
Ok now to hand numbness my hands go numb about half an hour into the ride and i have to keep shaking them out then they get tingly. I switch my hand position frequently on the handlebars. Are you supposed to lean on the bars or use your abs and back to hold you up? The handlebars are about an inch below the seat level and i have tried it higher and lower.

You end up doing a little of the leaning and using your abs. Make sure you use gloves.

You said you raised your bars and it didn't help. It should have been better in the higher position. Maybe you just need some ride time...
 
I ride without gloves right now and i need to get some soon (no time). My hands slip off the bars if i move one to wipe my face or something. Needless to say i have almost crashed a couple times so i try to keep them on the bars as much as possible.
 
You need gloves and they're not that expensive... The padding helps a lot and you want to be able to ride light handed when you're just on the flats and don't really need to be applying undo pressure on the bars. The fatigue will kill you.
 
Sublime99 said:
I am a fairly new rider and i have a road bike that was measured by a local bike shop. However i had to set the saddly height and handle bar height. When i ride i have padded shorts and my saddle rest right in between the jewels and the a-hole........... lets just call it the gooch. I get really sore after a short 20 mile ride and can hardly stand to ride the next day. What is the proper postion for me to sit in, should it be further back on my butt or is this just someting you have to endure? I have been riding for a couple 5 months and have endured it thus far, but i am getting discouraged and frustrated.



Also when i ride i rest my hands on the hoods and they go numb. I want to focus on a comfortable saddle first then worry about the numbess. I feel as if i am putting alot of weight on my hands when i ride.
I'm a female but saddle soreness seems to be a commonality between the sexes. I had such a hard time using my original saddle I never sat properly. I decided to get a saddle with a cut out and asked the ladies on the forum which one they felt was best. Everyone agreed Terry saddles were superior to the others. I got a road gel saddle. It looked very uncomfortable when it first arrived but feels like heaven when riding. Terry also makes a long line of saddles for men and they have a 30 day no questions asked return policy when you order directly through Terry. I ordered mine online. Let me know how things go with your hands. I have the same problem so I just keep shifting positions but would like a better solution if there is one. Feel better!
 
Sublime99 said:
I haven't tilted it forwad or backwards as of yet, you think mybe if i tilt it a little forward it will take pressure of the gooch? Or is it the other way around?
The saddle is supposed to be completely level. If it's high or low you'll end up with an oochy goochy.
 
My **** still goes numb but i relieve that by standing up often, but the hands bother me most the get so numb and shifting my hand postition helps little. I tilted the seat slighty downwards and that made a huge difference in gooch pain.
 
S

ome guy made a thread about the hand numb stuff. There is a simple stretch that works!

Something like put your arm behind back, lower that sholder, and then stretch your head back and away. Works for me!
 
TheNiceGuy said:
S

ome guy made a thread about the hand numb stuff. There is a simple stretch that works!

Something like put your arm behind back, lower that sholder, and then stretch your head back and away. Works for me!
Thanks! I'll try it out.
 
Sublime99 said:
My **** still goes numb but i relieve that by standing up often, but the hands bother me most the get so numb and shifting my hand postition helps little. I tilted the seat slighty downwards and that made a huge difference in gooch pain.
I think it's time for a new saddle. I used to cycle standing all of the time but my legs and **** became extremely muscular. When I went to a cycling store to have clipless pedals put on my bike and purchased cleats I told the shop owner how I rode. He said I wouldn't have stamina for riding long distance if I rode standing. He also told me I wouldn't be getting any cardio vascular benefit from my rides. I already had a trip computer with cadance. So he said to make sure I kept my cadance at at least 80rpm. He put my bike on a trainer in the shop and told me to ride correcting me every time I stood up. I've ridden properly since then and it's a real pleasure now that I have a proper saddle and don't have to keep shifting my body to keep the pressure off. The gentleman at the shop who spent a long time with me on the trainer asked me to come back in about a month as I would develope a very different physique by riding while sitting, much nicer I think, slender with muscle tone in the right places and lots of stamina to boot without looking like a female body builder. You've probably seen lots of photos of cyclists. I don't look like a model cyclist since I don't ride hundreds of miles at a time but I'm not dumpy either. I put about 20 miles on my bike a day and I'm happy. I haven't gone back to see the guy at the shop yet, I've been very hung up on a certain fellow for quite a while~time to move on I guess. I do think I may pay the gentleman at the shop call one day after the kids go back to school as he asked. He was very nice, extremely hansome and about my age. I may be 42 and divorced but as a girlfriend told me yesterday~"You're not ready for the glue factory yet". Sorry to get so personal, I just needed to purge.
Treat yourself to a nice saddle with a cut out, your **** will love you for it! once you are cycling comfortably seated pick up a cadence computer. I would recommend a wireless one. I have a wired one and would get wireless if I had to do it over again. If you ride at night you should look for one thats backlit so you can see it. Keep me posted , let me how you do with the hand numbness. I thought mine went numb because I have little hands that always are cold. It might not be a bad idea to get yourself tested for Diabetes next time you have a physical also. My doctor was sure I had Diabetes but the tests came back negative. Happy painless cycling!
 
I just had a full physical about 2.5 months ago, it was for my 5 yr military (reserves physical) and my cholesterol was a bit high 250 to say the least. I don't have diabetes, and am not borderline per my doctor and my physical. I am going in for another in about 3 weeks, since then i have changed what i eat and have been cycling about 4-5 days a week 7-10 hours throughout. I manually count my cadence every ten minutes while on my bike, it is cumbersome but i do it none the less. I average between 75-100 on anyday. I would get a cadence computer but i am poor.....lol. I rode this morning after trying that stretch and it didn't help me at all i can deal with the numbness, it doesn't bother me after a while.
 
Sublime99 said:
I just had a full physical about 2.5 months ago, it was for my 5 yr military (reserves physical) and my cholesterol was a bit high 250 to say the least. I don't have diabetes, and am not borderline per my doctor and my physical. I am going in for another in about 3 weeks, since then i have changed what i eat and have been cycling about 4-5 days a week 7-10 hours throughout. I manually count my cadence every ten minutes while on my bike, it is cumbersome but i do it none the less. I average between 75-100 on anyday. I would get a cadence computer but i am poor.....lol. I rode this morning after trying that stretch and it didn't help me at all i can deal with the numbness, it doesn't bother me after a while.
I can identify, I also suffer from a meager cash flow. I have to treat myself once in a while though and cycling is where I do that. I've done for others my whole life, I need to do something for myself now and then. Make no mistake, I'm the most frugal woman alive when it comes to getting things for myself, but somehow I manage. My kids get mad at me because I never spend on myself. This summer I had to get all new shorts and shirts out of necessity. Last years clothes were just yards of fabric.
I also had wanted a cadance computer for a long time before finally getting one. I went to a bike shop last spring and found them on sale for $25 and picked one up. You could probably get one pretty cheap on ebay.
As for the stretch, I didn't think that would be much good. Perhaps you need to strengthen your hands or lighten up on your grip when cycling. I've found it hasn't been much of a problem during the summer but also have noticed my hands are much stronger than they used to be. Lots of kneeding hamburger meat for BBQ's, swimming and sand castles. I also picked up an IsoFlex ball. They sell them for a dollar or so in the pharmacy from what I remember. I got it years ago for stress release but hadn't used it again until recently. It's sort of balloon type plastic and feels like it's filled with sand. You just squeeze it for a while each day. You may want to try it. Let me know how you do.