Seat Pain & Toe Numbness

Hello... I'm new here, and also new to road biking. I just bought my first road bike two weeks ago (Giant OCR-3) and I absolutely love it... well, except my crotch doesn't (sorry, don't know how else to put it). My bum doesn't experience any pain, but my whole front area and underwear line experiences a lot of it. Even after a simple 9km ride I'm swollen and very sore. Is this just a case of "getting used to it"? Would purchasing a nice pair of padding biking shorts do the trick, or is it possible I need an entire seat change?


Secondly, I have noticed that when biking the toes primarily on my left foot go numb. Is this a matter of form? Has anyone else experienced this? It happens usually when I am biking faster. If I maintain a leisurely pace they are less likely to go all-a-tingle on me.

Thanks for any insight!

 

Ditch the undies for proper cycling shorts. Be sure to not wear anything under these cycling shorts as they are designed to be next to your sensitive parts. Chamois cream is optional but keep your shorts clean. Use once and wash.

The seat itself is trial and error to find one that fits your sit bones. There is a device that can measure this for you look here Call the bike shop and inquire. If the bike shop did not do a proper fit when selling you the bike then you should get that done. You will have tenderness from your sit bones when just starting or coming back from some time off the bike. That is normal.

The numb toes could be a number of things that I am not qualified to point out but someone will. Good luck.

 

Thank you for your quick response. I figured I was need of some padding... but I think I might head to the bike store and see if a seating adjustment will help as well.

As for toe numbness, after scowering the older posts I think I came across some answers.

Thank you again!

 

So... I went out and bought a pair of $80 padded shorts. When I started riding with them, I noticed an instant relief in crotch pain... but NOW the padding of the shorts is chaffing my bum and my underwear line (well, where underwear WOULD be if I was wearing any).

It appears the padding area around my bum is slightly larger than the seat itself, and pinches right where the seat ends. Does anyone else have this problem? Did I buy shorts that are too big for me, or, do I really just need to get a new seat?

 

Try the chamois cream, it's good stuff and will help a lot. Especially as you start to ride more and more.

 

Yes, I read about this and using Vaseline in another area of the forum. But, my question is what do you do when you are biking to commute? I bike a 20 minute ride to work, and don't shower when I get there (I'm generally ok after only 20 minutes)... I can't imagine using that cream, or anything else, and then not having the option to shower.

Any ideas? Just suck it up since it's such a short ride? It's just so annoying.

 

Obviously showering is always ideal after a ride, it's probably one of the biggest rewards. Having said that if you really want to get your ride in, the Chamois cream is actually not that bad, it's not nearly as bad a vaseline. I couldn't stand to use vaseline as opposed to chamois cream, but that is me. It's not near as greasy and gunky. It's more like a lotion that provides protection for your skin. I know guys who do that for their ride to work and back etc.

 

Baby wipes will do the job.

 

What an (obvious) but fantastic idea! I never thought of that...! Useful even when NOT using the creams!

Thanks!

 

Vaseline is not a good idea in your case. But another idea is a stuff called Udderly Smooth < Udder Cream > It is not grease like Vaseline. If you get to change shorts at work I think it would work. Only 1.98 at Wal-Mart to find out.You will find it with the hand and face creams
Hope that helps. A sore what ever is no fun.
Also the numbness can come from to tight of shorts around your legs,socks or shoes to tight cutting off blood flow to your feet

Wink

 

Sounds like good advice on the saddle issue ....I would add to make sure you are not rocking alot on the saddle also.

On the toe here is an article I did on hot foot


http://www.recoverydoc.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=118

Good luck

 

Hello Recoverydoc

You have some good info on your web sight. The Hydration article
was very interesting. I ride a Comfort Turing bike twenty to thirty miles a day.I find that my fluid intake is in proportion to how hard I ride and temperature.I live in Florida so most days it is hot.Also I notice when I eat after a hard ride my body tells me to use lots of salt.
Also with her foot pain.I also trikke and was having foot pain
on my trikke rides and found going to a whole size bigger shoe cured the pain.

Keep up the good work Wink

 

I use chamois cream intermittently and ahve no problem with it, even if I don't shower - although it is rare that I miss showering.

With your chafing, is it worse on one side than the other?

It was in my case, and it turns out I have unequal length legs! Moving and shimming the cleat on the short leg according to some material I found on the web relieved my back pain and (drum roll) my chafing miraculousy disappeared as well.

If the chafing is evenly distributed it is possible you have the seat too high for your current degree of flexibility, leading to you rock your hips as you pedal. Try lowering it 3-4mm at a time and give it a few days in each position to see what it does. If you start getting knee pain you have gone too far!