[Closed] Can't sit on a saddle anymore

Have you tried some of the more modern designs, ie spesh power, selle smp or adamo?

They are getting expensive to try out, but if you can't get comfortable on anything else they could be the solution. The spesh power sorted me out.

It sounds a bit more than finding a different saddle...?

Can I check - you're not using a new brand or saddle model, or conversly using a really old and now knackered saddle? You've checked tilt, height etc.

It may be worth a proper saddle fit or even sports medic advice...?

Not tried the Spesh Power but had a Phenom, just taken an ISM off to try a an Ergon. Was out on Friday but still sore so didn't want to try out a new saddle just yet.

Edit

Yes, all new saddles

Have you tried a proper old school brooks?

i’m 50 and have recently switched to a brooks B17 and it’s been a revelation for me.

I never tried them before as i viewed them as a bit old fashioned eh.

sounds to me like you are getting the weight on your perineum and compressing the nerve that runs there rather than on your sit bone.  Possible?

Weight on your sit bones won't cause numbness.  there is no nerve there to compress.  Other option could be that its compressed nerves in your back from poor posture - most sporty cyclists have really bad posture on their bike from an orthopaedic point of view bars far too low causing flattening the lumbar curve and over bending the cervical curve.  Where are your bars in relation to the seat - try them an inch above the seat if they are below.

Not weight on the perineum had one saddle that pressed there before and don't really forget that feeling, posture could well be adding to the problem, had to buy a foam roller for my back due to being hunched over my desk and scope at work.

Bars are lower than saddle but as high as they go (tried lower as well) with the adjustment I've got.

try a riser stem or high rise bars then.  sounds to me like back issues not saddle.  I'd bet getting the bars an inch above the seat will cure it.  I have one of those crappy adjustable hight stems if you wnt to try it.  31.6 bar fitting

Have you tried talking to your doctor (or specialist cycling physio) too?

A shorter stem might help too, if you can’t get it any higher, i have a (iirc) 65mm stem on my cx bike, much shorter than whatever the original was.

much better for me.

I went through this last year.

Get a good bike fit. I went to a university which does them as I felt they had no other skin in the game 're selling me kit. Fixed everything. And it's cheaper than going thru saddles at the rate of knots

i have been through this. ridden for years on any saddle, with no padding needed.

last few years, no saddle was comfy. had a new hip in november. since then still no sadlle was comfy. thing my shape down there may have changed.

a couple of week ago i tried a ism adamo saddle. it has worked. but i still think i need a wider saddle.

i think because of my size/weight i may need to try a wider saddle.

Bloody hell op. What you said is exactly what I am going through!

Messing about with seats, stems and bars at the moment.

The pain on my sit bones it terrible!

Out for a longish ride tomorrow and going a new stem/bar/seat combo has an effect......

Trying a 155mm Phenom at the moment...

Oh, gone for a shorter stem too, to reduce reach.

Have you tried talking to your doctor (or specialist cycling physio) too?

This TBH - the leg numbness would concern me that my back might have a problem

M8 has this issue & has just ordered an IAM PM2.0, he's hoping like hell it'll work for him. Can I ask how you got on (or not by the sound of things) with yours?

It sounds a bit more than finding a different saddle…?

I'd agree TJ touched on a few things, but I'd be thinking medical rather than just bike fit.

if anyone on this thread wants to try a ism/adamo saddle, i have 2 that you a free to borrow.

Zippy, I'v got the ISM PR2 and it's ok not great, feels really boxy and square and no matter where i sit on it I can always feel the diamond shaped sides.

Might have to try the doctors then.

Got a short stem on my bike (Capra, had it for 2 1/2y)

Mrs Gti has suffered terribly from pain in her sit bones for three years and she's not even a cyclist. It started when she was doing long stints in the car as a regional sales manager, after a career in the same kinds of jobs. She would press on, passing the services and not allowing her body to recover. She was also a diver so would drive long distances up to Stornoway and the Hebrides, often doing the trip in one long run.

Three years ago she began to experience terrible gluteal pain. She saw two orthopedic specialists and a neurologist and none of them was able to diagnose the pain. She endured all kinds of quack cures and conventional treatments, none of which made the slightest difference.  She spent a year sleeping on her side and sitting sideways on one hip, to the extent that even her hips began to hurt.

My belief is that somehow she has damaged or bruised the ischeal areas of her pelvis. A scan has revealed no change in the bone. Three years later she is mentally better able to cope with the pain but still can't sit for long periods of time without pain.

Hope this doesn't depress the OP too much.

Mine was a selection of badly pinched/ compressed nerves in my lower back and pelvis.

Initial cause was a massive smash in my 20s (as far as we can work out), the problem was actually brought to light following a series of job changes/ promotions which involved steadily more sitting and thinking rather than walking and talking.

Age didn't help.

Spent the last handful of years occasionally losing all feeling in my legs (like dead legs, but not) plenty of massage, manipulation and stretching has avoided a surgical fix for now. And i haven't lost feeling for over 12 months now. I also got the all clear to start riding again properly this spring.

Get to the GP and the physio.

Leaving it to get worse might not be the best of ideas.

I had this problem. Eventually found a saddle (fizik aliante) and shorts (assos) that worked and stuck with it

I have also found that the muscles in that area don’t “fire” as well any more (may be related to my general posture and desk based lifestyle) and as a result there is less muscle mass and protection

I read somewhere (maybe on here) that you can try putting a sheet of baking foil on a carpeted stair, sit on that, then measure the imprint to get the width of your sit bones.

Pain is telling you something, don't ignore it.  Hope you get sorted out - doesn't sound like much fun to me.

Consider a visit to an osteopath and or physio.

Mrs Dubs spent half her life thinking one leg was shorter than the other when in reality her pelvis was misaligned - which was fixed with one visit.

I have been using Ergon grips and like them a lot so thought I would try their saddles. The SMC4 which is meant to be the comfort saddle killed my sit bones!

After losing a chunk of weight, and pretty much not biking all winter, my sit bones seem to have changed shape a bit, both my bikes giving me jip in the barse area. Not sure whether I just need to man back up again, or start thinking about new saddles...

If I stop biking for a couple of months I have to get my ass used to things again nobeer...

Everyone is different inc injury or other reasons,no one saddle will work it's often a trial & error process.
I've tried lots of saddles over the years & accepted pain was associated with riding then had Adamo seats on my bikes for two years,although they stop numbness I still got sitbone sores after 30+ miles so kept on looking at alternatives.

There's a few strange pad types some adjustable some fixed,crazy ones like the Infinity surely that's a bloody joke a saddle with no middle just the edge 😆
Anyhow I'd never tried real leather before but read mixed reviews upon them,some been hard & required many miles to 'wear in'.

This was when I by chance came across Selle Anatomica its softer leather & designed to work as a 'hammock' it's got a central slot so each side can flex independently.
I can now do hours in the saddle & get no sores,as with anything they take a few tweaks to get right but whether I'm riding in basic shorts/trousers to proper cycling gear I notice no difference.
I'd recommend not getting real leather wet carry a cover,even if after a ride it's out in rain & I'm in the pub I cover it up.

@chevychase I'm hoping that's all it is matey, thanks.

I’ve been searching for saddle nirvana for years. I think I find one then after a couple of years I have to start again. If anyone wants to borrow an Smp Extra which is low end smp but gives you an idea of the shape I’m happy to lend it out. I settled on smp hell/well and they worked well enough to do mountain mayhem solo. WTB saddles seem to suit a lot of folks. I’m currently between a volt 155 and a rocket 155 as well as the SMP.

We should start a saddle swapping scheme. Everyone lists saddles they would be happy to lend out and we can try each other’s.😳

I’d go and see a physio.  The numbness is as many have been suggesting very likely to be caused by your back from bad posture.  A physio should be able to assess your posture and muscles and give you strengthening exercises which will make an enormous difference.

Jmtpw

The hammock style saddles that move with you are the most comfortable, and the king of them is a Brooks triple sprung.

I have never worn padded shorts and had no trouble with saddle, but a few years ago I found that about 100 miles on the road was my limit before saddle pain started. I just put it down to getting old.

However then i did a 120 mile ride on a 1930s rod brake roadster. It turned out to be not much slower that my usual pace and I realised afterwards that there was no saddle pain - and that was on an ancient sprung saddle that had seen better days.

My wife bought me a Brooks B73 for Xmas a couple of years ago and I fitted it to my Pompino with riser bars, I can ride all day with no discomfort at all. (I've done a few 120+ mile rides on it recently at audax pace, not race pace).

When weighed against the potential for discomfort, the weight and appearance of it are negated. 🙂

Epicyclo, I’m on a B17, which is unsprung, and my experience has been the same, i was using a charge spoon before, which was fine for 3hrs or so, but started to hurt after that.

Switched over to the brooks and it was instant comfort. No break in was required for me, so I obviously have a B17 sized arse.

But, as a couple of people have previously noted, what works perfectly for one person, may be an instrument of torture for another.

It does sound like physio or other medical advice might be a good idea if your legs are going numb.

Is it possible it could be a back issue, as suggested above? I recently had problems with perineal discomfort and persistent numbness on one side of my back when doing longer hours on my commuter/training bike. Like Ton, a set up I had ridden for years just didn't seem to work any more.

I shortened and raised the stem slightly to get my weight off the saddle nose and back on the sit bones (I use an SMP saddle) which solved one problem, but after months of fiddling around with saddle position, cleats, etc, I was surprised to fix the back problem almost instantly by raising the saddle, which I just didn't expect.

I'm not suggesting this is the solution to your specific problem, but it might be worth thinking beyond the saddle in case the root cause is something else.

What set up did you have OP on the 9 hour courier rides?