# Pain in the butt! Please help with saddle.



## TonyB. (Jul 27, 2009)

I'm experiencing some pain for a few days after my ride and need some advice on picking a saddle. I'm going to try and describe the "area" without being to vulgar, lol. The pain feels like bruising. It's not my sit bones, but farther forward and "inward". If I was a woman I believe it would be called the perineum. The guys on jackass would call it a "gooch", some call it a "taint". Whatever you call it, it hurts. Should I look for a wider or narrower saddle? Would moving the saddle forward help at all? I know a lot of people are going to say to try different things, but I don't have the money to throw at buying a dozen different saddles, and trying seat positions will take weeks of pain and it hurts bad enough that I can't ride for a few days in between. I rode two days ago and sat on my bike today and there is no way I could ride if I wanted to.

Thanks!


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## Yogii (Jun 5, 2008)

Til your butt gets used to riding, it will happen. Usually only takes about 3-4 rides till your butt is used to it. A good pair of shorts and a good saddle help. When i take a month off riding, it takes a few rides till my butt is back in shape. Don't worry about it and ride through it!


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## Nakedbabytoes (Jul 24, 2012)

yeah, just mess around with moving it forward on the rails, back, tilt the nose up or down slightly, raise your saddle height(seatpost), etc. Part of biking is to tuffen the f up(so to speak) but it really shouldn't hurt that badly after a few rides. It sounds like you need a wider seat as your current one isn't supporting your sit bones fully, so instead it is supporting your 'tweeners" and that ain't fun!


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## TonyB. (Jul 27, 2009)

I used to ride a lot and when I first started I never experienced pain like this. I have taken about a year off and this pain is after my first two hour ride. I will experiment with the seat position and see if I can identify where my sit bones are falling on the seat.


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## empre (Aug 28, 2012)

When you star riding after long break your ass or the area between the cheeks will hurt for few days or even two weeks. When I started driving every day after 10 year break it took maybe 10 days to go away and haven't hurted at all since that. It just takes time for your ass gets used to the saddle. Wait 2 weeks and if your ass still hurts then change to something a bit wider and more padded.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

TonyB. said:


> I'm experiencing some pain for a few days after my ride and need some advice on picking a saddle. I'm going to try and describe the "area" without being to vulgar, lol. The pain feels like bruising. It's not my sit bones, but farther forward and "inward". If I was a woman I believe it would be called the perineum. The guys on jackass would call it a "gooch", some call it a "taint". Whatever you call it, it hurts. Should I look for a wider or narrower saddle? Would moving the saddle forward help at all? I know a lot of people are going to say to try different things, but I don't have the money to throw at buying a dozen different saddles, and trying seat positions will take weeks of pain and it hurts bad enough that I can't ride for a few days in between. I rode two days ago and sat on my bike today and there is no way I could ride if I wanted to.
> 
> Thanks!


get a saddle with a cut out for the taint.


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## empre (Aug 28, 2012)

You are talking about right thing: Perineum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That's where I had the pain too. For a cold (winter, 0C->) weather it's good to have a saddle where there is cut out on that part so your balls don't go numb. It's not fun feeling when you realize that you have no feeling in the balls or in your penis. This can happen in warmer weather too depending what saddle you use and what driving position you have, but in winter it's a lot worse.


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## Eckstream1 (Jul 27, 2011)

Find a local shop that will measure your sit bones...
They can properly fit you for a saddle!


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## zebrahum (Jun 29, 2005)

Every spring I have the same pain. I can hardly walk after the first two rides of the season, after that the sensitivity goes down and I can ride normally again. You can try all the saddles you want but in the end (wink), you're going to have to toughen up that tissue no matter what.


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## wmac (Sep 29, 2010)

Get a plush set of lycra shorts or bibs. I don't want to be alarmist, but you should be aware of this: Biking And Prostate Problems | LIVESTRONG.COM


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## 1of4Horsemen (Apr 26, 2009)

zebrahum said:


> Every spring I have the same pain. I can hardly walk after the first two rides of the season, after that the sensitivity goes down and I can ride normally again. You can try all the saddles you want but in the end (wink), you're going to have to toughen up that tissue no matter what.


I agree with zebrahum.

Same happens to me. OP you just have to (for lack of a better term) muscle though it.


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## MTBtrails333 (Aug 30, 2012)

As someone else noted, get a good pair of shorts (baggy or lycra) that has a chamois in it (butt pad). Beyond that it's just spending time in the saddle untill you toughen up the tissue.


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## TonyB. (Jul 27, 2009)

I wear a pair of Fox shorts with a chamois liner. Like I said before, it's just weird that when I was a total noob I never had this kind of discomfort. I must be more of a sissy now! I'll keep at it.


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## armoredsaint (Aug 8, 2012)

i had a minor problem until i got use to it after my 3rd ride


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## joeinchi (Jun 19, 2010)

The remedies you're considering--going wider or moving the saddle forward--sound like good next steps. Below is a pic of my Specialized Avatar with sit bone impressions. It's a 143mm wide saddle which is wider than the typical 130-132mm.

I used to have a narrower saddle which caused numbness in my crotchular area after about 20 minutes of steady pedaling. With the Avatar, my sit bones actually rest on the saddle and alleviate pressure on my taint (cutout helps, too). I have it set perfectly level, which is something you should check on yours, as well.


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## ozzybmx (Jun 30, 2008)

If you get your sitbones measured NOW it can be the basis for every saddle you ever buy in the future. Dont take for granted that if you have a skinny ass your sitbones are closer, i did just that and wasted a lot of money on saddles that didnt fit.
The hole to lay your schlong in is a different issue again, i ride a Selle Italia SLR Superflow but they are on the $$$ side. WTB makes some very comfy and well priced seats, they have a cut out called "the love channel" to take the pressure off your cock.... that in turn will keep the missus happy too :thumbsup:


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## chas326 (Sep 6, 2012)

It's your saddle most likely. 

Go to your local bike shop and try to sit on the saddle on top of the chair to test it. Try different positions/angles. You know what I mean? You will know right away if it's for you or not. 

Mine is a WTB Speed V PureGel. No more pain in the ass.


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## LarryWallwart (Sep 5, 2012)

this is defianately an upgrade I should have done before I left the store. my butt hurts. ;-)


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## SpyderPride (Jul 22, 2008)

It sounds like you are sitting too far forward. Your sit bones need to be squarely centered on the widest part of the saddle. You may need to slide it forward in order for this to be comfortable.

Supporting weight with your perineum is what causes damage to the reproductive organs.

Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2


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## Sil3nt611 (May 9, 2012)

I had the same problem starting out with my stock saddle. I bought an Avenir 100 Series Mountain saddle, and ever since I haven't had any butt pain. I really never changed my riding style much before and after seats.


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## woodsgroovin (Oct 31, 2011)

I was looking at "cobbcycling.com" and John Cobb's vids on youtube and he says that if your saddle is too high you will feel like you're sitting on a fence rail. Something like if your saddle is too high you will be sitting more on your perineum than your sit bones. Just another bit of info. Good Luck !


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## datmony (Jul 12, 2012)

Buy a brooks, tough it out for four rides and you will be in glorious heaven from then on out.....


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## 4Crawler (Oct 30, 2011)

I ran into some pain with the new saddle on my cross bike. I had the same brand saddle on my road bike so I know that it works. I ended up moving it forward twice, now at the full forward marks on the rails and I also tipped the nose up about 1* from horizontal and now it feels fine. I also found that I had the nose slightly off center and that was causing a slight rubbing on my left thigh, so I straightened it out and it finally feels fine.  It took me about 750 miles and 2-3 months riding to sort it all out. 

So have a shot at moving things around and trying various positions.


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## TonyB. (Jul 27, 2009)

Before my hiatus I was measured at my LBS. While I'm a skinny mf'er, I've got wide sit bones. I ordered a 145mm WTB saddle yesterday which is what I had on my last bike. Don't know why I didn't remember that before I posted this thread. 'Doh!


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## joeinchi (Jun 19, 2010)

TonyB. said:


> Before my hiatus I was measured at my LBS. While I'm a skinny mf'er, I've got wide sit bones. I ordered a 145mm WTB saddle yesterday which is what I had on my last bike. Don't know why I didn't remember that before I posted this thread. 'Doh!


:lol: :lol: :lol: Mystery solved!

Props for coming clean. :thumbsup:


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## weedsnager (Aug 15, 2012)

I love Specialized saddles... I have the Avatar on one and the toupe on the
Road bike


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## Wishful Tomcat (Mar 6, 2009)

joeinchi said:


> I have it set perfectly level, which is something you should check on yours, as well.


It is not a violation of any hard and fast rule that the saddle should be perfectly level. A few degrees of +/- saddle tilt can make the difference between riding pleasure or discomfort. 
As said above, don't be afraid to experiment with the various saddle positions. If it's possible, try out some different saddle brands and models, if you do group rides ask your buddies if they have any you can try.


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## joeinchi (Jun 19, 2010)

Trail6 said:


> It is not a violation of any hard and fast rule that the saddle should be perfectly level. A few degrees of +/- saddle tilt can make the difference between riding pleasure or discomfort.


Agreed.

I only mentioned that mine was perfectly level to share what works for me. More importantly, I wanted to encourage the OP (and anyone else) to check the tilt on his saddle. A little _too much _tilt, + or -, might well be the source of discomfort.


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## Wishful Tomcat (Mar 6, 2009)

joeinchi said:


> Agreed.
> 
> I only mentioned that mine was perfectly level to share what works for me. More importantly, I wanted to encourage the OP (and anyone else) to check the tilt on his saddle. A little _too much _tilt, + or -, might well be the source of discomfort.


10-4 :thumbsup:


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## TonyB. (Jul 27, 2009)

Got my Speed V saddle mounted up and went for a 12 mile ride yesterday. No sore tushy.


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## TJK (Sep 11, 2012)

My first few rides I had the problem too. As I ride more it's much better than before!


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