Switched saddles....OUCH!

Could you do me a favor and report back in a week or so as to whether
you've gotten used to it? I've been using a Selle Royal Wing Gel that
feels pretty comfy, but they don't make them anymore (naturally).
I've been trying to find something similar for my second road bike.

I tried the same kind of hard saddle you're talking about. It felt
hard, but not bad for the first ~40 minutes; after that, it was
uncomfortable. As I recall, it was never outright painful, just
uncomfortable.

If there's a chance I could actually adapt, I'll give it another try.

Thanks!

- JR

On Aug 8, 9:08 am, catzz66 wrote:
Everyone's body is different, but it took me a couple weeks to get over
the soreness from using a hard seat for the first time. Now I don't
feel it at all.

Do you recall what changed over those couple of weeks? How does one's
posterior get over that kind of pressure-induced soreness?


- JR

SlowRider wrote:


Do you recall what changed over those couple of weeks? How does one's
posterior get over that kind of pressure-induced soreness?



For me, it was tender right at the sit bones at first. I ride nearly
every day and remember it gradually not hurting as much as the days went
on until it didn't hurt at all. The saddle is nothing fancy, just the
OEM one that comes with the mid priced Specialized road bikes. This was
a good two years ago for me. Longest ride has been about 42 miles and
typical summer mileage is about 80 miles a week since then. Maybe you
will get some more elaborate responses than mine, but good luck to you.

On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 09:32:16 -0500, Hell and High Water wrote:

I ended up with some lower back pain which I believe was due to my
posture changing around so much

Probably not, unless you were holding your back muscles in tension
trying to keep still.

I think the fit is correct, and the saddle is good quality, but is the
firmness something I'll get used to?

Probably. I changed from something relatively heavy and soft to a Selle
Italia SLR about 3 months ago, and it felt uncomfortably hard and
oddly-shaped for a couple of weeks. It's fine now - perhaps a bit of
breaking in occurs - and I no longer get saddle sores when I ride a lot.
They were probably due to too much chafing on the softer saddle.

The last couple organized rides I've done it seems like almost everyone
has a thin saddle like this.

It may not be the best thin saddle for you, though. Try to borrow a
couple of others and try them. The SLR is very popular here, FWIW.

"Michael Warner" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 09:32:16 -0500, Hell and High Water wrote:


I think the fit is correct, and the saddle is good quality, but is the
firmness something I'll get used to?

I just bought a Bontrager gel type saddle to replace the OEM one that came
on my 7.5FX I bought a month ago.
I just couldn't get used to that thin saddle. Felt every little pebble in
the road.
Love the new saddle, and it's very near the same size just a bit taller with
padding/gel and of course, heavier.

TW

On Thu, 9 Aug 2007 08:43:40 +0930, Michael Warner
wrote:

[---]

Probably. I changed from something relatively heavy and soft to a Selle
Italia SLR about 3 months ago,

I did the same - SLR on one bike, Fizik Arione on another, both
replacing Brooks saddles.

and it felt uncomfortably hard and
oddly-shaped for a couple of weeks. It's fine now - perhaps a bit of
breaking in occurs - and I no longer get saddle sores when I ride a lot.

Likewise, which was what I was hoping they would cure.

They were probably due to too much chafing on the softer saddle.

No doubt about that whatsoever in my case.

On Aug 9, 3:41 am, Hell and High Water
wrote:
In article ,
says...

In article , catzz66
@threeletterservice.com says...
Everyone's body is different, but it took me a couple weeks to get over
the soreness from using a hard seat for the first time. Now I don't
feel it at all.

Hell and High Water wrote:
THANK YOU!

That's what I was expecting, and I'm glad to hear you confirm...

I'll add that if you stick it out and this is a seat that works for you,
you'll be glad you made the switch. Occasionally I go back to a soft
saddle b/c a friend wants to try mine or a day or something. I just
can't ride soft saddle anymore.

I already am...

As I mentioned, I was having some lower back pain.

SO FAR....

seems to be better.

I just feel more stable on the new saddle. Very solid, and not
wobbling all over...

Thanks,

-Bob

Squishy saddles oddly are not comfortable to sit on, and providing you
get the right shape, a firm saddle should feel better for your butt,
once used to it. However, it seems a bit improbable that a squishy
saddle is the cause of lower back pain. More likely this is due to
bike fit (search for "lower back pain" in this list to find
explanations) and slack core muscles (deep abdominals). A little time
and money and some good advice on both of these points might do
wonders for your cycling pleasure and general well-being.

Donga

On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 09:32:16 -0500 in rec.bicycles.misc, Hell and
High Water wrote:

I think the fit is correct, and the saddle is good quality, but is the
firmness something I'll get used to?

yep. once yer sitbones get used to it, you'll do much better.
just work up to those long rides by taking short rides on it
every day.

i like the terry saddles with the no-numbness groove.

On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 12:41:56 -0500 in rec.bicycles.misc, Hell and
High Water wrote:

As I mentioned, I was having some lower back pain.

SO FAR....


seems to be better.


you need to make sure it's at the right height. if you were
having lower back pain your old saddle was probably too low.

i had to raise my saddle and add an adjustable stem to raise the
handlebars before i finally got my fit good enough that my lower
back stopped hurting.

On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 19:56:14 -0500, Mayor of Hooterville wrote:

I just bought a Bontrager gel type saddle to replace the OEM one that came
on my 7.5FX I bought a month ago.
I just couldn't get used to that thin saddle. Felt every little pebble in
the road.

That's mostly due to your tyre pressure. Let some air out.