New rider confession: my butt hurts

[Gordon71]

but with padding you sweat more you need somethign that can dry or it will get nasty fast.

Far as I can tell there is no gel or silicone in the ones I'm thinking about. In the two years I've been riding I have not sweated yet so we'll see. Generally there is maybe one month or less where I don't need to wear a jacket when riding. Guessing I'll be OK.

 

[Dmac]

Far as I can tell there is no gel or silicone in the ones I'm thinking about. In the two years I've been riding I have not sweated yet so we'll see. Generally there is maybe one month or less where I don't need to wear a jacket when riding. Guessing I'll be OK.

Now you're just bragging. I only don't sweat in winter when it's 4C outside. If it's above 18C then I'm sweating. I guess I'm sweating for the both of us!

 

[FrankR]

You folks are great. And funny.

I'm gonna take a pass on buying underwear from Aliexpress.

 

[fooferdoggie]

You folks are great. And funny.

I'm gonna take a pass on buying underwear from Aliexpress.

a wise move.

 

[Dmac]

You folks are great. And funny.

I'm gonna take a pass on buying underwear from Aliexpress.

Now we know how you’ve stayed alive all these years!

 

[m@Robertson]

No reason to buy these from Ali. Amazon has them. I buy them and wear them under my shorts as the world is not quite ready for my awesomeness in bare spandex. As a daily rider, that means I need many pairs unless I want to do laundry every day (I don't).

I buy the el cheapo Chinese shorts in like 4XL - because they don't make Chinese guys as big as they do over here. My waist is a 38 to 40 depending on whether I meet my cheeseburger quota in a given week. You can also wear gel padding. Its quite a bit superior (sweating is a non issue, and I know cuz I ride in 100-degree weather half the year). If you are sweating down there, you are sweating everywhere else and its not going to matter... you're gonna stink everywhere too so fuggedaboudit and buy the better padding if you are only getting a couple pairs for occasional riding.

I have 4 pairs of these at $25 a pop in 4XL. they are not gel but they fit well and do the job. A bit pricey for a pair of underwear you have to buy a bunch of though.

https://amzn.to/3kqh167

I have a few pairs of these and for $12.99 they are well worth it. Supposedly gel padding but that is certainly not any kind of hi quality gel. These fit me in a 2XL.

https://amzn.to/3krf6Oz

AND IN CASE ANYONE IS UNCLEAR those ads are showing the shorts inside out. So don't be an idiot and wear them with the pad showing. Just sayin'.

Now for a Western fit, these are my all-time favorite. They are gel and its a quality gel pad. these are not meant to be underwear but that just means they are more sturdily constructed. I am literally wearing a pair right now under my Duluth Trading Firehose shorts after a 20-mile ride out to my shop and back.

https://amzn.to/3vYqney

Do not freak out about the price. I didn't pay that for the 8 or 9 pairs of these I have. I wait until someone blows them out for like $20 on sale and then I load up on a half dozen pairs. I think I have 9 of these. For these, a 2XL fits me just barely snug so they are very comfortable for a full day's ride.

When buying shorts, the more 'panels' the better. 6 panel shorts are cheapies. 9- and 10-panel shorts are what you want. This has to do with more panels mean less rubbing on the skin - especially repetititve rubs in places that really don't like a seam with synthetic fiber sawing away at ... it.

 

[fooferdoggie]

my butt hurts too after 44 miles on the tandem today and 30 yesterday and a total of 186 miles this week so far. got to get back into it for summer with I do 220 a week.

 

[FrankR]

I wish I could say "after 44 miles."

My butt hurts after - 1 mile.

I can feel a tiny improvement as I keep getting back on. But, it Would increase enjoyment and keep me out there longer if the butt discomfort wasn't so significant.
I remember going through this even on a motorcycle, and I spent the big bucks swapping out the stock one for one that definitely solved the butt problem.

My wife keeps catching me looking at accessories on Amazon, and she shut me down on the full seat replacement. She is always great about this stuff, but for us, the price of the bike was "expensive", even though junk to many here. Then I have already purchased several other items to do this right - including tools, a nice electric air pump, lube, tubes, etc.

Anyone ever try this or something like this? It's a cover.

Bikeroo

We know the path to a comfortable ride starts and ends at the seat. Bikeroo’s goal is to help people rediscover their love of cycling – without the pain.

bikeroo.com

 

[TAZMANIMAN]

Forgot to mention relief time. We used to rehydrate while riding. Now we stop, to take a drink. Off the saddle for a minute or so every 15 minutes makes a big difference. We are recreational riders, not commuters, so break time doesn't matter to us.

Same, we do about 7 miles and then break for walk around and snack or drink. That pace you can stretch your day out and still move at the end! 4-5 breaks on a 35-40 mile ride.

 

[mschwett]

I wish I could say "after 44 miles."

My butt hurts after - 1 mile.

I can feel a tiny improvement as I keep getting back on. But, it Would increase enjoyment and keep me out there longer if the butt discomfort wasn't so significant.
I remember going through this even on a motorcycle, and I spent the big bucks swapping out the stock one for one that definitely solved the butt problem.

My wife keeps catching me looking at accessories on Amazon, and she shut me down on the full seat replacement. She is always great about this stuff, but for us, the price of the bike was "expensive", even though junk to many here. Then I have already purchased several other items to do this right - including tools, a nice electric air pump, lube, tubes, etc.

Anyone ever try this or something like this? It's a cover.

Bikeroo

We know the path to a comfortable ride starts and ends at the seat. Bikeroo’s goal is to help people rediscover their love of cycling – without the pain.

bikeroo.com

just stick it out ! your butt needs to get acclimated to the work and the pressure. take lots of breaks, get off the bike every little bit, stretch, jump around. just about any kind of "padding" of reasonable thickness will basically compress if you're sitting on it for hours. try and keep as much of your weight on your FEET as possible - neither your butt nor your hands were really designed to hold your weight on a bouncy bike for hours at a time. think of it as a balance problem - if you didn't have the seat or the handlebars, would your weight be pushing down on the pedals, making you go, or would you be falling over? try and drift towards that "balance" mode, gradually strengthening your core muscles. that plus the toughening up of your backside will let you ride longer and longer.

how much adjustment is possible with your seat and handlebars?

 

[FrankR]

My seat and handlebars are set as good as they can be.

 

[Frinslazince]

what an experience

 

[DaveMatthews]

I wish I could say "after 44 miles."

My butt hurts after - 1 mile.

I can feel a tiny improvement as I keep getting back on. But, it Would increase enjoyment and keep me out there longer if the butt discomfort wasn't so significant.
I remember going through this even on a motorcycle, and I spent the big bucks swapping out the stock one for one that definitely solved the butt problem.

My wife keeps catching me looking at accessories on Amazon, and she shut me down on the full seat replacement. She is always great about this stuff, but for us, the price of the bike was "expensive", even though junk to many here. Then I have already purchased several other items to do this right - including tools, a nice electric air pump, lube, tubes, etc.

Anyone ever try this or something like this? It's a cover.

Bikeroo

We know the path to a comfortable ride starts and ends at the seat. Bikeroo’s goal is to help people rediscover their love of cycling – without the pain.

bikeroo.com

I've had a gel seat cover for years. It's on a much slimmer saddle though.
Yesterday I bought a cushier Giant saddle, and I put the gel on that too. Did a 8km ride after and thought it was a nice upgrade, but I'll test it out properly this afternoon.

 

[steve mercier]

I wish I could say "after 44 miles."

My butt hurts after - 1 mile.

I can feel a tiny improvement as I keep getting back on. But, it Would increase enjoyment and keep me out there longer if the butt discomfort wasn't so significant.
I remember going through this even on a motorcycle, and I spent the big bucks swapping out the stock one for one that definitely solved the butt problem.

My wife keeps catching me looking at accessories on Amazon, and she shut me down on the full seat replacement. She is always great about this stuff, but for us, the price of the bike was "expensive", even though junk to many here. Then I have already purchased several other items to do this right - including tools, a nice electric air pump, lube, tubes, etc.

Anyone ever try this or something like this? It's a cover.

Bikeroo

We know the path to a comfortable ride starts and ends at the seat. Bikeroo’s goal is to help people rediscover their love of cycling – without the pain.

bikeroo.com

I had one of those back in the 80,s ...it helps a bit but it tends to move around which is annoying. Finding the right seat is trial and error Frank.

 

[Gordon71]

I had one of those back in the 80,s ...it helps a bit but it tends to move around which is annoying. Finding the right seat is trial and error Frank.

And probably NEVER the one that came with the bike.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Update...
36kms with the new Giant Contact Comfort + and it's a nice upgrade from the stock saddle which is NOT comfy at all.
Way less fatigue, and not butt hurt about the price.

 

[Roamers]

And probably NEVER the one that came with the bike.

We've had a very different experience with orignal bike seats. Just looked at current ebike seat (picture) and hybrid analogs (one Schwinn and one Raleigh) both with gel seats very comfortable.

 

[FrankR]

Well, as I continue to ride, I perceive some improvements in leg strength and aerobic ability, but - my butt still really hurts.

I think I can do some longer rides now. Well my legs and heart can. But, my butt keeps complainin.

 

[WIVado]

Might be a difficult problem to resolve, Frank, if you can’t try other seats.

I have Selle Anatomicas on all of my bikes, but I would never suggest to anyone that they’re the ‘holy grail’ of bike seats, because everyone is different. But they work well for ME.

A thickly padded seat isn’t allways necessarily more comfortable….

 

[steve mercier]

I venture to say that the saddle shape is more important than the padding. I have different saddles on my bikes and I find that I can ride just as long if not longer on the firmer saddle because it fits my sit bones perfectly on that particular bike. It is possible that it might not work as well on my other bikes which have different geometry and sizing. Frank just now looking at your wheels I think they are 20" ? Maybe you would benefit from a seatpost suspension? Also looking again at your pic...it looks like your arm reach is longer than your leg extension? That looks wrong to me. Do your legs reach full extension when you pedal? Maybe raise the seat and level it out a little bit and bring the bars back towards you slightly. Try different combinations of positions and you will get there in the end ....no pun intended.