New rider confession: my butt hurts

[Dmac]

@Dmac, Bike stores sell Fiber Grip lube compound. It is mainly used in the assembly of carbon bikes. It works great to prevent slippage without over tightening. I use it regularly.
View attachment 124665

Ah yes that might work!

 

[AHicks]

rubber mallet?

bolt....

 

[6zfshdb]

Yes the problem is to get it tight enough you have to be the Incredible Hulk to push it in.

I solve the slipping problem with my QR clamp by tightening the bolt a couple of turns AFTER I push the lever in.

 

[kevinmccune]

I don't know which is worse, an aching butt or numb hands/wrists. Agree with Stefan regarding weight distribution. All of your weight on your butt is kind of a full upright position, and you can transfer some of that weight to your hands/wrists/arms by lowering the bars, or moving them forward. That may help the butt pain some. Issue is you may not like that position any better. Won't know until you try!

I'm 6'2/315 and 71 years old. After years of screwing around, my bikes are set for a fairly upright riding position, and I've resigned myself to riding about 20 miles max. At that point I'd rather be doing something else. Not everyone "gets used to it" either. I ride daily, have for years, and my butt STILL hurts when I've been riding too long!

Due to the 'paucity" of nerves and discs in my lower back I can ignore the pain ( except when the cyst reopens and bleeds) I find a good seat( big) and an upright position works for me, the cruiser style handlebars allow my wrists and fingers to turn white after a while and numb.( just gotta shake em out) the funny thing is I found out I was carrying a lot of weight on the stem anyway when I couldn't keep the handlebars tight, the one bike I gave to My Lady preacher I used that carbon fiber friction material on, long sweep on those handlebars, and I got new complaints(it really turned out nice) Oh yes a rear suspension helps as well.

 

[kevinmccune]

Ischial callosities! That is the solution that will solve itself. Put the term in your browser, read the definition, then click images.

View attachment 121461

No disrespect sort of resembles "I R Baboon' from the "Cartoon network.

 

[kevinmccune]

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?

I usually wait till the bike throws me on this crap trail I ride( cept' when nature calls, used to rock pick that crazy road, till the epiphany of there are dozens of dirt bikes vs 1 ebike) I really need to get out more.

 

[kevinmccune]

Dave, I used the Cambium C17 on my Fatboy for about 2 years of steady riding. Natural rubber, kind of pliable. But it won't form to your rear end "footprint" as their leather saddles do after a long time breaking it in. What I especially did not like with mine was those rear steel rivets had a way of pressuring my rear as I shift body weight around in the saddle often on the long rides I often did on that bike. And mind ya, that was with padded Endura shorts.

After getting the Haibike, I stuck with the stock Selle Royal saddle, which was not too bad. Then moved onto an Ergon SMC-4M saddle which was really comfortable for me. And after over a year of the Ergon, I finally settled on the Ergon SC Core Prime with a special BASF foam that really absorbs alot of vibrations and road shocks.

Finding the right saddle that works for you can be an expensive journey.

View attachment 123702
Brooks Cambium 17 with the Cane Creek Thudbuster Long Travel. Only thing about this set up is that if the bump are bad enough and your setting is plush, you feel like you are riding a pogo stick. Plus, with that long travel, if you have gear on your rear rack, the seat post/saddle can make contact.

Nice bike except for the"ball crusher'.

 

[kevinmccune]

@Dmac, Bike stores sell Fiber Grip lube compound. It is mainly used in the assembly of carbon bikes. It works great to prevent slippage without over tightening. I use it regularly.
View attachment 124665

Good stuff that I use, just don't use it in place of "Loctite".

 

[Djangodog]

Good stuff that I use, just don't use it in place of "Loctite".

If everything is sized properly 5 Nm of torque should be adequate. Over-tightening the seatpost collar can cause damage to the frame and seatpost. It can also cause the binder bolt itself to fail. If the seatpost isn’t staying put after applying 5 Nm of torque to the seatpost’s binder bolt, there is something that is incorrect. The “Assembly Lube”, that @PedalUma suggested is a good option, but first, be sure that seatpost and collar are sized properly to the frame.

 

[AHicks]

If everything is sized properly 5 Nm of torque should be adequate. Over-tightening the seatpost collar can cause damage to the frame and seatpost. It can also cause the binder bolt itself to fail. If the seatpost isn’t staying put after applying 5 Nm of torque to the seatpost’s binder bolt, there is something that is incorrect. The “Assembly Lube”, that @PedalUma suggested is a good option, but first, be sure that seatpost and collar are sized properly to the frame.

Speaking from experienced gained with several bikes, I'm here to tell you the advice in bold is going to totally depend on the rider's weight. Heavier riders (like me) can often find that getting the seat post to hold it's position can be pretty challenging. Something like this, even if you are not working with carbon fiber, if properly sized, can often be a solution. Just pay attention to the sizes. They are NOT universal....

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZRFTC7D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

 

[6zfshdb]

At 230#, I could never get my post to hold using 5 Nm of toque on the clamp. The grit paste helped a bit but I wound up buying high quality clamps and tightened them well beyond 5 Nm. Still not perfect but the best I could do until I saw this in another thread:

I added a second seat post clamp. I ground off the lip and slid it farther down the seat tube. The double clamp scheme allows me to tighten both to 5 Nm and it holds perfectly:

I haven't tried it with QR clamps but the principle is the same so it should work.

I can't find the thread where I saw the idea so I can't credit the original poster.

 

[Djangodog]

At 230#, I could never get my post to hold using 5 Nm of toque on the clamp. The grit paste helped a bit but I wound up buying high quality clamps and tightened them well beyond 5 Nm. Still not perfect but the best I could do until I saw this in another thread:

I added a second seat post clamp. I ground off the lip and slid it farther down the seat tube. The double clamp scheme allows me to tighten both to 5 Nm and it holds perfectly:

View attachment 143538 View attachment 143539

I haven't tried it with QR clamps but the principle is the same so it should work.

I can't find the thread where I saw the idea so I can't credit the original poster.

As a “general” rule, the slot in the collar, (clamp), is aligned with the slot in the frames seat tube. There are exceptions, but they generally, (not always), apply to carbon seatposts. If you have an alloy seatpost, the collar would be more effective with the slots aligned, (unless the manufacturer instructs you to have them as shown above).

 

[fooferdoggie]

There is a easier way to do it. you need to find a clamp that fits the seat post its self. you put that around the seatpost where you want it to stop and use the regular seatpost clamp. problem solved.

 

[6zfshdb]

As a “general” rule, the slot in the collar, (clamp), is aligned with the slot in the frames seat tube. There are exceptions, but they generally, (not always), apply to carbon seatposts. If you have an alloy seatpost, the collar would be more effective with the slots aligned, (unless the manufacturer instructs you to have them as shown above).

You can't see it well in the pictures but the slot in the post IS aligned with the clamp. That seatpost has 2 slots. That alignment "rule" also applies to the slot in a shim (if used).

 

[6zfshdb]

There is a easier way to do it. you need to find a clamp that fits the seat post its self. you put that around the seatpost where you want it to stop and use the regular seatpost clamp. problem solved.

This works but while it keeps the post from dropping, it can still swivel which is almost as annoying for me anyway.

 

[fooferdoggie]

This works but while it keeps the post from dropping, it can still swivel which is almost as annoying for me anyway.

it sounds like a poor fit. I used to weigh more and never had the seat post move. How tight does the seat post fit without the clamps? if its a little loose I would try making a shim from a pop can. I had to do that to one bike.

 

[PedalUma]

it sounds like a poor fit. I used to weigh more and never had the seat post move. How tight does the seat post fit without the clamps? if its a little loose I would try making a shim from a pop can. I had to do that to one bike.

It needs to be a beer can according to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I will need to reread it. It is interesting how it is a bit like Fight Club. The main character has duel personalities with different names.

 

[Djangodog]

It needs to be a beer can according to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I will need to reread it. It is interesting how it is a bit like Fight Club. The main character has duel personalities with different names.

If I remember correctly, the shim was used to prevent movement of his friend’s BMW handlebars. It’s been a long time since I read it so I could be way off. You almost have to study that book in order to keep it all straight. It was amazing how he pulled the whole thing together in the last few pages.

 

[PedalUma]

That is right. The friend with the BMW found maintenance beneath him and didn't want to understand. He also would rather have a loose HB than have a shim from of all things a beer can on his German machine.

 

[6zfshdb]

it sounds like a poor fit. I used to weigh more and never had the seat post move. How tight does the seat post fit without the clamps? if its a little loose I would try making a shim from a pop can. I had to do that to one bike.

The bike has a 28.6 mm seat tube and the OEM post is rock solid. The problem is, I use Redshift, Thudbuster and Kinekt suspension posts which are all 27.2 mm. They aren't available in 28.6 mm so I have to use a 27.2 to 28.6 shim. I've tried several but get the best result with this one from Cane Creek:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0011W2R6Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

It's a snug fit and there is no room to use the beer can trick. Part of the problem is the thickness of the aluminum seat tube. it's almost twice as thick as any of my other aluminum frame bikes and requires quite a bit of clamp force.

The dual clamp idea works fine though so problem solved.