Simple trick that helps in preventing butt pain on long rides.

[Trail Cruiser]

I learned something new today. I just found out that periodically standing on the pedal greatly enhances riding comfort and prevent butt sore caused by prolonged pressure on the seat.

I consciously made an effort today to stand on the pedal (6 o"clock position) and shift my weight to the extended leg periodically, whenever I pause my cadence. I stop pedaling when coasting, slowing down, going over bumps, going through curves (inside leg up), or whenever I feel like wanting to relieve seat pressure to my butt.

Not only that, while standing on the pedal, my other thigh can actually ride on the saddle, shifting the pressure from the butt to the thigh. This greatly helped me, in addition to other measures like padded pants, seat post suspension, spring mounted saddle, etc...

The side benefit was, I did not have chain drop on the bumps since I stopped my cadence on the rough surfaces.

 

[6zfshdb]

I discovered this same effect quite by accident a few years back. It really does work! It is particularly useful on e-bikes with a throttle since you can maintain speed without pedaling.

 

[ebikemom]

Absolutely!!! Helps me, too, and makes me glad I didn’t choose the crank-forward Electra.

Great point on chain drop, too!

 

[Nova Haibike]

When I stand on the pedals I like to stretch my calves by dropping my heels.

 

[Alaskan]

It helps even more to do 3 or 4 Keugels (lower body clenches) while standing on the pedals. For those without throttle doing this on a gentle downhill grade works well.

 

[Al P]

It definitely works. I have been doing it for a long time. Even a few seconds helps a lot.

 

[rich c]

I learned that as a kid, 60 years ago. We lived on a farm with gravel roads. Get to the area near the stop sign and it was horrible washboard riding. Standing on the pedals was the only way to ride.

 

[FSRBart]

Same here, also found that a slight adjustment in my peddle stroke helps too. Rather than just use my legs to push the peddles, I'll rise slightly off the seat and use body-weight to push the peddles down. This gives momentary relief, but the sum of this reduces "butt pain"...

 

[Trail Cruiser]

Back in the old days when I rode solid forks, hardtail, and solid seat posts, I instinctively lift my butt on the rough patches. Now, with the body float, spring mounted saddle, suspension forks and padded pants, I had too much trust on these measures until I tried to periodically lift my butt. That's when the old memories of riding a bicycle came back. Not only does it further decrease butt pain, it also improves the overall comfort of riding the bike.

 

[ebikemom]

In city riding, long traffic signals are also an opportunity to get off the seat for a little bit and that helps too!