Bicycle saddle causing pain?
I bought a man's mountain bike, which obviously comes with a man's saddle. Needless to say, being a woman, and having a wider pelvis; it's caused me some pain over the past couple of days. I need to buy a more appropriate saddle for my pelvis, but I don't really know what I need.
Should I just be looking for a wider saddle, or one of those gel-filled ones? I'm only 23, so I have a "young bum" as they say, so don't need one of the older lady saddles. I just need to know what I should ask for in the shop!
You can make several adjustments to make sure your saddle is adjusted properly.
Set the height of the saddle so that there's a slight bend in the knee of the leg that's at the bottom of the pedal stroke. If the saddle's too high, your pelvis will rock from side to side; too low, and you won't get the best use of your leg power. Knees can take a beating from an improper saddle height as well.
The saddle should be level. Viewed from the side, the saddle shouldn't appear to be nose up or nose down. If the nose is tipped up, you'll feel a crunch in the wrong spot of your anatomy! Tipped down, and you'll be forever sliding toward the handlebars and bearing a lot of unnecessary weight on your arms.
Fore to aft saddle position should be set so that when a plumb line is dropped from the front of the knee of the fowardmost leg (with the crankarms in a horizontal position), it intersects the pedal spindle. This will give you the most biomechanical bang for your buck.
Your position on the bike is as important as the position of the saddle. If the bike doesn't fit properly, you may never find a truly comfortable saddle. The most common complaint we hear is that the nose of the saddle still places an undue amount of pressure on the rider, even if the saddle is adjusted properly as discussed above. If the rider's reach to the handlebars is too far, the pelvis can tip forward enough to put pressure on sensitive bits. By shortening/raising the handlebar to bring the rider into a more upright position, the pelvis will rotate back enough to move the rider's weight onto other areas.
If you've done all of the above, it still doesn't mean the saddle will be comfortable. (What?!?!) No kidding -- that old expression, "One man's junk is another man's treasure" applies to saddles, too. It might take some experimenting to find the perfect saddle. Rules are meant to be broken, so don't feel bound to any of the starting points above or to a saddle that everyone else thinks is great. It's your comfort, after all!
How to Buy a Bicycle & Accessories : How to Determine the Correct Saddle Height for Your Bike
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