Biker butt

ysienkiewicz

I got a new bike and bought one of those padded seats. (That skinny little hard seat that came with the bike was a joke!) OMG, 15 minutes in and I had to walk the bike for a few minutes. It was so painful! Is it the weight? (I am 5' 1" and weigh 174 lbs). You would think with all of the extra padding it wouldn't be so bad! Does this go away? I was so excited to get my bike and try to ride it again.

roxylola

Did you get a ladies seat or just a more padded one. Ladies seats are padded differently and I think make it much more comfortable

sprintto50

A couple of things to consider. Your butt will "toughen up" after a few rides. Also, padded biking shorts really help. If you are concerned about the spandex, you can get ones that are meant to be worn under other shorts. Every spring when I get my bike out, my butt hurts for a couple of rides, and then it gets better.

fishgutzy

Look at the Hobson seat. two separate pads. Width adjustable too. Very comfortable.
http://www.amazon.com/Hobson-amaderesdx-Easyseat-II-Saddle/dp/B001C6DROM/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1368629942&sr=1-2

chelseascounter

It goes away.

bcattoes

Yes, it will get better. But it may get worse before it does. The more you ride the quicker it gets better. Also, if you don't already have them, invest in some good padded biker shorts. Even with those and the padded seats you will still likely be sore at first, but like breaking in a new pair of shoes, it will get better.

Unlike the shoes, any time you don't ride for a while the same thing will happen when you start up again.

BrianSharpe

I got a new bike and bought one of those padded seats. (That skinny little hard seat that came with the bike was a joke!) OMG, 15 minutes in and I had to walk the bike for a few minutes. It was so painful! Is it the weight? (I am 5' 1" and weigh 174 lbs). You would think with all of the extra padding it wouldn't be so bad! Does this go away? I was so excited to get my bike and try to ride it again.

This may sound counter-intuitive but the skinny little hard seat with a pair of biking shorts is probably far more comfortable than the wider, heavily padded ones.

Sometimes getting the right saddle involves a little trial and error.

Sometimes it's not the seat, it's a poorly done bike fit. Did the bike shop do a fit for you?

KatrinaWilke

I have never had a problem with my rear end hurting on a short ride like that. And I don't have a larger padded saddle.

Have you had your saddle size measured? If the saddle is too small, that could cause discomfort. Also women's specific saddles primarily help the circulation and discomfort of the lady area, not necessarily the butt. So a women's saddle might help depending on where you were hurting.

Also make sure the overall fit of your bike is right!

sevsmom

The few times I get on a bike, my backside. . .in very unpleasant spots. . .hurts like crazy. So, I don't bike. I can stand the pain from doing squats and such, but not that. I much prefer to run. . .I can sit without pain when I'm done!! LOL

KatrinaWilke

This may sound counter-intuitive but the skinny little hard seat with a pair of biking shorts is probably far more comfortable than the wider, heavily padded ones.

Sometimes it's not the seat, it's a poorly done bike fit. Did the bike shop do a fit for you?

Agree on both! When I worked at the LBS I tried to talk people out of getting the large padded saddles!

And proper fit is VERY important on a bike!

3dogsrunning

I got a new bike and bought one of those padded seats. (That skinny little hard seat that came with the bike was a joke!) OMG, 15 minutes in and I had to walk the bike for a few minutes. It was so painful! Is it the weight? (I am 5' 1" and weigh 174 lbs). You would think with all of the extra padding it wouldn't be so bad! Does this go away? I was so excited to get my bike and try to ride it again.

This may sound counter-intuitive but the skinny little hard seat with a pair of biking shorts is probably far more comfortable than the wider, heavily padded ones.

Sometimes getting the right saddle involves a little trial and error.

Sometimes it's not the seat, it's a poorly done bike fit. Did the bike shop do a fit for you?

Yes - padded seat is actually not the way to go. You will get used to it too but I also suggest getting a good seat and cycling shirts with the chamois.

kkclif

Bump. I have the same problem.

Rianne90

It definitely gets better. Back when I started high school I had to bike 22 km (13.6 miles) a day all of a sudden (11 km to and 11 km from school). It hurt for the first week or so, but after that I don't think I felt it again until high school was over and I went to university (so no more riding my bike 22 km a day, 5 days a week).
Still I can go about 10 km without feeling a thing so I'm good

Edited to add: even after 10 km though it never really HURTS, but my distances might just be too short for it to actually start to hurt

jordantylergillespie

A big squishy bike seat actually makes riding a bicycle more uncomfortable.

I know it sounds counter-intuitive and this is a common misunderstanding among non-cyclists. It has to do with the fact that when pedaling a bike you need support at your "sit bones" and not anywhere else. This is because the padding/gel/whatever gets in the way of your motions and causes excess friction.

The extra padding and squishy-ness can actually cause nerve damage.

Here are a couple of posts from around the web on the subject:

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-675763.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100901125537AAX1CSM

A good article explaining various types of seats for various sitting positions:
http://www.bicyclewarehouse.com/buyers-guides/are-you-riding-the-right-bicycle-saddle-pg481.htm


What it really boils all down to is that it takes time for you body to adjust to sitting on any bike seat don't give up especially if you love to bike, you'll get use to it. I hope that cycling will bring years of fitness for you like it has for me.

dichrodiva

Yeah, it does lessen after you get back into it. Using any muscles you haven't used in a awhile will make them hurt. It helps if you do some warm up exercises first and stretch a bit. The bike shorts are definitely worth it.

No shame in getting off for a while either. Hang in there. Remember you don't have to ride for hours the first day.

quiltlovinlisa

This may sound counter-intuitive but the skinny little hard seat with a pair of biking shorts is probably far more comfortable than the wider, heavily padded ones.

Sometimes it's not the seat, it's a poorly done bike fit. Did the bike shop do a fit for you?

Agree on both! When I worked at the LBS I tried to talk people out of getting the large padded saddles!

And proper fit is VERY important on a bike!

Very happy to read this. I love my skinny little bike seat.

Weight wouldn't be an issue, I started at 240 (and I'm 5'3'').

amwoidyla

I had a really hard time with my new road bike at first because it wasn't properly fitted to me. I adjusted the angle of the handlebars, brakes, and even cut an inch off of the seat pole (technical term right there!) to lower the seat. Now I can ride for 20+ miles without trouble.
I also wear the padded/chamois bike shorts. Best ever.

mkathib

It will get better, with time. I'm 5'0" and 172lbs, it will get better! I started riding on a walmart bike with a bigger seat, when we finally bought good bikes last month with skinny seats....oh what a differnce! The skinny seat hurt first few times, but now no problem! But I am also not sitting on it constantly just riding the road, we have been riding trails so lifting yourself up off the seat over bumps and such is the key! I've looked for padded shorts, if anyone can recommend a pair at a fair price I'd appreciate!