New to bicycling -- sore sit bones

My daughter rides a lot (she's doing a tri this weekend).

Make sure you are using a seat made for women, shorts with padding, and other than that, you should get used ti it.

As my daughter says, if your cooch is falling asleep, you've got the wrong seat.

2 things - Have your bike fitted to you @ a bike shop. Also, get some biking shorts with chamois in them.

This! Sore sit bones have been the story of my life. I'm not exactly a beginner but peeps around here are hard core so I consider myself a newb. I'm finally getting a 3-D bike fit. It's not cheap but everyone tells me this is the way to go. If you have any medical conditions you may qualify for a medical bike fit which is covered by some insurance plans. When I first got my bike I had a run-of-the-mill bike fit but it wasn't enough for my issues. I do think I need a new seat at the very least. I do wear pretty good quality chamois shorts. I'm trying to work up to 40 miles/ride and am at 15-20 right now but have trouble riding every day because of the sore sit bones. Can't wait to see what happens at the bike fit and am looking for some relief because I love riding! Good luck to you and keep on riding !

Yep, sit bone soreness goes away in time. BUT if you're going numb anywhere, the seat and/or frame is a bad match. Hopefully they didn't weld in the handlebars if this is a result of leaning in too far all the time because raising them can help.

Pointing the seat down works for me with the numbness. One of my books mentioned if your sit bones are sore try sitting back on the wide part of the seat more. Your seat may not be set front to back correctly.

cycling shorts help so much. and they have the kind that look like regular shorts.

Had the same problem here. I got some really padded cycle shorts (although lycra and I are not friends) and a gel padded seat. Still needed to give my bum a rest every now and then though.

I wanted to post a new topic, but I couldn't find the "New Topic" button....so hopefully, someone will reply to my post!

I've been riding my stationary bike for about 2 weeks now. When I first began, I rode 10 miles a day, and it felt great, so I increased to 20 miles. Besides getting the usual sore ischial tuberosities (sit bones), everything has been feeling great. I probably should have increased my mileage more gradually, but I'm stubborn, and tend to just work through pain. Last night, I did 24.5 miles, because suddenly, I didn't have any pain in my sit bones at all, and I felt great afterwards. However, now, this morning, I'm noticing that my left ischial tuberosity has some swelling under the skin, about the size of an apricot, and it's painful. I'm a retired RN, and it feels to me like it's a bursitis-type inflammation. There is no redness, irritation, or break in the skin, so I'm sure it's not an abscess or anything like that. I've been icing it, and it seems to have gone down a bit, but it's still painful. Any of you bicyclers out there have any experiences with ischial tuberosity bursitis? I'm thinking I need to lay of cycling for at least a few days....I ordered some padded bike shorts, but other than icing and rest, what have you done? I'm not one to run to the doctor for every little thing, and use a lot of alternative methods of healing/medicine. I'm just looking for feedback from experienced bikers.

Hi eating4me---I bike all the time, but usually outside on my road bike or I take my road bike inside and hook it up to a trainer during the winter. I know that I used to get sore before I got a saddle that actually fit me. I'm not sure if a stationary bike has the option to change out the seat ("saddle") but if it does I would highly recommend that you go into a local specialty bike shop and get measured. Yes, they measure your butt (they call it measuring the "sit bones") but in my experience they're extremely professional about it. It made all the difference in the world for me! I no longer get sore, even on long (50 mile, and training for 100 mile) rides. The padded shorts should help as well....I don't own any, but most people that I know who bike long distances say they're essential so I'll probably get some soon. I agree with you that you should lay off of biking for a few days until the swelling goes down---and obviously if it doesn't get better, a trip to the doctor may be in order. I hope this helps somewhat!