goRides Recreation Rider Solutions

Comfort on Your Seat – Recreation Saddle Solutions  

 Comfort on your Seat – Recreation Padded Bike Pant Solutions 

Are you Comfortable on your Bike Seat?

Being comfortable on you bike seat is important as it enables you to enjoy your ride.  There are many things you can do to help improve your comfort in this area.  Often it will not come down to a single solution but rather a combination.  This will involve working through the many components that can contribute to your discomfort.  You can then find solutions and move towards achieving comfort. 

THE FIRST THING….  why you are experiencing  discomfort?

One of the main triggers for the onset of bike seat discomfort is change. What is that change for you? Understanding this change can help you determine how best to manage influence your discomfort.

• a new or different bike seat? 
• returning to riding after a long period of not riding 
• changing to an E-Bike.
• spending more time on your bike – riding further or going out more regularly? 
• type of terrain you ride. 
• could your seat be worn out and no longer providing the cushioning required?  
• have you had an injury or developed some pain that has made time on your saddle more challenging?

THE SECOND THING… what are experiencing and why?

Weight Transfer Problems: Load not dispersed. Weight bearing on a small area. Load on structures not designed to take load.  What you may be feeling: tenderness, bruised feeling, numbness, pain, constant moving on your seat, aching back, aching genitals. This can be caused by:  Seat shape and design not supporting you correctly, your seat position, your body position when you ride, your fitness/strength/health.

Chafing/Rubbing Problems: Friction and heat when 2 structures repetitively rub. What you may be feeling: burning sensations, redness, infected hair follicles, raw skin, blistering, lumps. This may be caused by:  The wrong kind of clothing – seams and moisture can cause irritation. The wrong seat shape. An incorrect pedalling technique.

Add in time/frequency: Too much too soon or simply too far will be more than what your body can handle – small problems will become bigger.   So time and the frequency of riding will stress all the symptoms mentioned above.  Seat design also comes into play.  The longer and/or more often you choose to ride, the more well designed your saddle should be.  The wrong saddle offers no support to your contact points so you are unable to effectively sit or vary your position over time.  The wrong saddle lacks cushioning/gel padding to help with compression that occurs with time on the seat.  And finally…  as you become tired lack of fitness/strength causes poor body position and loss of good technique.

The type of saddle on your bike…

Your saddle should match you as a rider – match to the type of riding you do, your body position on the bike, your riding duration and how often you ride. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the bike you brought came with a seat specific to your needs.

Does the saddle match your gender? Saddles are shaped to match our gender differences e.g. if you are a woman then you need a women’s saddle.  It will be wider to accommodate the wider female pelvis.

What if you don’t want to change your saddle?  If you feel your problem is a short term one and you have confidence in your current seat, a gel cover can be used to provide the comfort required to get you through this transition period. It allows your body and the structures under pressure, time to adapt.

The position of your saddle…

How your saddle is set up or positioned on your bike can influence your comfort. There are 3 adjustments you can make. The tilt of the seat, the height and the reach to your handlebars. Adjusting these can help your riding comfort by getting your body into a good weight transferring position.

Is the clothing you ride in causing you problems?

It’s important to understand the contact points you have with the bike and how to be best prepared for riding.  Seams & moisture can cause problems leading to major discomfort – chafing, saddle sores.  This is when clothing choice matters.  Terms like wicking, breathable, seamfree construction are part of a cyclists life.  What you wear that directly contacts with the seat is an important choice to make.

Do you ride with bike pants/underwear that provide you with padding?

If you spend time on your bike you can choose to have some type of padding (called a chamois) to provide comfort and protection.  You can choose to ride in bike specific padded pants or you can ride in padded bike underwear that allow you to choose the clothing you wear.  There are different padding options to choose – it is important to match the chamois to the time you spend on your bike.  If you have challenges with tenderness then it is worth considering an endurance chamois regardless of the time spent on the bike.

Using Chamois Cream can help! 

Chamois creams can be used by anyone that rides a bike.  It is particularly relevant if you are new to cycling, trying to build up distances quickly or “breaking in” a new saddle (getting used to the shape and where the saddle contacts your body).

Chamois creams are often used by cyclists who are planning long rides and/or repeated days of riding.  It works in 3 ways; use as a barrier to prevent, use to soothe tenderness or burning, use to heal if you have a problem.

Introducing Chi Riding!

How you position your body on the bike can influence the contact you are having at your bike seat, and therefore, your discomfort. We encourage you to work through our Chi Riding information that looks at you riding with a strong back (core), an aligned pedal motion, relaxed upper back and effective breathing. Riding well will also help your efficiency and help with overall wellness.

Build Up Slowly & Rest When You Ride…

It can be very easy to get excited and enthusastic about riding your bike.  It is very addictive and enjoyable!  But when you are returning to something, learning something new or using a new saddle your body needs time to adjust and adapt.  Listen to what it is telling you and do what is best for YOU.