Soft Tissue Compression on your Bike Saddle
Your saddle is a very important contact point with your bike. It should provide the support & comfort you need to ride for as long as you like. Problems with compression of soft tissues can really restrict you from enjoying your bike.
Supporting you to SMILE when you ride.
What Causes Compression Issues?
Time on the bike is a big factor in this one. You may have no issues at the front of your genital area with short rides but as you sit there for longer discomfort becomes apparent and may turn into chaffing, burning, extreme pressure, numbness or pain. Some women and men are lucky and will never have a problem in this particular area as everyone is made differently so the shape and amount of tissue will be different from body to body. Your experience will be unique to you. Don’t put up with any odd feelings. On going compression of nerves, bleeding or burning can lead to permanent damage.
The more upright your body position on the bike the more weight will be transferred directly down into your sit bones. As you lean forward this weight gets distributed forward along your pelvic bones so any soft tissue that is in the way will begin to get squashed. This area of your body has not been designed to take this weight or pressure. This makes genital problems more common in forward bent riding positions.
To take this problem even further some riders out there experience pubic bone bruising. This is usually only in prolonged periods of extreme forward bent riding. A “Split Nose Saddle” can help, along with increasing the strength of your lower abdominal muscles.
Time on the bike can lead to unpleasant feelings of compression
How to Reduce Soft Tissue Compression Problems
Saddle Set Up – how your saddle is set up affects your ability to sit on it. Make some adjustments to see if you can help resolve your issue. A lot of riders who experience genital discomfort benefit from a slight forward tilt or nose down saddle position, please don’t over do this, the word is slight. Please read… Saddle Position – Height, Tilt and Reach
Saddle Padding – soft, well padded saddles suit short distances. If you have increased your riding time and started to experience soft tissue compression this may be because you are sinking too far into your saddle, usually around 30-45 minutes into the ride. A saddle with a flatter surface and less padding or gel padding is a better choice for endurance riding and a must have for performance riding.
Saddle Surface –Â to prevent yourself collapsing forward and leaning to heavily into your arms and the front of your saddle, you must have the right width in the rear of your saddle. When you are strongly connected to the rear surface of your saddle you will be able to weight bear down through your sit bones. Saddles come in different widths to match to the width of your pelvis. Learn more in our story Bike Seat Width
Chamois Padding – it may seem counterintuitive but less padding in your chamois has been shown to help with genital compression. So try a more minimal style pad that you can’t sink into and is not competing for or taking up space that your tissue wants. Technology has advanced in the manufacturing of bike chamois and there are now chamois with good thick padding under the sit bones that reduces or slims as it moves to the front of the pad creating room – this is ideal for endurance and performance riding if you suffer from compression issues. Please see Womens Bike goUnders – Genital Endurance
Handlebar Height – another bike adjustment to consider is to raise the height of your handlebars. Again small adjustments can have big results. If you are on a road bike with drop bars, rotating your brake hoods up and back can be helpful.
Protective Cream – applying a preventative natural chamois cream on your genital area when riding reduces friction and may help with pressure points.
Saddle Shape – You MUST HAVE
Saddle Shape – what is known as a channel or full cut out in your saddle will definitely help alleviate compression and is a must have for anyone with compression issues. A channel is a groove and a cutout is a hole cut into the middle of your saddle.Â
Endurance and performance saddles tend to have the widest cut outs and therefore offer the best relief. It is more common for women to have a full cut out as our tissue does not move out of the way. The position of these channels or cutouts will be different on mens compared to womens saddles so make sure you have a gender specific saddle.
Example of an Endurance level saddle with a Channel
Mens & Womens available in two widths.
Example of an Endurance level saddle with a Cut Out
Mens & Womens available in two widths.
Example of a Performance level saddle with a Cut Out
Mens & Womens available in two widths.
Other Ways to Improve Comfort
To follow is a short list of suggestions that you can choose to explore or ignore. For weight transfer issues that cause pressure, bruising or discomfort:
- Be very mindful of your body position and shifting it when riding
- Improve the strength of your core muscles and legs
- Lose weight; get bags or packs off your back and acknowledge that if you are over weight this will be adding to your problem
- Let a small amount of air out of your tyres on bumpy surfaces this allows the tyre to absorb some of the impactÂ
- Get up out of your saddle (stand on your pedals) when going over bumps, dips or uneven surfaces
- Choose shorter rides
- Choose rides with varying terrain which will change your bodies experience during the ride
Correct technique is a large part of being comfortable when you ride
Comfort & Contact Points
Your comfort while riding is a huge part of enjoying your time on the bike. It will also keep you protected & safe. There are three key points where you make contact with your bike. The seat, the handlebars and the pedals. It is important to understand how to position your body between these points
For more information see the following stories:
- ‘A’ Body Position on the Bike
- Correct Pedalling Technique
Your bike riding success is different to others… use our stories and support, get the right solutions.
Bike seat Comfort
Full range of comfort on the bike seat stories on one easy to navigate page.
Bike goUnders
Learn about goUnders Padded Bike Underwear by goRide
Time on an E-Bike
Riding an E-Bike provides you with assist to ride further and faster. Can your body cope with increased time on the bike.
Guide to Riding for Longer
A fantastic goal to have is to be able to ride for longer…there are so many benefits and it opens up what you could achieve on a bike.
Bike Seat Sweet Spot
The position of your saddle can effect your comfort when you ride. Learn about saddle position.
Womens Saddle Buying Guide
Learn what to consider when buying a Bike Saddle.
A Gel Cover or Not?
Learn how to use a Bike Seat Gel Cover and understand if it is a comfort solution for you?
How to Break a New Saddle In
Your body needs to adjust to a new saddle… do not expect to get a new saddle and immediately be able to go for long rides.
How to Adjust your Bike Saddle
Learn how to make minor adjustments to the position of your bike saddle so you improve your comfort on your bike seat.
Padded Bike Pants
Should you be wearing padded bike pants or padded bike underwear to help with comfort on your bike seat?
Want more from your riding?Â
Be supported to Ride as a Family, Progress Your Riding and/or receive Seasonal Inspiration. So you can SMILE when you ride.
All new members are automatically entered into our Seasonal Prize Draw.
SMILE when you ride
Support & Inspire other riders and familiesÂ
Share your riding outings, adventures and experiences on our quick and easy question and answer forms. Join us in helping others ride bikes.Â
All entries are automatically entered into our Seasonal Prize Draw.
What an excellent website. I have learned so much that will help make my ride more comfortable.
Hi Donna,
thanks so much for your feedback.
Make sure you check out our new High Waist Bike goUnder that has ‘Genital Padding’ to help with compression issues. We are really excited to offer this ‘Speciality Pad’ to women. It has just become available on the website (March 2026!). Let us know if we can help with anything else.
Enjoy your riding!
Annette