I really struggle with a sore bum. I just can’t find anything that suits my clearly odd buttocks.
I’ve had a bike fit, no real help
I’ve had a saddle fit, no real help.
Nothing really feels like it’s supporting me where I want the support and i’m getting off the bike feeling sore every time I ride - either turbo or road. Even on my last ride with super comfy 40mm tyres, still sore bum and numb bits
Now, on my ribble, the saddle holder is needing replacement, it simply won’t hold the saddle flat, it keeps angling up, meaning I slide further back and throwing my position out making the whole experience uncomfortable. Late in my ride I had enough so I pointed the front of the saddle down, and really cranked the bolt just to get me home. What a revalation!!! felt amazing, I guess I wasn’t really sitting on the saddle at that point I was more pushing against it, I could still sit up, but it was really comfy to be on the drops or the bars, or just holding a better tuck. Felt good on my back, my bits, my bum, everything.
So… it’s got me thinking about triathlon saddles - designed for you to be more in this tuck position. Would that be better? or should I just have a weird looking setup with a dropped nosed angle on the saddle simply because it’s comfy for me?
Really I just want to be comfy, it’s holding me back. I’m feeling pain simply because of my bum, I feel my fitness has improved alot and pushing up hills (out of the saddle) i’ve got bags more power than I used to have but man… my butt is killing me!
Start with a new seat post / saddle clamp so that you can actually fix the saddle into position.
Then get it set up as per your bike fit / saddle fit.
If that isn’t right, then start experimenting with tiny adjustments fore/aft, up/down and tilt. Keep a careful note of the original position so that you can reset to that as necessary.
If you need the nose down a degree or so, point the nose down a degree or so, who cares what it looks like?
Riding the turbo will surface any discomfort more quickly than on the road and making adjustments whilst the bike is on the turbo can be easier than doing it by the side of the road.
Here is a recent video in which Phil Burt looks at bike fit / comfort for indoor riders
Remember that it will never be as comfy as sitting on the sofa, or in a luxury arm chair. But you do get used to it as you ride more.
I’ve added alot of core work to my training, and to be honest I’ve not noticed a great deal of difference. I’ve lost 17kg and not noticed alot of difference.
I do get pins and needles in my toes - which my bike fitter suggested is down to the butt issue, but also suggested the “fit” is good, so see how I get on and come back again if required, but I feel comfortable in all other areas. Knees are fine, arms feel fine other than when this ruddy saddle kept angling up, then everything hurt.
I sit flat and straight, don’t have excessive movement either (according to fitter and his video) so it’s not an issue with me wobbling, in all honesty, it’s just on the sit bone. If I sit on it for a prolonged period, it hurts. Which is why I think the heavy angle helped as the saddle was behind it rather than under it if that makes sense
Based on what you’ve said, I’d go back to where the fitter had it set, and rotate the saddle 1 degree down in the front. Ride it for a couple hours and see if it’s better. If so, do it again (and again, until it doesn’t feel better, than back up 1 degree and try it there for awhile). My saddle is rotated nose down almost 4 degrees, BUT, I’m on a FS MTB so when I sit on it the sag rotates it back up a couple degrees (still neg, though). I spend a relatively significant amount of time on paved and dirt roads, so not just riding punchy singletrack or downhill, to answer that question preemptively.
I also went through half a dozen saddles (various brands and models) over a couple years before I settled on the current (Ergon), which is on all my bikes now. Figuring out that I needed to go wider was a “eureka” moment, and each saddle I tried after that progressively felt better.
trouble i’ve got there is there are 3 fitters in my area (by area I mean within 2 hours of me)
if I look further afield I’m not sure how i’d fit it into a day.
of the three, this one hasn’t really fixed my bum.
second one is in a specialized concept store and the aim there is to size you for a new bike. I don’t want a new bike
third one is the same but a different brand.
I think going to have to learn to do it myself and as suggested, make small tweaks.
