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stevewestern

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I have an old bike.
When I ride it I get a sore a**e.

I'm hoping to start riding my old hybrid Carrera Vulcan bike in a week or two as a way to try to regain some strength after several weeks of doing nothing due to covid. Currently even walking more than 200m is an effort, and any sign of a hill has me wheezing like my 60-a-day grandad used to.
So, I had a quick look at bike saddles today, and feel in need of a little guidance.

So far you know that the bike is a reasonable for it's day 10-20 year old hybrid, I am a 60 year old with skinny pins who has never been on a ride longer than about 5 miles, and even after that sort of ride it takes me a day or two to recover. I doubt I'll ever be a 50 miles a day rider, but hope to be able to manage a few gentle hills and maybe a few 15-20 mile rides as I get stronger.
Can any of you regular riders give me a few pointers about saddle types that might be worth looking at please ?
I am going to my local bike shop in a few days to have a look, but from what little I know they seem to be aimed at the more serious rider, and will only have a very small range. I'd like to buy from them if possible, but any knowledge that you may be able to give me will help me have an idea of what to look for, or what to ask about.
Thank you !
 
Having had a year or so trying to be both a road cyclist and mountain biker the things I learnt about saddles is try to try before you buy because the one that suits is worth a fortune also get some padded shorts and don't put any thing between the shorts and your self. And don't put padding on the saddle. Also the soreness is mostly due to the sit bones being soft, regular riding will harden them off a bit and reduce the soreness.
If all else fails chamois creme.
If found that for the first mile or so I was in pain but then it went away.
Hope this helps.
 
Damo1 said:
Having had a year or so trying to be both a road cyclist and mountain biker the things I learnt about saddles is try to try before you buy because the one that suits is worth a fortune also get some padded shorts and don't put any thing between the shorts and your self. And don't put padding on the saddle. Also the soreness is mostly due to the sit bones being soft, regular riding will harden them off a bit and reduce the soreness.
If all else fails chamois creme.
If found that for the first mile or so I was in pain but then it went away.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
It does - thank you!
Never heard of chamois creme - do you apply it to yourself or the padding on the shorts?
 
Surprised that the rain forest doesn't offer a subscription on Preparation H gel.
 
stevewestern said:
It does - thank you!
Never heard of chamois creme - do you apply it to yourself or the padding on the shorts?
Click to expand...

A lot of the guys including myself used to use Vaseline and put a thin coat on the padding. The old chamoix inserts were an absolute pain in the obvious. The firs time I had a synthetic padding was in a skinsuit from Colin Lewis Cycles, never used chamoix after that.
 
Harder saddles are usually better. Brooks take a few hundred miles to wear in, then (apparently :D ) they are really comfortable. Whatever you choose, it is likely to be uncomfortable for a while, until the flesh hardens up/gets used to the additional pressure. Men can get numbness in the perineum, and a cut-out saddle of some kind can help.
 
There are essentially 2 types of saddle: the conventional style and those with a cutout. I preferred a conventional type when I rode a lot, but my son (professional mountain bike coach) prefers the type with a gap all the way down the middle.

A firmer saddle is better, but not really hard - avoid lots of padding and gel. If you have real money for the project then consider a titanium railed saddle that will provide suspension from the rails to take sting out of the bigger hits.

Also as said, padding in shorts is important. I prefer thinner padding, and find very thick pads give sore patches. Creams etc can help prevent soreness and also infections if you wear a raw patch.

It's normal for the sitbones to be tender at first, but they will toughen up over time. Also normal that they can be quite uncomfy for the first few minutes before settling down.
 
try to find a used (ie broken in) Brooks saddle
I got mine on eBay and after several weeks of applying Brooks Saddle I have now a superb saddle

as received
image 640.jpg
.
after TLC
tn_100_3070.JPG
 
If you really have a lot of cash to spend, I can recommend Selle Anatomica, but I think you may have to order it from the US, Amazon UK was selling some, but not sure if they still do. It is a leather saddle with a cut out but is instantly comfortable due to their suspension system. Other than that I would agree, don't go for massively padded saddles, OK for the first mile or so, but then they get increasingly uncomfortable!!! I personally like Selle Italia, but it is a very personal thing, so look for a cycle shop that will offer try before buy! I can't tell you how many saddles I have gone through over the last 20 + years of cycle touring!!:eek:
 
My local bike shop only sells 2 saddles, both very basic, so no chance to try anything decent out.
Maybe I'll have to find a bigger shop when I can go up to London and see if I can try a few.
Given what a minefield it seems to be I'm surprised that there isn't some sort of butt-measuring machine that at least gives a few pointers...
Thanks for all the replies.
 
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stevewestern said:
It does - thank you!
Never heard of chamois creme - do you apply it to yourself or the padding on the shorts?
Click to expand...
To your self would be my advice but I have to be totally honest and say iv never used it
 
Shops selling Specialzed bikes usually have a saddle measuring system, essentially you sit in a foam pad and they measure the distance between your sit bones, and then recommend a saddle that should work, , alternatively, you could sit on a sheet of tin foil placed on a table or some hard surface to make indentations and then measure the distance, the idea being that saddles come in different widths.
 
I second the Specialized measuring system.
 
I have to say that the idea of 'getting it right' by being measured appeals, and I'd assume that bike shops that offer this are likely to have a fair range of saddles in stocks too. Now I need to find one!
 
A good bike shop will lend you a saddle to test (at least in normal times), and some saddle makers (like Fizik) have specially branded demo saddles for this purpose.

SaddleFit600.jpg

www.bike-science.com

Saddles

Bike Science offer precision Retul bike fitting throughout the UK. The UK's most experienced bike fitters using Retul motion capture technology and GebioMized Saddle Pressure measurement. IBFI Certified Bike Fit training courses available
www.bike-science.com
 
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Retune said:
A good bike shop will lend you a saddle to test (at least in normal times), and some saddle makers (like Fizik) have specially branded demo saddles for this purpose.

SaddleFit600.jpg

www.bike-science.com

Saddles

Bike Science offer precision Retul bike fitting throughout the UK. The UK's most experienced bike fitters using Retul motion capture technology and GebioMized Saddle Pressure measurement. IBFI Certified Bike Fit training courses available
www.bike-science.com
Click to expand...
Thanks for this - I may have to make an appointment at some stage depending on how I get on over the next few weeks - a great link, many thanks !
 
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