The pain in the ar$e returns

[oldgreyandslow]

I really thought I'd cracked this.

I had a selle italia turbomatic on my bike, which was the same saddle I'd used for years without a problem, until I recently did about 80 miles, then for the last 20 or so it was agony.

So I went for one of these selle italia ID match fittings, where I found out the turbomatic was too wide for my sit bones and I bought an SLR, not a cheap option either.

All was well, it seemed to be the answer, until yesterday when after about 2 hours I started to get some serious discomfort.

I can't work out why, when for years I never had a problem, now it seems to be a literal pain in the ar$e.

I have good quality shorts, use assos chamois cream and I'm pretty sure I'm in the right position.

It doesn't bode well for the Ride London 100 in a few weeks!

 

[ayceejay]

There are other things beyond the saddle that could explain this. Perhaps you could say more exactly where the pain arises as 'arse' is not very precise. Do you tend to change your position on the bike after a while , has your weight changed (gain or loss) or have you had your prostate examined recently etc.

 

[Globalti]

What is the posture of the saddle? Flat or up by a couple of degrees at the nose?

 

[oldgreyandslow]

Thanks for the replies.

There are other things beyond the saddle that could explain this. Perhaps you could say more exactly where the pain arises as 'arse' is not very precise. Do you tend to change your position on the bike after a while , has your weight changed (gain or loss) or have you had your prostate examined recently etc.

Sorry, I shall try to clarify, there appear to be two areas causing concern, one being the perineum which is painful after a couple of hours or so, the other being what i can only describe as my left sit bone.

Yes I do change position a little, usually to try maintain comfort, obviously on the drops at times too.

No significant weight change and I haven't had a prostate exam either.

What is the posture of the saddle? Flat or up by a couple of degrees at the nose?

Initially it was flat, then I tried tilting it up, then down, now its back to flat. Thetilt wasn't by much and made no appreciable difference,

Cycling less than a couple of hours seems quite comfortable, so I'm a bit confused

 

[GrumpyGregry]

What gears are you pulling? Your legs bear your weight more than you might think when you're pulling longer 'harder' gears, as well you might on a short sharp ride. When you back off a bit, to pace yourself over a longer distance, you sit on your arse more, and then a perfectly ok saddle can give you discomfort.

 

[ayceejay]

What gears are you pulling? Your legs bear your weight more than you might think when you're pulling longer 'harder' gears, as well you might on a short sharp ride. When you back off a bit, to pace yourself over a longer distance, you sit on your arse more, and then a perfectly ok saddle can give you discomfort.

This is where I would look too as it seems likely that it is fatigue that makes you change position possibly even with a slight lean to one side. I is not unusual for a bodies core to be exhausted before the more directly used muscles then a little shift in the saddle and suddenly you are unbalanced.
Obviously this is a guess but try stretching and perhaps Pilates to strengthen your middle.

 

[oldgreyandslow]

This is where I would look too as it seems likely that it is fatigue that makes you change position possibly even with a slight lean to one side. I is not unusual for a bodies core to be exhausted before the more directly used muscles then a little shift in the saddle and suddenly you are unbalanced.
Obviously this is a guess but try stretching and perhaps Pilates to strengthen your middle.

Hadn't thought of that, I do a fair bit of stretching and core work, not pilates though, so I'll investigate that a bit more. Thanks

 

[fossyant]

Your left sit bone pain could be sciatica. I've had this for 8 months, find stretches help, buy I'm lazy with them. Put affected side ankle on outside of 'good side' knee and pull affected side knee away from affected side - just look up the stretches - they work.

The SLR should be fine - have you got it dead level ? I've got the SLR Gel Flow, and also a cheaper XR

 

[Gary E]

When I saw the title of this thread I immediately though that our favorite video equipped cycling vigilantly had come back to the forum

I'm a bad man

 

[oldgreyandslow]

Your left sit bone pain could be sciatica. I've had this for 8 months, find stretches help, buy I'm lazy with them. Put affected side ankle on outside of 'good side' knee and pull affected side knee away from affected side - just look up the stretches - they work.

The SLR should be fine - have you got it dead level ? I've got the SLR Gel Flow, and also a cheaper XR

I think I spend more time stretching than riding at the moment!
Its an SLR Flow and its level, however it appears that there is a slight hollow in the middle, my spirit level when laid along the length touches the nose and the rear and this is bang on lever, the centre is slightly lower.

 

[fossyant]

Saddle sounds about right. I tend to make sure the main section is level, especially if it's a saddle with a flared up rear. A minor tilt forward may help perenial pressure.

 

[VamP]

When I saw the title of this thread I immediately though that our favorite video equipped cycling vigilantly had come back to the forum

I'm a bad man

Hah. I thought the OP noticed I was back from my holidays.

 

[oldgreyandslow]

I went back to Wyndymilla where I had the original bike fit and the new fitter said he'd have a look, did a great job, basically another fit for £0 and made some small adjustments, shorter stem, slight raise of saddle and adjusted the setback by about 1cm. Not massive changes but the difference felt fine. On the return ride, albeit with a slight tailwind in some places, I managed to average 19mph over 9.8 miles, including a bit of traffic. Later I popped out for a two hour jaunt and apart from a slight twinge in the shoulder all was good.
Hopefully this may have cracked it

 

[coffeejo]

I went back to Wyndymilla where I had the original bike fit and the new fitter said he'd have a look, did a great job, basically another fit for £0 and made some small adjustments, shorter stem, slight raise of saddle and adjusted the setback by about 1cm. Not massive changes but the difference felt fine. On the return ride, albeit with a slight tailwind in some places, I managed to average 19mph over 9.8 miles, including a bit of traffic. Later I popped out for a two hour jaunt and apart from a slight twinge in the shoulder all was good.
Hopefully this may have cracked it

@Fnaar @Fnaar