How long till your bum gets sore?
 

Hello friends,

I am sure this has been asked 100 times, but how long does it take till your sit bones get sore?

i ride around 50-140 miles a week and I noticed that around 40 miles and above my sir bones become sore. I push through it like I expect everyone elE does, but I guess it is time to ask the question, at what point does your bones get sore?

I get some discomfort around oh, 70 or 80 kms or so, but it does depend on which bike I'm riding and how I'm riding.

I did a very fast (for me) 100k group ride recently on my Scott and I don't recall any issue with my butt getting sore, but that was an aggressive ride and I wasn't likely putting much weight on the saddle for most of that ride

Conversely I completed a tour recently (International Selkirk Loop) with a small group of friends on my Diverge, and after the first day my butt was killing me and I was in agony for the rest of that ride. The last day I must have stood on the pedals for half the ride!

That turned out to be an issue with the stock saddle more than anything else. It wasn't something I'd noticed before but that was the first time I've ridden that bike for those distances day after day.

After the tour I swapped the saddle out for a Specialized Romin that I had on hand and my comfort level improved dramatically, even on a 90 km ride I did shortly after the tour.

But even on my AWOL with a B17 I will usually get some discomfort around the 80 km mark. It's not normally the kind of agony I had on the Diverge before swapping the saddle though - I don't ever want that kind of discomfort again!

My sit bones never get sore, no matter the length of the ride.

I attribute that partly to getting out of the saddle and standing on the pedals every few minutes.

Many cyclist seem to have a phobia about padding on a saddle, as well as one with some flex to it. Of course a ton of padding is no good, either, but like everything else in life, its about finding that happy medium. (Yeah, easier said then done.) See if something with (some) more padding and flex helps. (Bike fit may also be a culprit.)

Getting out of the saddle periodically helps.

Finding a good saddle can be tough. I now use SMP saddles with a full length cutout. I got the right width, just based on what they call pants size, which means waist size, at least for those not carrying excess weight. I needed a narrow model and the Stratos with standard padding did the trick.

It's also important to have a seatpost that allows fine adjustments to the saddle angle and a digital level to measure the saddle angle. I always use a post with a 2-bolt rocker style post like the FSA K-force that has a 25mm setback. Posts that rely on serrated notches won't allow small changes to saddle angle.

Having good quality shorts with a good pad is also a must. Don't cheap out on the shorts.

Never get a sore bum, despite riding a SMP Composit which has no padding.
Even rode 1000km through Vietnam over 9 days with no pain at all.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...10c5c55961.jpg

Hmm ok, I am hoping it’s a time thing with this saddle even though I have 500ish miles on it. It could also be I am not standing up enough. So many variances and possibilities.

I tried a Brooks and my butt was sore every time i rode; got rid of it after a year. Went through saddles until I found a Fizik which my butt just loves. Have one for each bike. I can ride for about 3 hours before I need a 10 minute break, but that's also partly to stretch my hips and legs, not just rest my butt. Finding the right saddle and riding position makes all the difference.

My backside loves the Fizik Antares it rides. As long as I have a decent shammy situation, I'm fine up to around 100 miles. After that, I may start to get a bit sore here and there.

I haven't seen this mentioned yet. Perhaps this is too obvious and assumed to everyone here, but maybe not...

Is the question of sore sit bones WITH the protection of proper bike shorts/bibs? Or WITHOUT?

Reason I question this is when I first started riding I made it several hundred miles in to "serious" riding (over a couple months, not all at once) without proper bike shorts. I upgraded the saddle on my Disk Trucker to a Brooks Flyer Special after the first ride (just wanted to see how the stock saddle worked). I assumed the saddle had to break in - which it did - but my rear end never "got used to" the saddle to where I was comfortable for long. So I upgraded to bike shorts. The saddle has long since broken in and the combination of the saddle and bike shorts is a winner for me.

I will also note that the saddle on my folding bike is padded (whereas the Brooks is not - but it is not hard molded plastic/composite, either - there is some flex in it). The folder saddle is good for me to ride without bike shorts for short rides. If I am going out for 10+ miles I will put bike shorts on, regardless. I don't have any saddle soreness at all.

So if you do not have proper bike shorts or bibs go get you some. Also, if you aren't familiar with them - you DO NOT wear underwear with them. Underwear will chafe and cause, perhaps, more problems. Try a few different pairs of shorts and see what works. I went with a "middle of the road" Canari model, I forget what they are. They were around $100/pair. They worked great for me so I bought 2 more - nearly identical, but slightly updated. Well worth the $ for all-day riding comfort, if you ask me.

Agreed. I have several pair, including Canari, poc, and one other I can't recall the name of because the label has been worn off it. These were all what I would characterize as fairly expensive items. At least to me they were. That said, I also have a number of pairs of no-name Chinese bibs I purchased off amazon. I know I will get heat for this on this forum. The fact is, though, that some cycling clothing is just ridiculously priced, in my opinion. Three of my cheapie Chinese bibs are awesome. I wear them multiple times a week. And they cost a fraction of what my pocs were. My point is just that, if money is a bit of an issue, there are alternatives that are more affordable than Assos. You just need to research it a bit.

That's not a rational conclusion. Any continuous position gets sore in time.

I'm confused by your comment.

As I stated, I'm getting out of the saddle every few minutes, so I'm obviously not using a "continuous position".

I'm usually good for a 400k. Longer than that and there's going to be at least a little discomfort.

I never get sore there. I get sore in plenty of other places. Maybe it's because of conditioning in general, or maybe it's because I have the saddle that suits me best. I hope you can find relief. Don't stop trying saddles until you're happy. You're already putting on enough miles to make it a good test.

As am I by yours. Even with frequent in-saddle/out-of-saddle breaks there is still a "bum soreness limit" to how long you can ride in one session. That is the question.

That doesn't match my experience. I have ridden up to 155 miles in a single day, with no "bum soreness".

About 4 hours. That’s about as much time as I care to spend on a bike in one day anyway. No padded shorts, no bibs, just whatever I’m wearing at the time.

For me it depends on what type of riding I'm doing. For example there are routes that I take near me where I can go out for 2.5 - 4 hours that cover somewhere between 35 - 45 miles. These rides have a good handful of hills to climb as well as flat sections. In this case getting out of the saddle, changing positions on the bike (in the drops, hoods etc.) and generally having to do different things prevent it. On the other hand some charity rides that are 75 miles of completely flat I have more body parts that are in pain after 40 miles of flat only than anything else. I also have a favorite pair of shorts that I depend on and I make sure I wear them on the long rides.

Yeah, that's about the same for me. Basically I'm fine until my legs get tired, and then I start to sit more heavily in the saddle. But to be fair, when I've ridden 400 km, that's already 15 or more hours on the bike, and pretty much everything starts getting tired and sore.

Regularly getting out of the saddle definitely helps. But as my legs get tired, I do less of that.

I have to take a butt break after riding 2 miles. Pathetic!

400k is also as long as I want to sit on a bike saddle in one go. Of course one takes breaks every 50 miles or so and I stand every 10 minutes by the clock. Still, it gets old. Not sore, really, just tired of sitting. OTOH, I've had saddles which hurt my butt after only 1 hour and saddles which made my butt bleed. Just the right saddle is the trick, meaning just right for you. Everyone's different. In general for really long rides most folks want enough padding that they can just get their thumb into it. Firm, but some give. Sitting on it should feel like no give, really. Besides that, the shape has to be just right so that it fits your butt shape. It's no accident that Performance bike has hundreds of saddles for sale. There's a lot of variety in butt shape. You're doing enough riding that it's probably the saddle, not just that your butt needs conditioning.

Besides the above, saddles are very sensitive to tilt and height. Frequently just fiddling with those things resolves the issue.

I don't know.

I was fine after my pair of unsupported 200 mile rides.

You want a saddle that fits. If yours is too narrow or too convex left to right, you'll rest on the insides of your sit bones not their tips. How flat the saddle is front to back, its tilt, and position are also important.

OP:

You might need a different saddle. Specialized makes many good models, many of them in different widths, and their dealers can measure your sitbones and make recommendations.

You might also need good shorts (or bibshorts) which fit properly.

You might also need to shift your position around occasionally. I like a saddle that allows me to scoot a little fore or aft, as slight shifting of the load will help on long rides.

But, to answer your question: with the wrong saddle, my posterior might start to ache after 20 miles; with the right saddle (and all other variables dialed in) I have ridden 200+ miles in a day with absolutely no issues.

My experience with saddles is that almost any saddle is okay for 50 miles. It's a candidate for further experimentation if it is comfortable for 80 miles. I have had some saddles that were comfortable for 200km, but not for longer distances, but that's rare.

This is a long-winded way of saying you should be looking for another saddle. Many bike shops have test saddles you can try, possibly for a fee.