Saddle/seat problems - female, new to riding
 

Hello,

I am very new to cycling as an adult. My husband got a new hybrid bike (because he regularly cycles) and I am using his “old” bike which was given to him by his mother a few years back. It’s a hybrid Cannondale - I don’t know many more details.

He never changed the saddle on it. But I’m not sure if there is something wrong with me... but i cannot go more than 30 minutes with out a lot of pain. He told me I was sitting on the seat incorrectly so I was googling more information how how to sit correctly and I am feeling very defeated. I want to enjoy this hobby with my husband, but I do not want to drop hundreds on the recommended saddles I am seeing online and have it not help me.

Is this a saddle problem or an anatomy problem? I’m having a lot of trouble finding outwardly open women’s resources about this issue. Any advice or links to more information would be very helpful!

PS: I did go to a local bike shop but the 2 men working did not seem comfortable with my questions or were not able to answer me... so that has also been very defeating. I also did purchase padded cycling leggings and they only added about 10 minutes to my ride time without pain

@ My Local Bike shop they have a selection of saddles, both New with hang tags,

and 'Take Offs" that were on new bikes , but bike buyer wanted something else, so virtually new.

& a wooden chair ... laying the saddle on it, and sitting on the saddle is a simple preview..

Saddle Companies have Unisex offerings , meaning women , Or Men that may prefer a little wider saddle

One company recommends wider saddles for rider with a posture more upright..

NB; This Forum has Thousand's of 'Which Saddle' Threads in which people respond 'I have an XX (brand/model) and I like it' ..

you can read through them if you wish..


People who ride more favor the harder less padded models..
softer is OK for local casual rides
Gel saddle covers can adapt a harder type..








She May no longer be 'new to cycling' by the time guys here are done offering various opinions
:innocent:

You likely need a slightly wider saddle. It’s worth trying out before you buy, as above.

Also, it takes time to “break in” your butt and get used to riding, even if you have a saddle that fits. Start out with 40-45 minute rides. Add 15 minutes every 1-2 weeks.

Check out Serfas RX. That is the saddle my wife uses without any issues. She has used other saddles that didn’t work as well.

John

You can buy good, like-new saddles on eBay for very little money. Buy a few to determine the general shape and width you prefer. Once you know that, you can buy similar saddles until you find one that works best for you. Re-sell the saddles you don't like.

My wife has been using the Terry (non-gel) Liberator saddles for 13 years. She rode across the U.S. averaging over 50 miles a day for 74 consecutive days, and never had a saddle problem. She was in her mid-fifties at the time. In those 13 years she has about 38,000 miles on her 3 bikes, each equipped with a Terry saddle. Soft, wide saddles are usually not very comfortable after a short time. She finally wore out the one on her touring bike at 24,000 miles; it had a hard life.

Saddles are like shoes. Comfortable for 1 person, horrible for another.
Perhaps a local shop will let you try a few, and then buy the "winner" ?

Also, slight adjustments by angling it up or down a little bit can make a huge difference.

I take the appropriate tool with me when first setting up a new saddle, so I can stop and make minor adjustments.

Go to another local bike shop and see if they have loaner saddles for you to try; most shops do. Try one out for a couple of days, if you don't like it, try another.
As someone else mentioned though, there is a breaking in period where you need to get used to a saddle so keep that in mind.

The most popular saddle among me and my friends is the Selle Italia Gel Flow Diva.

I would stick with the saddle - for now - and try making adjustments. A number of women that I ride with actually prefer the nose of the saddle somewhat angled downward; you can also move it forward and backward a bit to see if you get the right balance that way. I also see a number of newer riders with the saddle far too low.

It's perfectly normal to have a bit of soreness when first starting out on longer rides. If you can, try to move around a bit while riding and stand up from time to time to give it a break.

If you've been doing longer rides for a bit and nothing improves, then you can think about a new saddle - with a better idea of what will and will not work.

I think the forum may have a women specific section. Ask a mod. Otherwise, avoid more detail about your issues or you will encourage the creeps. Sad but true.... Nevertheless, many of the women I ride with like Terry saddles.

In the aforementioned Unisex Fizik Vitesse in 2 versions: HP, & CP3 were good deals..
bikes with straight bars same or a bit higher than the saddle .. a medium width..

Women generally have wider set pelvic bones so the wider rear portion of the saddle keeps the bones from pushing out over the edge of the saddle.
Men have 3 point support where women really only have 2 point support which means the width and angle of the seat is critical.
Many women's saddles are wide at the back, quickly narrowing with a built in rise on the front (horn) to keep from sliding forward.
Gel or flexible base saddles seem to work the best for comfort and stability, but as the other people have said, no one saddle is good for everyone.
Another consideration is length of the bike from seat to handlebars. Being too stretched out will also cause the seating angle to be wrong which is more critical for women. A shorter handlebar stem may help.
​

Saddle soreness is one thing, but if you are getting pain repeatedly after 30 minutes, get a different saddle.

Almost all of the women I ride with have women’s specific saddles, or at least saddles geared towards wide sit bones. Men and women are shaped very differently. I can hardly stay on top of my wife’s favorite saddle.

It might help if your were more specific about the pain and how often you ride. If you've done only a few rides and your butt under your sit bones (ischial tuberosities) hurt, riding more on the seat youhave is likely to be the cure - but my guess is that's not the problem.

If it's soft tissue that hurts, a cut-out may be in order - but there are different cutouts, so finding one that works is trial and error. If it's chafing, that will probably call for a different seat, but you're back to trial and error and a wider choice.of seats, cutouts and non-cutouts - and the fix may actually be different cycling shorts. Etc., etc. etc.

If you tilt the nose down, make sure you don't tilt it so much that you have to ride with too much force on your hands/elbows/arms or that you keep sliding forward.

NO NO NO OP, please don't take the bait.

Does your husband's old bike fit you? If not, no seat is going to alleviate the pain. Saddles can be adjusted forward or back on the seatpost. Tilted up or down. And the seatpost may be raised or lowered in the frame, raising or lowering the height of the seat. When pedaling, with the pedal at it's lowest point, do you have just a little bend at the knee, or lots of bend. The first thing to do is confirm the bike fits you well. Then start on trying to get the seat in adjustment. It all makes a difference. Once you are confident the bike fits, and you've done all you can to make the seat adjustments fit you, if still have pain, then start looking at diff seats. I recently came close to getting rid of a saddle, but decided to change the upward tilt, and that's all it took. But I did go thru a couple of seats on the same bike previously. Most experience some pain when first starting to ride, it's not unusual.

If you are new to cycling, I think any saddle is going to give you trouble until muscles get in shape.

Thing is, a bike saddle is not for sitting actually. You should be peddling with enough resistance to lift your tush of the saddle a bit.

If you just sit upright its going to be uncomfortable at some point.

Terry saddles have lots of lady fans.

My daughters through the years have appreciated the women;s Terry Liberator saddles. Good luck.

Could be many issues. Is the seat at the right height? What about the pitch? How about the handlebars? How much taller than you is your husband-- is the reach to the handlebars perhaps too much? Where does it hurt? Have you tried a cutout seat? Is the seat wide enough for your sit bones?


I could have sworn it used to, but I haven't found it.


Feel free to take the bait. It's a part of your body and counterproductive to act like there's something shameful about that. Women have to spend their lives pretending they don't have genitals because it makes men "uncomfortable." Which is why there are so many women with bike saddle issues, because there's no one they can ask about it. If anyone's sensitivities are going to be hurt by OP trying to solve a bike saddle problem, which may include details about what the problem is, this probably isn't the thread for that person.

Camping at the moment and have limited access. Terry saddles are very popular with women.

Do a search here on bikeforums for "measuring sit bone width". Also Google it. It's easy..once you have your sit bone width, add 20mm and search for saddles in that width, as a start. Example.. your sit bone width comes out at 120mm. Add 20mm..look for saddles around 140mm wide. This is only a starting point.

As others have mentioned.. you also need to break in your back end to condition it to riding on a saddle.

Lastly.. I have a couple Terry saddles(Butterfly and Falcon) for sale in the For Sale forum here on BF. Scroll down the main forum..you'll see it. About half the price of new..in like new condition. My girlfriend did quite a bit of searching for saddles...

Lots of good advice here... I especially second the advice to measure the width of your sit bones and find a saddle appropriately sized. Bike shops used to have devices to do this measurement, but you can DIY at home pretty easily. And if there are Terry saddles available at half price, that's a very good deal. I (and most of my women friends) love our Terry saddles, but they're not cheap.

Good luck!

Sorry, I think you've misunderstood my concern. Guess we'll see how it goes.:thumb:

Where..... nvm.

Get a new wider seat.

So you're riding a hand-me-down bike from your husband. You may have noticed that men's and women's bodies aren't the same. Do you have to adjust the seat or rear vies mirror of the car after he's driven it? Why would you think you could just hop onto his old bike and ride it comfortably without making any adjustments.

Saddles adjust up-down, front-to-back, and tilt. Lots of people adjust the up-down but front-to-back and tilt are every bit as important for proper bike fit. At the very least, you need to get that bike adjusted to fit YOU.

These statements are telling. First, find out what exact bike and what size you are dealing with. It is possibly the wrong size for you
Your husband says you are not sitting properly? What does that mean?
If you go to a shop and the employees are not comfortable with your questions, find ones that are able to answer them or look elsewhere. Do not allow yourself to be easily dismissed. If you were able to provide better information about your bike with a picture as well as your height and overall proportions it would be possible to help you better