rosefarts

Same seat, same bike, same riding position. It seems that each ride is worse. Yesterday, 55 miles and I am very glad I won't be on the bike until Sunday.

I have a retro Ritchey Vector, about a year old, never been a brilliant fit but it's a bread and butter type seat, it should be ok. The last few rides though, damn.

When racing about 10 years ago, I had a bare bines SLR and it was fine. Maybe up to 130 miles but no problem 4-5 big days a week. So I ordered a new SLR with the cutout, hopefully it'll be like an old friend, just better.

Any ideas why my current setup got so much worse with no change?

Iride01 

The rider took a break from riding and his butt got soft? My butt sometimes makes me a wuss if I lay off riding a couple weeks or more.

cycledogg

Any change in chamois?

rosefarts

I used a black bibs on the last ride. First few miles I was amazed at how comfortable it seemed. It didn't last. Even so, its not a remarkably different shape than my other ones. It may be the culprit but this was just my worst ride, the last several have all really hurt.

f4rrest

It's possible to develop calcium deposits on your ischial tuberosities due to the inflammation, and they hurt.

I got it on the left side, and could see it on X-ray. I was riding 200 mile weeks, and it wasn't a fitness issue. Had a bunch of saddles, including a Selle Anatomica. Didn't help.

Clean diet, rest, extra chamois, and using a shim on the saddle to even the pressure helped.

vtje

The same thing happened to me on a century ride last week, after about 40 miles it became almost unbearable. The same position, same bibs, same saddle I've been using for more than a year "selle italia SLR". Go figure...
Thinking of trying "fabric".

dmanthree

This happened to me two years ago. I switched saddles and it stopped. No idea why, but I'm guessing aging played a part.

colombo357

You probably had much better flexibility and core strength 10 years ago.

Tight muscles and a weakened core cause other muscles to overcompensate. For some people, it causes knee or foot pain. For you, it's quite literally a pain in the ass.

Maybe time to hit the gym or the yoga studio.

Carbonfiberboy 

If you're riding a saddle which doesn't fit your butt, it gradually gets worse. Simple as that. Tissue damage gradually increases, eventually becomes unbearable. I've had it take a year before my butt revolted and told me I needed a different saddle. Sometimes it's your butt which changes shape over time, sometimes it's the saddle.

canklecat

Age. Skin gets more fragile, less elastic, loses subcutaneous fat in some areas - especially the butt. It's more difficult to maintain muscle tone, let alone build it.

Even in otherwise very fit people the butt ages badly compared with the rest of the body.

berner

This seems to be the key phrase. Change is built into the Universe and consequently, into each of us. The Universe has been changing since it's beginning and so has each of us. Maybe the saddle has changed and or you have changed. I'd be scouting for a different saddle such as a wider one or firmer one or softer one, something a bit different. It may seem there is no end in sight to the problem but stay with it.

PaulRivers

Yeah. Could be any number of other things as well, but you body gets worse at holding you upright and that extra pressure goes somewhere.

rosefarts

This is probably a lot of the problem. I remember 15 years ago, it was no issue to lay my palms on the floor when standing. Now, I can't touch my toes. I'm working on it.

PaulRivers

I've been going to someone who does "Neuromuscular Massage" that's helped me in loosening up things that are over tight over bound up. I tried a lot of stuff that didn't help much before I found this woman who's actually been helpful.

Still had a bit of a problem with strengthening up stuff though. Great to loosen stuff but I need to be stronger in certain areas. 5 years ago doing "Agile 11" helped me a lot, maybe I'll try it again.

Wheever

PaulRivers

I don't think that's untypical.

If we're comparing ancedotal experiences, my butt hurts where it contacts the saddle every single spring if I haven't ridden over the winter. Stops happening after only 1-2 rides no big deal, but it happens again in the spring every single spring.

Sy Reene

Potentially you've squashed whatever padding your saddle started with, so you're now sitting with less cushion between you and the saddle's shell now?

mihlbach

Are you riding at the same effort level? Riding slower with lower wattage puts more more weight on the saddle, and probably more time on the saddle as well.

cthenn

I'm pretty sure I had/have the same issue. I was using a saddle that clearly wasn't working for me. Stubbornly I tried to work through it and only made the problem worse. I could see visible inflammation in that area and it hurt like hell anytime I'd go for a ride. Changing my saddle has helped a lot but there's still some residual soreness once in awhile and also when I ride other bikes. I'm hoping I've fixed the problem before I developed bone spurs.

How do the shims work?

f4rrest

My left sit bone is 5mm lower than the right in the x-ray, so that was the side with all the pressure and calcium.

I cut 3mm rubber sheet to fit the right side of saddle and stuck it down with tubular tire tape. That evened out the pressure.

Abe_Froman

This thread is really a disappointment. I came in here thinking it was going to be weight related, with stories about jeans that don't fit anymore

Sy Reene

Pictures or we really can't believe you.

f4rrest

Of the saddle or of my pelvis?

f4rrest

I've posted this before.

If you want to just try it out, use double sided gift tape or electrical tape like this. It's kind of ugly.

The rubber sheet was extra mass loaded vinyl soundproofing sheet from an audio project. It comes in a huge roll, and it's not necessary to use the same stuff.

rosefarts

5.5 hours on the new seat yesterday. The SLR with cutout.

It's not really likely that you can ride that many hours with no soreness but(t) I could ride again today. I will ride tomorrow. Compared to my other saddle, I needed almost a week off after rides and really started hurting after 2 hours. It's my first $200 saddle but based on yesterday, it feels pretty justified.