tmmgeekette

I have a 2012 Specialized Sirrus sport and the seat is the one that came with. I haven't made any modifications to the bike since I bought it new from a bike shop. I'm starting to bike again after the bike has been in storage for practically 4 years. I have 2 issues but the biggest is how the seat feels like I'm sitting on a rock. I got biking shorts with padding and also figured with time my butt would toughen up. But really.... I can feel every bump in the road with this bike. It also doesn't help that I'm overweight and I think that might contribute to how hard I hit every bump/

What can i do to remedy this problem? I'm thinking i should replace the seat to something with better suspension. This bike has none.

FXjohn

stand up when you see bumps

DanPLC

Go to your local bike shop and ask them for some advice. I imagine you could probably bring in your bike and try a few different ones to see what feels good.

mcours2006

I know it's not an easy thing to do, but when riding over rough roads you have to put weight on your legs. You don't have to stand up and pedal, but you have to be 'light' on your saddle. Yes, it's even harder to do when you are carrying more weight, and perhaps with more fitness you can manage it.

Barring that, a sprung saddle or a suspension seatpost might help you, or possibly a saddle with more cushion. Your current one might not only be hard, but perhaps too narrow for your anatomy.

tbo

It is not uncommon to need a new saddle or seat. It provides the main load-bearing interface between the bicycle and the rider. As each rider is going to be different anatomically, it is not a stretch to conclude that different saddles might be required by different users.

When I get a new bicycle, I consider it a bonus if the saddle fits perfectly. I always plan on having to replace it. Most of the time I have to replace the saddle, sometimes (twice out of five bicycles) the OEM or existing saddle works well enough.

tmmgeekette

Thanks for the responses. Sure I put my weight on the pedals when there is something very obviously rough coming up ahead, but when I talk about bumps, I mean I can feel the difference between asphalt on the road that is well-laid and a patch to the road or addition like right turn lanes where the asphalt is very noticeably less refined or less tightly packed down. I don't know if it's normal to feel it but it's definitely rough on *my* rearend.

I know there's a lot I don't know so I did some further research, I know getting a cushier seat may not be what I need or the right thing to do. I remembered that the seat on my bike didn't come with. It was an upgrade. A serfas RX something and it does fit my sit bones as best as i could tell, but I'm feeling too much pressure in other places. I made some adjustments to the seat, tho. Raised it, tilted it back a little... after another ride tonight it still feels like gravity is making my ass slide forward on it. Maybe it's not as level as I think.
The seat is still not high enough. I can still feel everything on the ground in my arse.

axxman

I mean this in a positive way, don't let your bike sit for 4 years. Now that being said I had the same problem, I am overweight as well, for me, I have had three specialized bikes 2 mountain and 1 spesh sirrus, never had a problem with any specialized seat. but seats are personal. now on my treks I have had to change the seat on all of them.

one thing you can try is goto the Ergon website they have a seat calculator, just to see what size it comes up with. but a visit to your bike shop will also help, a seat just a half inch too low or high can also cause pain, but additional padding is not always the answer.
personally, I stopped using padded shorts last year, I found I didn't need them on my mountain bikes, and on my Sirrus, it has also been the case it only starts to hurt when I get the the 3hr mark.

they do come in different widths as well, again a good shop will help. they get that question all the time and know what works. NOW GET BACK ON THAT BIKE!!!!

mcours2006

What other places are you referring? If it is the soft tissue between your legs called the perineum, then you are sitting too far forward on the saddle. Sliding the saddle further forward or shortening the stem may alleviate the pressure.

hokiefyd 

Try a saddle with coil springs. They make some real cheap ones, and there are also some really nice ones out there. These can make a whale of a difference in comfort.

FXjohn

get your sitbone width measured and get a corresponding seat

coominya

You are out of condition, your lungs are, your leg muscles are and your bum is. Just Ride The Bike. Your bum will adjust in 15 or 20 REGULAR rides and you'll wonder what all the fuss is about. And don't ride so far that your bum is in agony too. Little steps for baby feet remember.

FrenchFit 

Life is too short to live with non-compliant saddle. Over time you might decide your tires, tire pressure, bike fitness, seatpost, fit, tilt, etc. are contributing factors, but who cares right now?. Find a comfy saddle and ride it like you stole it...the rest will come.

tmmgeekette

Yes, the perenium area and further up too, that has too much pressure on it. When I slide back on the seat I feel alleviated . I know I'm out of shape and things may get better with time.

I'm definitly not planning on storing the bike again for 4 years. I had an unplanned pregnancy when I thought I was done having kids 4 years ago. My son will be turning 3 soon. It was a rough pregnancy. So that's a good excuse, I think, except who am I kidding? I had parked the bike in the garage a few months before that pregnancy. :/

So, i think my bike seat is a man's seat. And it's still not high enough. I can't extend my leg all the way on a down pedal. I will look stuff up before adjusting it again, tho, to make sure I'm not making it too high. I've had to make so many adjustments on the bike in 2 weeks and it's only getting better. I'll just keep at it.

The seat IS soft to the touch, but it doesn't feel that way on my behind. The padded bike shorts have helped, but it hasn't eliminated the issue. I'll keep at it and thanks for all the advice!!!

tmmgeekette

Oh, and I keep sliding forward as I'm biking. I push back to get more comfortable but I keep sliding up. Like gravity is pulling me forward. I'm not convinced that's 100% a tilt problem but what do I know.

travbikeman

If you choose to replace your saddle, just a tip, most LBS's have a stash of saddles from bikes that buyers replaced on their bikes. Sometimes you could score a good deal on a saddle that would fit you. Just don't fall for the new guy trying to make you pay $40 for the saddle. I offered $15 for one of these for my son and stuck to my guns on it and the store manager approved.

Hey, it would have just stayed in their storage bin had I not offered.

I also didn't feel bad about trying to undercut the price on these saddles, since considering the new bike owners paid for it with their bike purchase and paid for a new saddle to replace it, the LBS just stored the unused saddles and didn't pay for it. So why pay full price?

ColonelSanders

Specialized's The Cup saddle, is godly.

I had terrible problems with pain in the perineum region and saddle sores until I got this saddle.

SlinkyWizard

After reading about saddle advice, I found that many riders mentioned that soft gel saddles were actually more painful if riding long distances, so I ended up getting the Selle SMP Hybrid Gel Saddle. After 50km + rides, it does get slightly uncomfortable ( not riding with padded bike shorts ).

After a recent trip to Sydney, I went on a bike ride with my brother in law, I rode a Trek FX 7.3 ( my nieces ), she had a very gel like spongy Giant saddle as hard saddles are not for her casual riding. Anyways, we went for a 35km ride, many hills, but surprisingly, at the end of the ride, my butt felt like it had never been on a ride, the spongy gel like Giant saddle was amazing.

I need to test out this saddle again, if I can find it here, and see if the results are the same, if it proves to be comfortable after 50km+, I will definitely be swapping saddles.

finch204

Saddle comfort is really subjective. In my case, on my flat bar Madone with the stock saddle (I think it is a Bontrager Affinity), saddle discomfort is mostly related to how fast I ride. If I ride slow, it is uncomfortable. If I ride at a decent pace, I find that the saddle just fades into the background to the point where I don't even notice it. Once your fitness gets better by riding the bike more, chances are this will be a non-issue.

Craptacular8

To me, this is a multi-faceted problem. The first line of "defense" is the tires. Most hybrids come stock with tires that err on the side of not getting flats. That makes them typically a heavier, stiffer riding tire. Higher quality tires with a 120 thread count will make for a plusher ride. Depending on what your bike came with (maybe 700x32?), you can easily bump up the size too. I swapped some Compass Bon Jon Pass 700x35 (measure out as a hair under 38) on a couple of bikes. One standard casing, the other in extra light. They both are super riding tires. At your Specialized shop, the Roubaix Pro 2BR in a 700x30/32 would be a good option.

Seat posts such as the Thudbuster style add some suspension, if you find that swapping out to more compliant tires doesn't quite do it for you.

The saddle doesn't necessarily need to be "softer" to help cushion the ride. And, very personal. What works for one, may not work for someone else. Saddles that employ the "hammock" style cover will feel stiff in your hands, but tend to absorb the road shock. Many will recommend the Brooks b17, I like them quite well too. I also can recommend the Brooks Cambium C17 carved, which feels like it wouldn't give a fraction when held, but does a great job on the road, and finally the Selle Anatomica. I've tried a few other non-hammock style, and apparently just haven't found one that works quite as well.

And, lastly, as others have mentioned, rising off the saddle slightly when encountering potholes, road joints, etc goes a long ways towards removing some of the harsher impacts, which isn't to say that you ride suspended above your saddle all the time, but lightening up in the saddle for the roughest stuff seems to work for me...I'm out of the saddle for rr crossings, seated for the rest of my gravel rides, at least typically.

tmmgeekette

I want to give you guys an update since you offered so much help.

First I wanna say how surprised I am there are so many bike shops closeby. I guess it's a good thing, right? But anyway, I measured my sit bones as best I could and I went to one Bike America and they didn't have any equipment to measure sit bones, so I used my own calculations and they loaned me out a Fizik Aliante. Terrible seat for me. My sit bones were ending up off the seat on either side. Lol! It's a man's seat with virtually. No padding.

Then I went to Performance Bicycle who also didn't have any way of measuring sit bone width and did not loan out bike seats either, but then I saw the Selle SMB Gel TRK Lady hanging there and asked about return policy which is good so I bought it with the intent to try it for a day and then return it.

I went out for a ride last night and at first it felt the same as my old Serfas RX Does which usually feels worse with time. At first I tried sitting at different angles in case my posture is off but I gave up on that and just kept riding. But with the Selle SMP Gel TRK didn't feel worse, it felt better. After the 4th mile or so it felt SOOO GOOOD. Like I was sitting on a bean bag or something. Omg! The longest I had been able to ride for has been 5mi (due to being out of shape), but last night my ride lasted 7 miles and it would have lasted longer but I noticed how i wasn't even sweating and figured I need to push myself harder. I did that last mile and I was done after that. I'm slowly building up my mileage and speed so that I can join a group ride soon-ish.

THANK YOU SLINKYWIZARD for suggesting the Selle . The store also had the Selle Italia Diva Flow which I was going to order online just to try it because the other bike shops didn't carry it, but I'm sticking with this one! It's the TRK, not the Hybrid and I'm not sure if the Hybrid would be better for me.. but either way I'm so happy I found something that doesn't feel like a torture device that I'm just going to keep it. Their price was OK too. $75. I looked it up online and it's only a little cheaper elsewhere.

Thanks for the help!!

Woop woop!

tmmgeekette

Also I want to add that I did make some other changes on the bike to improve my experience. I didn't replace the tires (yet), but I fixed my seat height. Actually, I think the seat could go a little higher.. maybe a quarter inch.

I still don't have a helmet and I was shocked that during my research on helmets these last few days to find some "evidence" against wearing a helmet at all. Some people claim it doesn't help to protect anything. I gotta say I've wondered the same after looking at what these helmets are made of and how fragile they are. But I still think some protection is better than none and I also know I wouldn't be able to join any of my local bike group rides without one.

ColonelSanders

Whilst I have never had an accident on a bike where I hit my head, my brother was riding his bike one day and got hit by a car coming out of a drive way and he landed in part at least, on his head and was wearing a helmet, and the nasty deep scratches/gouge marks left on his helmet, would have done a hell of a lot of damage to his skull/scalp at the very least, if he had not been wearing it.

That incident helped firm up my views on the value of helmets.

coominya

The only people who don't wear helmets are those that haven't fallen off and bashed their heads in yet. If by chance they have and still don't wear one, then it's obvious they suffered brain damage in the fall. Q.E.D

tmmgeekette

There needs to be a like button on posts. Lol

Mark42

Don't forget to get a seat that has a cutout in the center so you don't trash your prostate. You don't know how painful that is until you've done it.