BettyOK

Bought a Giant Sedona for fun and exercise. Butt is killing me (upper,by tailbone). Can't sem to find a site geared toward big butts and the right seat size. Very frustrating. Don't want to set myself up for failure. Love to ride but still a little awkward with shifting, etc. Also bike shop put bottle holder on bar and it's in my way (stomach hits it when I straddle) so need to get that fixed.
Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks, Bett

Tom Stormcrowe

OK, saddle choice isn't really a one size fits all proposition. The stock saddle that came with your bike was pretty much the minimum needed to class as being a "complete bike". They put the cheapest POS saddler on they can find at the MFGR.

You have several options, though. The Sedona is a fairly upright bike if I remember correctly. You might want to look at the Brooks B67S model, woman specific design. Don't let the lack of padding fool ya, all that happens with a saddle with a lot of padding is it flows in where it shouldn't and irritates the anatomy. Wallingford has a 6 month no questions asked return policy, by the way and they carry Brooks.

MIH-Dave

For the water bottle: You can get a kit to attach the cage to the center of your handlebars. My wife says it's easier for her to get to it.

Richard_Rides

Remember that your weight is borne by your "sit bones" (ischial tuberosities) so it doesn't matter how big your butt is, your skeletal features remain unchanged.

bautieri

If you’re new to cycling just about any saddle will be a pain in butt. Your sit bones need time to adjust to supporting your body weight and it will hurt for a couple weeks. Like Tom said, don't rush off and buy the biggest most squishy saddle you can find. It will only solve the problem for a little bit, once your mileage starts to build up and you increase your distance traveled your problem will shift from sore butt to monkey butt (heat rashes, chaffing). Stick with your stock saddle for at least a month, if it doesn't feel any better by then go to a bike shop that has a measuring device you sit on. This will properly measure your sit bones and the shop will be able to sell you the best sized saddle.

Is there a reason you had your LBS mount your water bottle on your bars rather than use the cage mounts? Your bike has two of them already...maybe you should just remove the bar mounted bottle and use the frame mounts to hold your bottle cage instead.

johnny0

after a couple of rides when your butt is use to sitting on a bike, you should find a bike store with a generous return policy and try out a few saddles. i taped some old inner tubes to the saddle rails and tried them for two weeks each and returned the ones that didnt pass the 3 hour test.

when i started riding for more than 3 hours, i realized that the soft gel saddle was the worse thing for me. on the soft saddle i had tailbone pain. like a bruise that didnt go away the next day. on the original saddle, the hardest was right, the size is ok (ischial tuberosities supported), but the shape was wrong. i was numb after a while. its only painful when you let blood flow through again..oh gosh that hurt.

it took me 4 saddles before i found what i wanted. i had to use different saddles on the hybrid, and the road bike. in fact, if i swap them around i get immense pain.

edit: cycling shorts go a long way with the harder saddles.

tomdaniels

If it is up near the tailbone, there is the unlikely possibility of pilonidal cyst forming. My wife developed them there as a result of cycling and quit upright bikes as a result. She now rides a recumbent trike and has minimized her recurrences.

late

I agree with most of what has been said. I got a Brooks B67 (not the women's model)
for Sis. She rides with us, but likes the upright style. So I made a bike to suit her.
Our longest day was just under 70 miles and her butt hurt less than mine.
https://www.wallbike.com/B67.html

You don't want to rush a saddle purchase. It takes a couple weeks for your butt to get used to riding anything. Having said that, what Tom said is true, most replace the saddle that came with the bike.

I also wonder if your saddle is adjusted correctly.

sstorkel

In addition to the things that everyone else has said, let me add another: if you don't own padded cycling shorts, buy them. A good pair of padded shorts will go a long way toward making your ride more comfortable. Many new riders don't want the expense of, or don't like the look of, lycra shorts but in my experience they make a big difference! Those of use who are a bit self-conscious wear them underneath regular exercise shorts...

Indie

Try adjusting the tilt of the saddle, too -- I don't know how you're sitting, but speaking from limited personal experience, my tailbone has never been bothered by riding. The pressure just isn't on there. Maybe it's tilted too far forward?

Tom Stormcrowe

A picture of your setup would help a lot in figuring out if it's a saddle or set up issue.