dave80909

I see lots of stuff about gel seats and stuff and wondered if
other people get a painfull rear end when riding.

After about 5 miles my rear gets sore...how about you ?

What do you do about this ? I've rode on several different seats
and nothing seems to matter after about 5-8 miles..MY BUTT IS SORE !!

Does this mabey get better after years of riding ?? do you build up callouse
on your butt ??

Olebiker

What kind of bike and saddle are we talking about here?

Moistfly

I'd keep looking for a new seat ... usually if I got too long without riding I'll get a dull ache on my sit bones for maybe the first 2 rides but after that it subsides, sans callous

branman1986

it went away for me after about 3 weeks-ish

Machka 

I can ride a 1200K randonnee (that's 1200 kms in 90 hours or less including all breaks) with little or no butt pain.

1. I've got a Brooks saddle. What a difference that made!! I have tried many, many different saddles over the years ... some weren't bad, some were horrible. At your stage in cycling, you've got to experiment with different saddles - try wider ones, try narrower ones, try a gel one, try flat ones, try curved ones, and discover what size and shape works for you. And don't be afraid of going with a hard leather saddle like a Brooks. For you, I wouldn't recommend it just yet ... wait till you're up to doing maybe 100 kms a week so that you are riding enough to break it in properly.

2. Experience. I hurt a lot during my first year too. 16 years later, that's usually the least of my worries. And no, there are no callouses.

3. Padded shorts. If you don't have any yet, get some.

4. Bicycle fit and setup. Have you had your bicycle checked for fit. If your saddle is too high or too low or too far forward or back, you will be in pain!

5. Riding style and posture. You might consider doing abdominal exercises so that you sit properly in the saddle (on your sitbones, pelvis tucked under, abs tight) ... that made a difference for me.

CTAC

Sort of Took me a few weeks.

You can try changing saddles, of course. In a few weeks you'll find one that works for you

enamore22

Last winter, I took like 6 months off. When I finally got back on, my butt was sore for about 2 weeks. It eventually went away for the most part.

Halfway through the summer I switched to a better saddle... a specialized avatar gel, I believe. Worth every penny. Between quality shorts, the new saddle, and some time on the bike it doesn't hurt at all anymore.

pedex

about 2-3 weeks riding daily given a saddle that fits and it goes away, and cycling shorts with chamois arent even needed

Dusk

I found that when my wife, became my ex wife the pain in my butt stopped..... Hhmmmm did I say that out loud..

Cheers,
Dusk

dave80909

I tend to agree with the above. (sans the ex-wife )..

It seems during my long period of injury I got soft, I guess I didn't notice
it too much before. I have about 15 different bikes with different seats and
they all seem to wear me down after awhile, even the big "comfy" ones.

I think I just need to get out and ride more.

I think this is a big reason why people don't commute and such on bikes...they try it
and find themselves in agony and give up.

krazygluon

I think in Effective Cycling Forester mentions that to him it seems that the body adjusts itself to saddles, and that he experiences discomfort switching between saddles.

I'd have to say give it time and stay away from overly padded ones. I do love my Brooks (although I fear its becoming the dreaded a$$hatchet because I left it in the rain a few times) but it seems that riding regularly is the best way to get comfy in the saddle (aside from the obvious fit and padded shorts...which should be the first items approached)

Michigander

My experience on the michigander is that ass pain is horrible the first day of touring, and it goes away starting the second day after you ride for a while. Comfortably numb is what I would call it. Granted my 6 year old Bontrager FS2000 is probably not the best seat for comfort, but I'm too cheap to buy another.

rodny71

you can also try changing the angle of your seat. I prefer to have mine angled a few degrees pointing up, it seems to bring the weight to the back and i never have any pain. I ride a cheap beat-up old seat for 22 miles everyday.

Portis

Many, including me, recommend the Brooks saddle.

HardyWeinberg

I had about 2k miles on my Felt bike's 'gel-lite' saddle, never any soreness really, when I got a mtn bike a year or so ago w/ a truly heinous bontrager saddle, it was something like an inverted plumb bob. I wondered if my butt was just so adapted to the Felt that I couldn't readapt to the bontrager.

Anyway, this past month I've just switched over to the mtn bike from the Felt, mostly due to non-saddle issues, switched its saddle to a Brooks conquest, big improvement. ~200 miles on the Brooks, it was clearly better than that hellacious bontrager, but is still something I am aware of. Maybe I still need to do some dialing in of the location of the Brooks. So, today I switched back to the Felt, 1st time in several hundred miles, and it's like the saddle was not even there, it was such a perfect fit. I don't know if 500ish miles off the Felt was not enough to remove the 'gel-lite' shaped dent in my butt or what. But apparently it is my dream saddle.

Whenever I get more 26" tubes (or fix the flats I've accumulated) I will resume the mtn bike and the Brooks optimization process. If it doesn't pay off after a total of I don't know 500 miles I might move the Felt saddle over to the mtn bike.

Allen

+1
The pain ends 150 miles after you mount a Brooks.

cc_rider

Tuesday.

stapfam

Which month?

Dr.Deltron

The butt pain goes away instantly....


When you switch to a RECUMBENT!!!!!

mominboots

I'd have to ditto Dr. Deltron...mine went away when I switched to a 'bent.

Other then that, advice like Machka's worked best on the diamond frame variety.

dave80909

I like the idea of the padded shorts if I could afford them

I might need to sell one of the bikes (shudder)..

And I like the idea of a recumabnt too...I think I'll make one of those
someday..

Machka 

Why would you have to sell one of your bicycles to buy a pair of shorts? They've got them on sale at Nashbar for about $18.00 - $20.00.

https://www.nashbar.com/results.cfm?s...at%3A%20Shorts

CRUM

When does the butt pain stop?

After that 6th beer. Maybe the 7th.

here and there

Butt pain ends when you buy a Brooks. Especially the B67...man that thing is comfy.

dave80909

I ain't gots no job so even 20- 30 dollers is a sizable chunk of change for me.
I got hurt bad in a fall and even 2 years afterward I can bearly walk...but I can ride
a bike ok in my boot cast. In fact it's way kinder to my ankle than walking.

I can still easily crank out a 10 mile bike ride, however my rear says different...

I tend to agree with the people who say it will go away...If not I will go with the shorts...
then a new seat possibly..I would gladly sell a bike for a more tolerable ride.