Tre Free

So I'm not the typical clydesdale. I have a very athletic background (former college football player), but I got pneumonia about 5 years ago and I ended up putting on a lot of weight as I recovered from that....Fast forward to today. I'm completely recovered from pneumonia and getting my fitness lvl back to where I was before getting sick. I'm 6'3 340 currently (lost 10 lbs since I started cycling!). Right now I'm doing between 60-100 miles on my bike a week. Last week I did 16 miles (Wed), 22 miles (Thurs), 29 miles (Fri) , and 31 miles (Sun) on my bike.


Towards the end of my ride on Friday, I got saddle sores for the first time and it wasn't a good look...I ended up walking home the last 2 miles I was in so much pain 😭! In between my ride on Friday and Sunday I got some of the Chammy Cream and a new pair of bike shorts with more padding. For the Sunday ride I felt mostly great, but again right at the end I started having the saddle sore issue, although it was much milder this time (I was able to make it home and didn't have the major pain like the previous ride, but I still had a little inflammation).


I want to increase my mileage to where I can do 25 miles 4 days a week and one long 35-50 mile ride on the weekends, but I can't do that with these saddle sores! My eventual goal is to do a 100 mile ride by the fall (4 months from now). I'm wondering if the saddle sores are just my body getting use to the increased mileage or do I need to think about getting a new saddle? My current saddle (stock version that came with my Trek FX 2 Sport) feels fine until I start to get around that 30 mile mark.


I've had my eye on the Brooks cambium c19 because of my up right riding style and my wider than average sit bones...I've also heard people talk about getting professionally fitted.


The problem is most advice on my issues comes from skinny people who don't understand the struggle so if any of you can help with you insights as a large person in a skinny world I would greatly appreciate it 😁!

UniChris

It would help to clarify if you are:

- getting specific painful pimple-like sores (ie, literal saddle sores)
- skin generally getting rubbed raw on inner thighs
- seat area hurts or goes numb in a way that gets somewhat better if you stop for a few minutes
- sit bones hurt in a way that doesn't get better after a break

TrojanHorse

Also, what bike are you riding
what saddle do you currently have
what are you wearing

tyrion

You might try a Brooks B17 saddle, or something similar. But you won't really know if it solves your problem until its been broken in.

shelbyfv

Wut?

Kedosto

Actually, you are pretty typical. I don’t wanna repeat everybody else here, but in order for anyone to offer useful advice you’re gonna have to provide more specific information; bike, saddle, clothing, experience, and some pretty specific details about your soreness.

Most of the time saddle sore problems are the result of unwanted friction. Eliminate the friction, eliminate the problem. That’s a general answer. More details will help you get a better answer.


-Kedosto

jimincalif

Yes more info will help. Some shops will let you try different saddles for a few days. For me, I like Specialized Toupe 143 saddles. I tried a couple others, I know not to ever ride a Fizik saddle now - but that’s me, they can work for others.

Wear shorts with a good pad, but they have to fit well too, which could be a problem creating movement and friction. Have you had a bike fit? This can help as well. At the first sign of a saddle sore I start treating it with an anti-acne cream. When not on the bike wear underwear that wicks moisture.

Also so keep in mind things will change as you lose weight. Mostly for the better of course, but you may have to revisit all of this a couple times along the way. And some of this may be just your body needing to acclimate. Good luck.

fietsbob

Set your goals , say a lunch turn around , further away , .. start earlier spend more time in the saddle ..

rutan74

I might add to the others by asking if you have had a bike fit? Not just a quick check, but a real bike fit.

Basically, when the mileage increases, so do the problems with not being fit to your bike. You would be surprised at what 1mm or 2mm will do for pain or comfort.

That being said, saddles are highly personal. What works for one person usually does not work for another. Again, if there is a good bike shop around, have them measure your sit bones to get you into a better saddle. Make sure the shop will let you try before you buy. Lastly, expensive saddles do not mean better saddles. FWIW, I have ridden a 40 dollar saddle for years that I got from Performance Bike and it works great whereas my riding friend has spent hundreds of dollars on saddles trying to find one that works.

Realistically, you have to start eliminating things out of the equation. Start with a proper fit, then move on to a saddle change. The best saddle in the world can still cause problems if you are not fit on the bike properly.

You also might want to tone it down a tad by skipping a day and let those sores heal up. I have used diaper rash balm and it works good to clear up the saddle sores, but you have to give it some time.

john

squirtdad

My experience with brooks is that they are either comfortable from the start and get more comfortable as you go or they don't work

For me

B-17 on uprightish bike comfortable from the start after 8 or 9 years just showing some softening

B-17 narrow imperial (with the cut out) on road bike with not too much drop did not work at all (too narrow)

Swift on road bike, with not too much drop, comfortable from the start....just barely showing chnages after 3000 miles

your saddle mayt vary (ysmv)

philbob57

Most chamois creams have mineral oil and wax, which is apparently the same as petroleum jelly. That can clog pores and/or trap bacteria between it and one's skin. I'd recommend trying something like Body Glide, no matter what the answers to the questions above may be. Also, I'd recommend trying out thinner, not thicker, pads, since the pads compress no matter what, and since thinner pads work for a lot of people. Beyond that, you need to answer the questions above.

FrenchFit 

It doesn't matter if 90% of the world thinks the cambium is a great saddle, it might not work for you. Saddle fit is a big deal, personal, and may take years to totally figure out. You could start with a LBS/fitter relationship, in person or online, that allows you to demo different saddles, Learn what works for you and what doesn't. Width, length, roll-off or flat top, etc.

nivalu

This poster hasn't been back since the day he wrote this...but just like me he may have been put off that the posts he tried to make took a long time to show up. For example, he did 2 intros, probably because the first never showed. There is usually a pretty long backlog for that kind of thing.

Anyway I just wanted to echo something that was said above....the line I quoted, this bit about not being a "typical" clydesdale....is kinda crappy. It's like anyone else overweight is "supposed" to be but you're not...or you think that since you're bigger but you once were not, or because you were an athlete, etc etc etc that you're 'different'....that is making a ton of assumptions about people , all while asking for help from them.

Lots of people were former athletes. And because we're here, we are all basically current athletes, to be technical about it.

We all were born, and sometime between then and now, for one reason or 10 others, we became overweight. We are all the same.

So tre, I hope you return, because you could learn a lot here. Good luck either way!

shelbyfv

Yes, pretty offensive from the start. Don't let the door slam, etc.

wobrien

I suggest that we assume good intent on the part of the original poster. I found no offense in his post and I find that life goes much easier for me if I do what I can to keep from being offended.

I don’t know why he hasn’t been back to given more info., give an update it to say thank you but others that read this thread in the future will benefit from it.

Cat Daddy

I'm not offended. I'm a guy hovering between 210-215 on a 5'9" frame. If I were in great shape, with a nice balance of lean muscle mass and all that, I'd probably be around 180lbs. But I like good beer and for the last decade or so I haven't been great at taking care of my body, though I am making some changes. Seems to me some of y'all need to grow up a bit.

mrt2you

one thing that helped me when i first started riding was to wear longer legged compression shorts under the bike shorts. this prevented the tender areas from rubbing against something it wasn't used to, after a month or so i didn't have to wear them anymore.