KWJ

Hello All,

The seat rails and seat post of my 2013-15, (I cannot remember the exact year), Trek Madone 5.2 is wearing holes in my bibs. I have gone through 4 pairs of bibs in the past 6 months! The holes are on my inner thigh right next to the chamois. The wear on the left leg is more accelerated and worse than the right leg.

I do not know if this is a seat issue, a fit issue, a bike issue, or something else. This has never happened before with this bike. The only thing of significance that has happened to the bike in the past 6 months is a fall I suffered in March/April. Maybe some components moved or my fit was thrown off by this? I do not have any new aches/pains when riding though so that steers me away from that hypothesis. However, the fact that the wear is rather asymmetrical makes me think it might still be a fit issue.

I was hoping that someone might have some advice, or help me brainstorm through fitting solutions; or provide me suggestions for a new seat. (I am not sure I can change the seatpost as it is proprietary to the Madone - it slides over the outside of the frame as opposed to the inside and as such is wider than most seatposts).

(I tried to attach images of a pair of worn out bibs, and the worn off paint from the seat rails and the seatpost for reference, but I was unable to upload the images. I kept receiving a *blank* "Alert" when trying).

Thank you for your time and assistance!

KWJ

**EDIT**

Thank you @Iride01 for the idea of using plain text for the URL! Below is a Imgur URL for pictures of my bibs and seatrails. (You are going to have to remove the extra spaces I inserted in the URL to get it to post).

https : // imgur . com/a/Z2TTULS

(The "shiny" area on the top right arm of the seatpost clamp is NOT light being reflected by the camera. It is wearing down of the paint job from friction).

**EDIT II**

@Iride01 has posted the pictures below in one of his reply's for those that are interested.

sfrider 

Do you have a saddle bag with a velcro strap? The barbed part of velcro will shred lycra, and many bags have a velcro strap that goes around the seatpost to secure it.

markynels

I worked through a similar issue this season after tinkering with my fit to sit further forward over the bb. Rather than wearing holes through the lycra, the seat post where it joins the rails wore through the chamois stitching. From what I gather, my saddle may have been too far forward causing me to sit further back on the saddle. I adjusted the fore/aft, dropped the seat a few mm, and that remedied it. Sitting too far back on saddle to compensate for my forward saddle positions + too high of a saddle position = aggressive knee angle further back up on the seat which allowed my inner thighs to rub on the hardware.

I look forward to hearing what others have to add. I was shocked when it first happened, I couldn't find a thing about this in the forums.. Q factor, hip width, pedal technique im sure all play a big role, but at least for me the solution seemed to stem from seating.

Iride01 

I'm trying to imagine how you do that. Are you laying on your chest or stomach with your legs wrapped around the seat post underneath the saddle?

Or is this a leather saddle that is vary loose in the frame?

Just write the URL of the photos or their share link in the plain text of your next post. Might have to remove the https:// and maybe change "." to " dot " or something. Don't try using the link or image tools till you get ten post and maybe a day or two.

jpescatore

Echo sfrider - if you are using a saddle bag, that is the most likely culprit. It was for me on my 2017 Trek Domane - I changed seats, still happened. Then, had my wife stand behind me while I pedaled backwards and she identified the saddle bag as the rubbing point - on the left side where the strap around the seat post came back to the saddle bag.

It was an old wide wedge, put in a more modern narrow Topeak and the problem went away. There are also top tube bags today that I use touring that could replace the saddle bag. I don't like carrying things on my back, so jersey pockets weren't the answer for me.

So, get someone to visually tell you what is rubbing - if it is the seat rails, a wider seat could solve that. Hard to believe it could really be the seat post, but a wider seat should stop that. Most bike shops will let you borrow a seat to experiment.

shelbyfv

Maybe you have acquired the Covid 19 extra pounds and have lost your thigh gap.

Andy Somnifac 

Are you sure your seat isn't on upside down?

genejockey 

Where is the seatpost clamp on the rails of the saddle? Middle? Toward the front? If it's toward the front, under the narrowing part of the saddle, then I can see how it might be rubbing on the bibs. The other thing is, maybe your saddle is too far back so you're sliding forward?

shoota 

This just happened to me as well. Pretty frustrating.

KWJ

Thanks for the reply. While the velcro of my saddle bag does shred the lycra my bibs are made of that is not the cause of my issue. The paint on my seat rails and seatpost clamp is worn away from the friction. My legs are hitting those parts of the bike with every pedal stroke.

I wish I could post pictures or a URL to the pictures, but unfortunately new accounts are not allowed to do that.

**EDIT**

Thanks to @Iride01! Picture URL above in the original post.

KWJ

My seatpost clamp, where it joins the rails like you said, is doing the same thing! I have visible wear on the paint both there and on my seatrails. I think we are having the same issue. The holes in my bibs are so close to my groin they may as well be on the chamois stitching too.

I wish I could post pictures or a URL to the pictures, but unfortunately new accounts are not allowed to do that.

I have already tried moving my seat forward, dropping my seat height a few millimeters, and angling the nose down slightly, (I used to have a level seat). It seems to help? Its hard to tell without ruining another pair of shorts/bibs. Maybe I was wrong in moving the seat forward and should move it back like you suggested? I tried to keep the fore/aft position in line with a good plum-line from my knee to my foot.

Yeah, I am sure there are so many other factors like you suggested. Sadly because of COVID no stores near me are doing fittings at the moment.

**EDIT**

Thanks to @Iride01! Picture URL above in the original post.

KWJ

Excellent idea! Thank you! I added a URL to my pictures in the original post. (You will have to remove the extra spaces I typed in to get it to post.

It is just a stock saddle for the Madone 5.2. And no, no wonky cycling postures. This is the first time this has happened on any bike and I put in many many miles touring and road riding for fitness each year.

KWJ

It is not a saddle bag issue. The wear on the lycra of my bibs is more of a fraying when that happens and this is entirely different. Please see the images I edited into the original post and you will see the worn paint on the seat rails and seatpost.

Regardless a new saddle bag would be nice. Thank you for the recommendations.

Do you have any wider seat recommendations?

KWJ

I would say its toward the "middle front" of the rails. I used to have it set way to the back and I burned through 4 pairs of bibs that way. I recently set it to the "middle front" a few weeks ago, but I am still burning holes in bibs.

I think the issue is that the seatrails of the stock Madone 5.2 seat are wider than the seat itself if I look at it from the top. A new seat might be the best answer, but that doesn't explain why I have not had this issue before. I have been riding this bike with the same fit for over 5 years.

Iride01 

Are you sure it's the rails and not just the frame under the saddle cover and whatever cushioning might be there. Or is the seat post clamp and stuff really wider than the seat in that area?

When you said seat rails, we are thinking of the part that clamps in the seat post. Not the part that may become frame for the saddle cover.

Maybe you are one of few that actually have wide sit bones and need a wider seat? Maybe you have gotten used to sitting too far forward in the saddle and your sit bones pinch the saddle as you ride wearing the fabric. --- Those are really stabs in the dark and probably unlikely. Your butt would be killing you first I would think.

jpescatore

If you can get a trained bike fitter to check your fit out, do that - there are thousands of seat options. A good fitter may point out issues in your pedal stroke or cleat positioning that may have changed and be impacting things.

Before I figured out my problem was a saddle bag issue, I tried a Fizik Tempo Argo the bike shop had - not sure it was the same then, but the current version is here. It was definitely wider but my issue was lower and I had moved away from wider seats over the years and prefer more narrow.

KWJ

I am sorry to hear you are going through the same thing. Have you found any solutions yet?

KWJ

Thanks for the follow up reply Iride01. Thanks for posting the pictures too!

Yeah, I really think it is the rails and the clamp. Look at the paint wear on the rail and on the top right arm of the clamp in the photo.

I do not know if my seat bones are wide or not. My last "fancy" fitting was year ago and I do not remember much of the bio-mechanical wisdom the fitter imparted on me at the time. I think I want to try a wider seat though. At least a wider seat would push my legs out wider, (into a little more abduction), and hopefully make me miss the seat rails as I pedal. I do get saddle sores at the beginning of every season, but they go away the more I ride. Otherwise my butt only really bothers me on rides longer than 50 miles.

Any seat suggestions Iride01?

KWJ

Thanks for the reply. I would love to get a through fit, but no shops near me are doing them secondary to COVID-19 concerns.

I would like to try a wider saddle. I will check out the Fizik, thank you! I have this feeling in the back of my head that some of this might be related to my feet. (I have a shim on my right cleat). I really need a trained fitter to help me out with that part though.

Iride01 

You saddle seems awful far back. It probably exposes the seat rail clamp since it's probably under a narrower part of the saddle nose instead of the wider part if your seat post was clamped mid-rail.

If that is the position the fitter put you, did they suggest changing to a seatpost with more setback?

Either move the saddle forward some or get another seat post with more setback would be my suggestion.

Chi_Z

sounds like your seatpost does not have the correct setback thus the clamp is too forward on the saddle, the problem is the proprietary seatpost, i fixed a similar issue by going to the FSA 32mm setback seatpost, no issue since then

shoota 

nope

genejockey 

Find a seatpost with 1) more setback, and 2) a narrower clamp - something that doesn't extend much beyond the rails.

KWJ

Random update years later for those interested, or anyone having the same issue(s) now...

My seat was broken. It was literally broken in half and I had no idea. It would bow in the middle with every pedal stroke. So the deforming of the seat with every pedal stroke would cause the increased friction on my bibs/shorts. Got a new seat and the issue went away.

Hope this is helpful to someone!

datlas 

Glad to hear you found the answer!