SlvrDragon50

As I start to fiddle with my bike fit, I'm curious if any of you guys have made changes specifically to improve indoor riding that you wouldn't do on a road bike. Like extra cushy saddles or fancy seatposts? I'm finding my current saddle is probably too stiff for me and am contemplating getting an ISM saddle.

surak

I've noticed a big difference in comfort between 2 different composite seatposts (S-Works CG-r >> Giant D-fuse) but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one to only use it indoors. Stand regularly is free, and I discovered that my least comfortable bibs for outside riding were the most comfortable indoors (ymmv).

SlvrDragon50

I was thinking about a CG-R, but it's just too pricey. I have a carbon Ergon CF3 on order from Aliexpress right now which I heard is pretty comfy. I am currently using a Zipp Service Course SL (older one with no carbon). I've got some Santic shorts on order now too. I have two shorts that my dad gave me, but the padding is real thin, and they don't fit me well.

jpescatore

I've put a lot of miles on Zwift with an smart trainer but found that the seat and seat position that works on the road works best for me inside, too. If you are out of the saddle a lot outdoors, you might have to force yourself to do so indoors.

My riding outdoors also usually has me putting my feet down periodically at red lights, stop signs, intersections, etc. So, I stand on the pedals periodically indoors just to off load my butt similar to what happens when i ride outdoors and the same seat/position works fine.

SlvrDragon50

Yea, I guess biking while standing up on the trainer just feels very weird to me. It doesn't feel efficient and sometimes is even more tiring than biking sitting down. Not sure if this is just something I need to get used to with the trainer?

PoorInRichfield

My goal is to make my indoor riding as similar to outdoor riding as possible... so "no", I don't do anything special for indoor riding.

I learned quite a while ago that if your seat is too hard (especially indoors where there are no road bumps), it's likely that your tushy is out of shape and not the saddle. I always wondered how racers could ride hundreds of miles on seats that have almost no padding... now I know.

clasher

You could look into rocker plates to help with comfort indoors, some people say they help a lot. I set my trainer up on some rubber playground tiles that I use for deadlifting and it gives a little wobble to the whole setup but my arse is used to long days in the saddle.

Barry2 

I did change the Saddle on my Wahoo to match my road bike.
The Saddle that it came with the Wahoo was not terrible, but my Fizik was better.

I've since changed the road bike to a carbon saddle, assuming comfort is better still, the Wahoo will be following along shortly.

Barry

SlvrDragon50

I've got my Saris H3 on a thick yoga mat which helps a little bit. I would love to try out the Saris MP1, but it's just way too pricey, and I also don't have the space for it in my apartment.

I think I'll try another saddle at least. I've only ever had this SLR Italia which is the lowest endurance rating so I might just not have a good fit. Whenever I was biking outdoors, it was only commuting to/from class and <15 minutes. With this trainer, I jumped straight to like hour long rides so there's definitely some conditioning to be done, but I just can't imagine that it's normal to have this much pain/hot spotting in <30 minutes of being on the saddle.

atwl77

When racing they are also probably putting out more W/kg than the average casual rider, so the saddle pressure is a lot less.

In addition to that, they are sitting on a more race/aero position which puts saddle pressure on a different part of the sit bones, whereas we are a bit more upright and face "different" struggles. This is also part of the reasons why ultracyclists like to use aero bars for ultra endurance racing, saddle pressure is noticeably lessened while on the aero bars.

SlvrDragon50

That's actually something I thought about. Aerobars indoor seem like it would make indoor cycling a whole lot more comfortable. But I'm trying to sort out my saddle issues before I go and do that since I know I should be able to do more than an hour without any discomfort.

atwl77

Yeah, aerobars will certainly improve on comfort but you also have to get used to riding in that position...... though oddly enough, is somewhat easier indoors on a trainer, than outdoors, mainly because you don't have to keep your eyes on the road and can just have your head down (or staring down at the computer/tablet/phone screen).

SlvrDragon50

Ahhh... so I take it aero bars are not good if you want to watch TV in front of you unless you want some neck pain... I've just been putting my arms down on my bars, but I never hold it for more than a few seconds.

atwl77

Well, you could
1) train yourself to ride in this position, so that you can also ride outdoors this way

or
2) lower your TV

or
3) add spacers to the aerobars (if it supports it, such as some Profile Design aero bars) to raise the height of the aerobars

unterhausen

I changed the saddle so it's the same as my road bike. I have used the one I switched from on the road too, but it turns out it's not as comfortable on a trainer as it is on the road.