foxxy2490

Hi everyone,
I just signed up for my first century ride in June. I started training the other day on an old mountain bike. After not riding for a long time boy were my womenly parts in severe pain. I am looking for a comfortable seat and was wondering what some experienced riders would recommend. Also, I am new to "positioning." I believe this might have had a huge impact with my discomfort. I had raised the seat but not the handlebars so I was like a hunchback.
The handles also need new grips because there just pure straight plastic and I could use a few suggestions on those as well. Thanks!

Carbonfiberboy 

My wife's favorite is the Specialized Lithia saddle. When you have a better saddle, you'll be able to rotate your pelvis forward and flatten your back. Your bars probably don't need to be raised. Bike shop for the grips.

Myosmith

The first thing you need to do is to get the bike properly fitted. There are a number of good videos on the web (and some not so good) describing the DIY procedure. If anyone has a link to a good one, please post it. It helps to have a small level, a yardstick (to judge alignment more than to measure), a tape measure and a homemade plumb bob (a small weight on a 48" string). A friend, preferably with cycling experience, is a big help during the DIY fitting. The DIY will get you close enough to get started and you can fine tune after you put on some miles. Without a proper fitting, no seat will feel comfortable for long. If you have any problems, your LBS will likely offer a basic fitting for a nominal fee if you tell them you are buying a saddle.

The mistake many people (myself not that long ago included) make is to think that big, cushy, gell-filled seats are more comfortable. It may feel that way when you first climb on but it doesn't take many miles before that bar stool seat starts working against you. Another mistake is to ask other people what their favorite seat is. Every rider is different and the seat that is perfect for someone else may not work for you, no matter the expense or reputation.

Get a seat that fits your sitbones (the ischium of your pelvis). I don't know your body type, but just in general, some heavier riders think they need bigger seats and that is not always the case. I'm a bigger rider and I found this out the hard way. Seats with smooth, gentle curves reduce rubbing points. I also recommend looking for a seat that doesn't have a crowned profile where it it highest in the middle of the seat. Most modern seats are relatively flat on top and some have recessed or cutout areas to reduce pressure spots. Your weight should be on your sitbones, not your privates, and the seat should not press hard on the inside of your thighs (this is the reason you don't want an extremely padded or overly wide seat). Once you have your seat on the bike, start with it level from the point of contact for your sitbones to the highest part of the nose. Move the seat back or forward until your kneecap is directly over the center of the pedal in the 3 o'clock position. You may have to fine tune but this is a decent starting place. Don't ever have the nose of your saddle higher than your sitbones or your "womanly parts" won't be happy. Very slightly nose down might be OK, but is usually unnecessary if you have a good saddle and proper fit.

Take some test rides on bikes at the LBS just to try out the seats. a 5-10 minute ride isn't a great way to judge an endurance seat, but it at least points out glaring problems. There may be a little trial and error before you find the perfect seat.

WARNING: If any salesperson suggests a noseless seat, back slowly toward the door while avoiding eye contact and then run for it.

skiffrun

A locally well-known bike fitter seems to have a problem fitting women. Several years ago, my wife and all her female friends were fitted by the same guy. They ALL complained of pains similar to you. I never thought anything of it -- after all, they had all been professionally fitted.

Then, one day, my wife said she thought she needed to move her saddle further back because she was repeatedly standing and moving back to the proper sit-area on the saddle. I immediately realized the problem was the opposite -- her saddle was too far back. We slid her saddle forward a bit. After some experimentation, she doesn't complain of that pain any more.

Soon after adjusting my wife's saddle, I realized that the locally well-known fitter clearly did NOT know how to fit women. I don't know how many of those women may have adjusted their saddles (at least two have moved out of state, one has put cycling on hold - probably because her children are of the ages where ... taxi-mom - and as for two or three others ... who knows).
--------------------------------------------
Good riding and good luck to you.

Early last year, my wife and I were recalling the EPIC rides and moments in our cycling "careers" -- those first 50, 70, 80 -milers ... will likely stick in your memory much more than subsequent MUCH longer rides (should you go on to do longer rides). We recalled her first ever 50-miler (we went out and drove the route because she wanted to show me where she'd had such fun); we recalled a certain 80-miler she completed on a hot, hot day in July several years ago -- she knew she would NEVER ride that far EVER again, and certainly not when it was so hot. To complete her path ... 3 years ago she won the Tejas 500 time trial ... 2 years ago she completed every mile of the PacTour Elite Tour.
(My path is not nearly so interesting ... I was never as fast as Lynn, and didn't ride as far; however I did log 9200+ miles last year.)

Just the other day, a non-cyclist asked me about getting started on my path. I responded, "well, in 2004, I did my first road ride as an adult; it was 10-miles long, and I thought I was going to die."

My approach: "Enjoy the ride"; it seems to keep me fresh.

valygrl

Go get a new road bike (since you'll want that anyway for your century) and get professionally fitted. It's worth paying for a good fitting if needed. Get this at a good high-end road bike shop, not REI or Performance.

Get a women's saddle (you may or may not need a women's bike). Saddle selection is tricky, it's a two-part process of finding the right saddle and getting used to it. Pain in the sit-bone area may be something that you break yourself in to, but if the pain is in the girly bits, you need either a different position or a different saddle. Several saddle manufacturers and some bike shops have liberal return policies that let you try several saddles - Trek, Specialized, Terry are a few I know about.

I could *never* find a good saddle until I had a bike frame that fit me, though. I rode a lot of too-big bikes before I found one that fit.

thebulls

Getting your bike adjusted properly to your dimensions is essential regardless of what saddle you are on. That's the first step and others have already described how to take it.

You do need to find out what width saddle you need. The easiest way I know is to go to a store that sells Specialized saddles and have them let you use their "butt-ometer" to measure your sit-bone width. The butt-ometer is a piece of memory foam that you sit on and that preserves the indentations from your sit bones long enough to measure them. If your sit bones are 145 mm wide and you buy a saddle that is only 135 mm wide, you will never be comfortable on it no matter what you do.

The sit-bone width matters because you need a saddle that will support your weight on your sitbones and will not transfer weight onto your lady-parts. As someone mentioned above, a "comfortable" gel saddle won't be comfortable for long, because you sink into it and transfer weight up front.

The saddle needs to be adjusted so that the "sit-bone support area" is nearly horizontal, regardless of where that means the nose is pointed. If the sit-bone support area is tilted forward, then you'll constantly be sliding down the saddle onto your lady parts, plus you'll be putting a lot of weight into your hands and at the end of the ride you may be numb in both places. Ignore what the nose of your saddle is doing, and make sure that when you are sitting on the saddle that you don't tend to roll off your sit bones either forward or backward.

What many ultra-long-distance riders seem to like, whether they are male or female, is an all-leather saddle. The leather wears in to your shape and becomes very comfortable. I (and some of the women riders in our long-distance bike club) like the Selle Anatomica saddle. My wife likes the womens model of the Brooks B-17 or Champion Flyer (with springs). She found the nose of the Selle Anatomica is just too long. Adjusted correctly, most Brooks or Selle Anatomica saddles tend to have the nose pointing up somewhat to get the sit-bone area horizontal. The Selle Anatomica saddles require very little wear-in while the Brooks require a little more. The "pre-aged" Brooks saddles help a bit with this. Wallingford bikes sells the Brooks saddles with a six-month satisfaction guaranteed return policy www.wallbike.com.

If the price of the Brooks or S-A saddles is just too high for you to leap into, then some of the Specialized saddles seem OK. An advantage to them is that they come in different widths, so you can get the right width for your sit-bones. I have found the Specialized Avatar to be a decent compromise, it has just enough padding to take the edge off, while still supporting all of my weight on my sit bones. There is a women's "Specialized Jett Comp" saddle that seems comparable.

Nick

ks1g

Congrats on setting the goal and starting your journey! I did my 1st century (OK a metric) on an MTB; I started shopping for a road bike the week afterwards. You can start training on anything; you may decide you want a bike better-suited for long distance road riding. You definitely want to address the fit; your weight is distributed at 3 points (seat, handlebars, and pedals) and too much on saddel or handlebars or at the wrong angles will definitely result in discomfort. I'd get the bike you have set up properly before looking at a new saddle. Clothing also plays a role - cycling shorts are designed to eliminate chafing, whick away moisture, and provide comfort/protection where you need it. Regular shorts/undies DO NOT and can make things worse on a long ride.

If you stick with your current bike for now, besides fit, look at getting skinnier road tires if you have knobbies now - lighter, and will roll easier/faster. For the handlebars, the shop can add bar ends that will provide you with more hand positions and better grip/comfort than a plain straight bar and worn grips. Welcome to the ride, good luck!

Dudelsack 

Rans VRex. Get a lightly used one off Craigslist.

Anyway, kudos to you. I've been riding road bikes for years, did a century two years ago, have a new recumbent bike, and am slowly working up the mileage. I'm also pretty brave. I won't attempt a century until June or July if all goes well. You signed up for a century 4 months from now armed with an ill-fitting mountain bike. You are very brave.

It can be done, mind you. You have very aggressive goals. Go for it.

contango 

I can't comment on how saddles work with lady parts, not being a lady myself. What I can say is that if your seat is too far back you'll end up leaning further forward which will put pressure on your hands and presumably also on your lady parts (I had a similar problem when my saddle was too far back although obviously different parts took the brunt of it)

As far as grips go both my wife and I have found the Specialized ergonomic grips (I think they are called Body Geometry) to work very well. Curiously I've got the smaller ones and she's got the larger ones and both get on well with them.

On a mountain bike I'd recommend trying bar ends as well - they will give you a range of hand positions to use. When I use the bar ends I can position my hands so I can still get at the brake levers with my thumbs if needs be - it won't give as much stopping power as my fingers but does mean I'm not riding with no access at all to my brakes.

If you're doing long distances on the roads you'll also gain a lot from putting more road-friendly tyres on the bike. I've done 110 miles in a day on my MTB, with bar ends, ergo grips and road-friendly tyres (Schwalbe Marathon Plus ATB on the front and Marathon Extreme on the back).

az_cyclist

Congrats and good luck on your goal, foxxy2490. There have been some great suggestions here. I would agree you want a road bike, and to be professionally fitted. You will want several training rides of 50+ miles on that bike, to make sure it is set up properly for you for a century. Also, your saddle may still need to be moved forward or backward, to eliminate knee and saddle pain.

Dudelsack 

It could be worse. I met someone yesterday who has virtually no cycling experience who has signed up for the Ford Iron Man this July!

foxxy2490

wow thank you all for the wonderful advice. I admit I now feel quite intimidated. I had no idea riding could be so complicated. I will take everyone of your suggestions and roll with them I am still curious on some aspects. Do I really need a road bike? I thought a mountain bike would be ok because to me it is more versatile. As long as I am professionally fitted, proper saddle and maybe some comfort grips will my mountain bike be ok.
I have signed up with a friend and we both do not want to fail but push as far as we can go. I have been training about an hr on a stationary bike for the last couple of weeks. I know not similar at all but I figure it is better than anything. Once the weather is steady and we don't have this 50 degree 30 degree thing going on I want to try and train outside.

Are there suggestions as to how often I should train. I was thinking the first session should start with 20 mi. Do that a few times and work up to 30. Than 15 than maybe 60mi at least once before the century.

Thulsadoom

It's not complicated, and please don't be intimidated. It's just riding a friggin bicycle for godsake. Every single thing you need to know about bicycling can be learned, over time, as you continue to ride. You don't need to run right out and have a professional bike fit done. If something is uncomfortable, try a remedy. The important thing is to continue riding, and have fun, so don't be discouraged by the on-line experts.

10 Wheels

It is a learning experience.
Some riders have many problems. Some riders only have a few.
Most develop around 40 miles. Start riding and ask for help when your problems occur.
Most of all have fun learning and riding.

thebulls

If the mountain bike has suspension, then a fair amount of your energy is likely to go into suspension losses. So it depends if you can become strong enough that that is not a big deal. People do ride centuries on MTB's. You might consider putting "road" tires on your MTB if you haven't done so already. Just make sure that you don't get tires that are really slow-rolling tires because they have a lot of "flat-proof" technology. Panaracer Pasela 26"x1.5" are decent tires at a reasonable price:
https://aebike.com/product/panaracer-...r2264-qc30.htm

I have an MTB that I ride to commute to work on snowy days (with spiked tires) but I find that I seldom use it any other time, because the "boinginess" of the front suspension is just too much work.

While I agree with another poster that a professional fit is not a necessity, it is easy to get minor injuries from a bike that does not fit right (e.g. soreness in the tendons around your knee) and it can be difficult even for an experienced rider to figure out if it means your saddle is too low or too high; too far forward or too far back. If you are younger, then you can get away with more, but my experience is that as you get older, your tendons/muscles are not as forgiving about a bike that doesn't quite fit right. Peter White has the best article I know of about bicycle fitting:

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

If you follow his advice, and you find that after a bit of experimentation that you just can't get comfortable, then maybe going to a "professional fitter" makes sense. I've never been to one because I figure they'll be wannabe-racers who are 20-something and think that a 50-mile ride is a long ride, and won't really understand how I need to be set up to ride 750 miles over four days. But when I run into "issues" (like sore tendons on a bike that used to always fit well but now seems to have self-adjusted its saddle height while it was parked in my basement) I sometimes wonder if it'd make sense to go get "professionally fitted".

Nick

Dudelsack 

Seriously, the best single instructional video about riding centuries is here (it's only about 4 minutes long, but jam-packed with useful stuff):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AVyB...ED2AAEDAC82EFC