MissTiff629

hello all!
today was my first commute to work from williamsburg to wall st. (sounds like a movie title!). It went well, no crashes, only a few close calls, and lots of fun. We also happened to have amazing weather today.

A couple of things I could really use some advice on: my butt is so sore! any thoughts on a women's specific saddle that I might change to? Does it help with the numb crotch thing, too? haha. Yikes!

Second, this is how you can tell I haven't ridden a bike in a long time, but I could NOT get up the incline on the williamsburg bridge and had to (ugh!) walk the bike. I need to learn how to switch gears! I have a ten speed bike with stem mounted shifters (let's assume lowest quality, as this is a really cheap panasonic road bike from the 80s). The left one- for the front, right?- is pushed all the way up toward the front of the bike, and the chain is on the smaller chainwheel on the front. The right shifter is pulled slightly more toward me and appears the chain is on the second to smallest cog thingie in the back. So, please, someone just confirm this: if I push the right shifter down even more towards me while pedaling, this will make it easier to get up that ascent right? It seems like such a stupid/simple question, but I have read way too much in the last couple of hours about derailleurs and cogs and small and large gears and high and low, I just need a simple answer since I obviously am not getting it! haha.

THANKS in advance for helping out a new commuter!

JusticeZero

Your hill climbing gear is: Smallest in front, biggest in back. Your fastest gear (which you probably won't be able to use anyways unless you're going downhill) is biggest front, smallest rear. Try to avoid smallest and smallest, or biggest and biggest - they twist the chain and put unnecessary strain on it. Pedal in a lower gear than you think you need to be in so that the pedals spin.

ironhorse3

That bike might be (over)due for a chain lube and gear tune, which would make the bike a whole lot more fun. Also avoid long distances in traffic if you really aren't ready yet. Important: check the tires and brakes and all the nuts and bolts to be sure the bike is safe!

crhilton

My wife doesn't ride a lot, but I switched her to a pretty standard womens saddle. I think Bontrager makes it, about $40. There's very little padding, which is good. Padding compresses allowing pressure on the blood vessel in between your legs, this causes numbness. On a bike, you want to support yourself entirely on your "sit bones". This is different from a living room chair, you're not sitting on your thighs.

Shift in advance. Even if you had brifters (all in one breaks and shifters) you'd still need to plan a bit ahead with your shifting. You'll do it subconsciously before long.

Edit: My wife prefers the standard saddle. I forgot to mention that the switch was a success.

JusticeZero

You also might want to make sure the saddle is adjusted correctly. If you stand in the pedal at the very bottom it can go with your leg straightened out and not reaching at all, you should just barely be touching/out of the saddle. Yes, that's high. No, you can't put your feet down with it that high. You aren't supposed to. Saddle will probably be more or less level, adjusted right.

haningp

How long was your commute? Sorry I'm not familiar with the area you rode in. Do you wear or have you considered wearing bike pants with padded bottoms? The other thing you might do is apply some lubricant to the areas you are feeling the most pain in. There are a number of products that work, usually called something like Chamois cream or something like that. Most bike shops carry one or more brands. If your commute is short, just the padded pants might do. If you'd be uncomfortable being seen in lycra bike pants you can always wear shorts over tops of them as long as then shorts don't have seams in the middle. There are even combination shorts and padded pants that might work for you. You might just need to practice a bit with the gear shifting in a flatter area like a large parking lot when there are not many cars around. The hill climbing will get easier the more you do it. Don't be embarrsed that you had to walk your bike up the hill. Be proud that you completed your first of many commutes and has fun doing it. Keep it up!

JeffS

Please give it a week or two before you start spending money. I'm not saying that you couldn't benefit from a new saddle (you likely could), but soreness is virtually universal for people who haven't been riding. The majority of what you're feeling will go away fairly soon (the deep bruised feeling). That will allow you to focus on the true problems with your saddle.

Please avoid the tendency many people have to buy the cushiest saddle they can find, or worse yet, some big spongy saddle cover.

I don't have female parts, but it's my understanding that some of the saddles with women-specific cutouts will help with soft-tissue discomfort.

EatMyA**

use biggest in the back and smallest chainwheel in front.

I hope you have cycling shorts.

RedC

A little practice on those gears will solve the uphill problem and you'll be amazed at how fast you feel better, stronger and more confident. I've only been commuting for 6 weeks and I'm amazed how good I feel. By the way, I celebrated my 66th birthday last May.

jyossarian

I think you push the right lever forward to change to the bigger cogs in the back. That makes the bike more spinny and easier to get up the billyburg bridge. That's how my old bike worked. Pull it towards you to make it harder to pedal if you want to go faster. Remember:

1. Pedal while you change gears.
2. Don't push too hard on the pedals when you change gears (like when you're climbing a hill and want to change gears, ease up a little.)

As for the saddle, try PM'ing a mod to gain access to the super secret women's forum. They'll have saddle advice for sure. Also check team estrogen's website.

Lastly, check out Times Up! for women only mechanic nights and social rides.

Junkdad

Actually, you'll pull that right lever toward you to make it easier to pedal (larger cog in back). That Panasonic is a decent bike. Get a tune-up from a good bike shop and have them demonstrate the shifting. then, take it out on a casual ride and practice shifting.

You are going to do great.

BCRider

Everyone seems to think that saddles need to be level. T'ain't so. Crhilton mentioned about the issue of being able to feel your weight on your sit bones. This is imperative to avoiding excess pressure on the soft bits in the middle and slightly forward of the sit bones. And I agree, after you've played with many a saddle and gel pad you'll likely find that the best saddles are reasonably hard or at least have minimal padding and are fairly narrow. We"riders" don't actually sit on our saddles as much as we use them as a locating device of the bike. Yeah, we put some weight on the saddle here and there but it should not be the full weight for more than momentary and the weight should be split between the pedals and the saddle the rest of the time with the pedals taking more when power is needed.

The "sit bones" are the bottom tips of your pevic cradle. You won't like this at first but you'll toughen up after a while like the rest of us have.

To get the weight off your soft bits and onto your sit bones don't be afraid to tilt the saddle so the nose is pointed down. Keep going until you feel all your weight on the pelvic bones. Then back up a little until you stop sliding forward off the saddle....

It's likely the way I'm built but I end up with all my saddles on the road style bikes sitting about 5 or 6 degrees nose down. It's enough that it's drawn lots of comments. But it's the way that I need to have them or I feel excess pressure on the soft tissue just behind the "naughty bits". It works so I do it that way and to hell with the comments.

So don't be afraid to carry your allen wrenches with you and make changes while out riding. My final adjustments to fine tune are often between 1/8 and 1/4 inch and setting the saddle angle and fore/aft position is often down to 1 degree and 1/4 inch on the rails. It all comes in suddenly and will feel really right when it's done.

donnamb 

#1 thing of importance to determine: How wide is your sit bone span? Do you have a saddle that is a little bit wider than the saddle width? If you find out the saddle is narrower than your sit bones, you will want to replace the saddle ASAP. If that is the case, nothing will make that saddle work for you.

If it is wider than your sit bones, then you can try out all the suggestions about tilt and such in this thread.

You can get your sit bone span measured at any LBS that is a Specialized bike dealer.

recumelectric

My answer for many years was "Beach Cruiser with the biggest, most-cushioned, widest seat available." I was going 5 miles or less, so it worked. At over 10 miles, I started to feel the pain, too. ...So, it would depend on the length of your commute.

I never even thought about biker shorts before I came here because I never considered myself to be a serious cyclist. But it might be worth a try.

Bill Shanks

Get a basic bicycling book. Practice with short rides. Get your bike tuned up. Than "really cheap Panasonic from the'80's" is a collector's item for a lot of people, even if it was the low end model. If you get a new bike and get fairly serious about riding, the Panasonic will make a fine single-speed/fixed gear bike. For now, just ride it in the lower gears and decide about a new saddle after you have gotten your butt used to being on a bike seat. It will take a while, but not too long.

donnamb 

Bill, with all due respect - no amount of riding around is going to result in getting used to a saddle that is too narrow for her sit bone span. This happens to women more often than you might be aware. If she knows for sure the saddle is wide enough for her bone structure, then I totally agree with your advice.

With a saddle that's too narrow, a woman may find herself straddling it with her hip bones, or slipping off of one side and pinching nerves - which may eventually cause the legs or feet to go numb. Sciatica is no laughing matter and not easy to shake once you have it.

Bill Shanks

I stand corrected.
Bill

donnamb 

But it's all good - trust me when I tell you that I'm pretty oblivious of certain specifically male issues related to bike saddles...

MissTiff629

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the responses! (This forum is great!). -Tiffany

JMRobertson

I had a sore-butt-post about 3 months back or so... It goes away quite quickly.

donnamb 

Very true - when I finally got a saddle of the correct width, the shooting pains down my legs stopped within a couple of weeks after my chiropractor adjusted me.

CB HI

Your sore butt or your post?

Folks the lady is on a 1980s style saddle (old tech and made for men); any womens saddle likely be a huge improvment and if she gets the right sit-bone width, then it will be 100 times better. There is no reason for her to suffer for a few weeks before getting something much better.

Brooks is the only saddle worth suffering until it is broken in. Other saddles do not really break in.