Originally Posted by
Hikebikerun
I haven’t really gotten used to my saddle over time and I’m honestly sort of at my wit’s end trying to find the perfect one.
My stock saddle was making the nuts numb unless I tilted it WAY DOWN and then I was falling forward and putting way too much pressure on my hands and causing numbness/tingles in the hands.
I did the sit bone measurement thing at Mike’s Bikes and bought the Specialized Power Expert which dug into my inner thighs/hams. Traded in for the Power Arc at the shop’s recommendation and the inner thigh issue is solved but after about 20-25 miles my sit bones are in pain and I find myself having to step off for 2min every 30min of riding (standing to pedal helps some). I also sometimes get caught out and realize my twig n berries are numb.
I’ve has a professional $200 bike fit and have risen this saddle for over 6 months (over 2k km) and still get these issues. I tried a softer Chinese Amazon saddle and it solves the sit bone pain but the soft material compresses the perineum and causes numbness way faster.
I’m not sure I can afford to keep buying new saddles to test out, but there’s no “exchange” program I can find near me. I may try a Brooks saddle based on reviews but I’m starting to lose hope…
i would try going back to the not soft saddle, set it level, and lower the saddle height bout a sixteenth at a time, until the sit bone bone pressure problem reduces. Then start to raise the nose just a little, again a sixteenth at a time (measured with respect to solid ground, at least until you get the hang of it), until some discomfort is found forward of the sit bones (wherever, I don’t want details).
Then I would probably drop the saddle until it is a little more comfortable, then experiment with angle to even out the pressure all along your bottom side. At this point you should have a pretty even pressure or sensation all under your saddle, not much sit bone pain, awareness of where the sit bone perches are and of whether you tend to fall off them. This could be because of gravity and your saddle is too nose down. Or it could be the frame requires you to stretch out to reach the bars. Here the fixes are to try a shorter stem, shorter reach bar, or a frame with shorter top tube. You can see considerations which go beyond the saddle.
You could also find yourself pressing down or back on the handlebar and creating hand pain. For me, if I'm pressing down too much, I think my center of gravity is too far forward relative to the BB. I then try to move the saddle back so that if I have to raise my body off the saddle for a bump, I don't start to fall forward and have to pull myself backwards. For me this is a very fundamental setting, and afterwards I usually have to repeat some of the saddle adjustments. After that I might want to raise or lower the bars for a more relaxed grip on the bars. If I'm pressing my body back with my hands, possibly I am falling off the saddle perch points due to gravity.