tessellahedron

My bike and saddle are fairly comfortable on the road but on the stationary trainer I start to get very sore after an hour. I'm debating getting a second, wider saddle with seatpost to swap for trainer use. Another idea is simply adding a seatpost shock absorber for use on road and trainer.

Has anyone had good results with the shock absorber? Anything to know when buying one?

thanks in advance

pennpaul

Same here.

It hasn't solved everything for me, but I put a double layer of foam garage mat under my trainer and raise up my front wheel to get the bike back to level.

I find it's not the extra cushion that I need, but the side-to-side sway. I haven't tried one, but people swear by their rocker plates.

unterhausen

hate to say it, but the thing that solved my problem with butt soreness (tailbone in my case) was a rocker plate with fore-aft motion

tessellahedron

I've abandoned the suspension seatpost idea and am considering getting a swap out seat or building a rocker.

Good DIY plans anyone?

spelger

ok, my little foray into saddle sores on the trainer was caused by not wearing my usual bike shorts. for the short 1 hour rides i was doing i would wear sweat shorts. they were fine after a week, maybe two, but after a while i was getting sores. not so when riding outside. once i realized it was probably the sweat shorts i when back to bike shorts and the saddle sores went away. case closed for me at least.

surak

I started out being sore after an hour. Made it a point to stand up to pedal out of the saddle more often, no major issues since. My longest indoor ride was around 12 hours of pedaling time.

pennpaul

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I don't think I've even done 12hrs outside on the road in a day.

dmanthree

First identify the source of the sores. Is it from the clothing fabric rubbing against your skin? From specific contact points? What worked for me was a Brooks B17 saddle. The fabric slides on the leather, not my skin. And the wider design spreads out the contact area. To be sure, YMMV when it comes to saddles, but, well, that's whats working for me.

tessellahedron

I wear normal underwear and athletic shorts when I ride. Same inside and out. Being on the trainer is definitely different so maybe I need specific biking shorts for that. I tried some padded ones but I think they were too big because they rode up really badly. What do you look for in a good pair?

I like the idea of standing up for a break occasionally. It's completely flat here so I rarely stand on a bike but this morning I tried it outdoors for a couple hundred feet after about 35 minutes of biking. I think it helped. Standing on the trainer felt really awkward but next time I'm on it I'll try again. Thanks for the good idea!

surak

FWIW, the longer the indoor ride, the more often I'll stand. Upwards of 1 minute standing every 10 minutes. Standing is like eating, it's better to start early in a ride and do it regularly because by the time you start feeling sore, it may be too late.

dmanthree

There's the issue! Try a snug-fitting pair of biking shorts with a decent pad. This is a personal as a seat choice, so start with a good brand and go from there. I've had really good luck with the Specialized RBX Pro shorts. Decent price, and very comfortable.

koala logs

Wider saddle doesn't always make things better. It can make things worse for some. How I avoid saddle soreness on >1 hr trainer rides is doing intervals. Doing the same resistance and same cadence for over one hour is sure recipe for saddle soreness. Low resistance and high cadence spinning have a tendency to cause saddle soreness so you need to break it down into segments.

I usually divide in 20 minute intervals or less. 20 minutes high cadence spinning on low resistance, followed by 20 minutes lower cadence at higher resistance, and repeat if you wish to train for longer period. You can also stand from time to time going several pedal revolutions before sitting back.

Also no underwear. At least I don't wear one when training or riding. Seems to cause chaffing and I like to feel as ventilated and cooled as possible.

Ed Wiser

Cycling shorts and a proper bike seat is very important indoors. As you tend to sit in the same position for a long time. I use a Saris rocker plate for my Kickr bike. But start with the right clothes and a bike seat the supports your sit bones.