glmoore0001

Ya know, It didn't used to bother me. Maybe those round parts were Wildly Callused or Possibly my Personal Padding isn't what it used to be. But here in my 68th year, even 20 Miles on my Stock Specialized Seat makes me want to cry to Mama!
Any suggestions on a seat with a little more padding?

mstateglfr 

Maybe more padding will help. Maybe less padding will help. Maybe a different shape will help. Maybe a slight angle change will help.

Saddle preference is individual and for good reason.
Find a shop that has loaner saddles. Use one for as long as they allow and go back for a different one if needed. That is the best way to find a saddle that is comfortable for you.
BF is one of the last places on the internet that I would ask for specific saddle recommendations. We have no idea what the shape or measurements of your current saddle are, so all specific suggestions will lack any actual basis for why the suggested saddle is better. You can't compare when info is unknown.

Trakhak

Have you recently resumed riding or increased the amount of riding you're doing? At the end of the winter, after several months of much less saddle time than the rest of the year, I find it takes a couple of weeks to work up to where I'm doing rides of 3 or 4 hours. Same saddle.

glmoore0001

Yeah.. I don't expect you to pick a seat for me.
You gave me information and that was what I was looking for. Thank you.

glmoore0001

Yes, there was some downtime due to Spinal Fusion, and I realize this was part of the
problem. But it was only 7 weeks and I did not expect it to be so pronounced.
I have an old Brooks Leather Seat in the garage somewhere. If I can locate it, I will swap out and see if that helps.
Thank you for your comment and advice. Gary

Pratt

The Brooks is a good idea. If it feels good, great! If it feels bad, when you go back to your other saddle that one will feel better.
Like stopping hitting your head with a hammer.

Trakhak

Nearly two months off the bike---I'd definitely start with 20 or 30 minute rides, perhaps every other day, and work up from there.

Also, lots of high-mileage cyclists swear by various creams to address exactly this problem. You can buy expensive bike-specific creams, but Bag Balm, originally formulated for milking cows, has a great reputation, along with some other products whose names don't come to mind at the moment.

Having developed some saddle sores recently, I started using Nivea Cream. Helped almost immediately. A well-known former pro racer, Chris Horner, said in a video last year that he applies a generous amount of Noxema onto his shorts padding.

glmoore0001

60 years ago, my mother slathered Bag Balm on to every family cut, infection or sore muscle that appeared.That square green can probably lasted 20 years. Ahh Memories!
Ok. I will move along more slowly.
Not sure about the Noxema Thing though
Thanks for the advice sir! Gary

Fredo76

Selle SMP TRK

MinnMan

Trial and error. Someone else's panacea (Brooks, saddles with centerline gaps as the Selle saddle posted above)..would turn out not to be the solution for me. Maybe for you. Keep trying different saddles until you find one that works. It may require some patience.

10 Wheels

We once had a member ride 100 miles, like this Pic.

50PlusCycling

Welcome to the club, here’s your Brooks.

CrimsonEclipse

At least put a safety cover on that seat tube.

(OTOH, it's great motivation to not screw up)
((butt the consequences...))

88ss

I would say that is all of the problem. You probably had trouble doing a lot of things after that surgery. I know in my past when I have had lapses in riding anything that could be considered a real road saddle would be uncomfortable, but after a few months of serious riding I could probably use a small anvil as a seat. I don't think there is any solution except to keep riding. I put in a fair amount of miles, about 350 in the last two weeks and I am in my 60s and have arthritis in my fingers and a bit of a problem with hemorroids, I just suck it up and keep riding because I love it. I don't enjoy the pain, but it can go f&( itself if it thinks it will keep me off the bike.

LarrySellerz

these saddles always remind me of a semi flaccid.

OP I like to tilt the angle down if they give me trouble.

Hermes

There are three points of contact with the bike to support ones weight - saddle, handlebars and pedals. I spent years looking for the perfect saddle because my ass got sore when riding. As I increased my mileage, my sit bones still hurt.

What I found is that my sit bone pain was indirectly proportional to my pedal force. When I did a 3 hour road race that included 2 miles of broken pavement (think Paris Rubaix cobblestones) my sit bones were fine. What happened? More pedal force and better balance between the 3 supporting contact points.

Today, hard rides are easy on my sit bones and recovery style rides where I mostly sit on the saddle result in some sit bone pain.

The other idea I have for you is to go to back to your Specialized shop and they have a sit bone measuring device and will determine the width of the saddle that you need. And they guarantee fit such that you can try saddles and return them if the do not work. Good luck.

Rick_D

Trying out the old Brooks, especially if it's achieved break-in status, seems like a good idea. Check your current saddle for height, angle, and fore/aft distance to see whether small tweaks might relieve the current discomfort. Saddle positioning is very tweaky.

If considering a purchase, I'll nominate Selle Anatomica as a brand I've had good success with--while leather they're immediately comfortable in contrast to a new Brooks, which comes with a guaranteed period of punishment. Easy tension adjustment and vast fore-aft range. I prefer the X-2 and H-2 models.

It could be just the long layoff but nobody likes riding in pain.

Good luck!

70sSanO

Saddles can be difficult to narrow down. For many years I used a Brooks Team Pro.

When I started mountain biking a WTB Pure V was recommended, and for me it was as a good choice. With their “love channel” there was a valley to provide center comfort. I ended up replacing my Brooks with one on my road bike.

I recently changed to a Selle SMP Well and that has less cushion and is more comfortable. Both the WTB and Selle have a beak nose, and a whale tail that some people don’t like.

I would recommend trying a saddle with some sort of cut-out. There are a number of them to choose from.

John

10 Wheels

This worked for 100 MILE RIDE.

Lamont Cobb

It seems to me that saddles are a very personal fit, so I don't know how much value you can get from recommendations. You might be able to narrow it down by asking for the advice of people in your general age range, weight, height, and body type (e.g., wide pelvis, narrow pelvis, etc.). One possibility is to ask a bike shop if they have "take off" saddles - they should be willing to accept returns of them, since those saddles are technically "used" when you first buy them.

vuurmot

I find Selle SMP saddles (the company have substantial R&D funds put into this) or 3d printed saddles superior to anything else out there
YMMV

Korina

A good place to start:

pepperbelly

I am 65 and losing weight. Being heavy contributed to my saddle being painful. I took a suggestion here and bought a Cobb Randee saddle off ebay- sight unseen. It really isn’t broken in yet but so far it is really comfortable. For the price it is definitely worth trying.

jkinner

Go here: https://www.bikeseatguru.com/