Saddle Discomfort- Ladies Only

kimmydct

Hello there!  I just added aerobars and had my road bike fitted a bit more tri before I started the OS.  Prior, my saddle was fine for the most part.  Just needed a bit more chamois butter on longer rides.  FYI:  It is one of those saddles with the cutout in the middle.  Since riding the new fit, I get discomfort after like 1/2 hour, start fidgeting with pain/burning feeling in the "female area".  So I went to have the fit tweaked today and the LBS fit guy reco'd a new saddle.  I tried a few new ones when I got the aero fit, just for kicks but all hurt.  So he says it may take a while to get used to but the tri saddle (gel nose) should be better.  I know trying to get an aero fit on a road bike isn't ideal, but this is ridiculous!

I am willing to try anything but I am skeptical.  If it hurts from the get-go, how is it going to get better?  Do any saddles NOT hurt?  (I kinda feel the same way about shoes!)  Not looking forward to 4+ hr rides if this is how its going to be!

sarafrandrup

Hi Kim,
I have the Adamo Breakaway and am really happy with it as far as pain "down there" goes, my issue is chaffing the inner thighs because the nose is kind of wide. I know you said you have tried the saddles with the cutout but if you haven't tried Adamo maybe give it a shot and some friends of mine recommend the Cobb vflow. Just some ideas...good luck!

coop6

When I first started cycling 4 years ago, it was so uncomfortable I could not imagine ever doing a century ride. Finding the right saddle and getting a good bike fit is crucial, and it's amazing how much better and faster you will be once you are not fidgeting. Keep looking, and try as many saddles as you need to. I do a significant portion of my training on a road bike with clip on aerobars without saddle pain, so I wouldn't think the fact that you are on a road bike makes this any more difficult. I've spent upwards of 8 hours a day in the saddle, without hating myself. It can be done.

I've used the Selle SMP and the Cobb vflow Plus. I switched to the Cobb last year because the SMP was just too hard for long rides in tri shorts. I have that saddle on both my tri bike and my road bike. Cobb is just a little softer, but not so soft you sink into it and go numb. I'll use non padded tri shorts for most of my training, and switch to the Desoto 400 mile shorts if I'm doing multi day training like a big bike week, or really long rides.

You may need to heal up any irritation or bruising before you can really say if a saddle works for you or not. If a saddle hurts from the get go, play with the angle up or down a little. A few mm can make a big difference in how it feels. Good luck!

Jump4Joy19

I just switched to the Adamo noseless saddle and my girl parts have never been happier. Nothing to get mashed against. But before that I had a women's Terry butterfly saddle that was fairly comfortable at Iron distance training. One thing I did was put a thin neoprene saddle cover on it. That seemed to make a big difference in longer rides. Also, I rarely ride in padded bike shorts, just tri shorts. I find that the shorts with more padding just means more to mash against. It seems counter-intuitive, but trying less padded shorts might be more comfortable.

I am going to try the neoprene cover on my Adamo for my next longer ride. I've found that in aero position this saddle is extremely comfortable, but in seated climbs it feels just a bit too narrow for my sit bones when I'm upright.

Daniela

I also have the Cobb V-Flow Plus. Picked it up last year because the saddle on my new bike was horrid. I have found out that if you tip it a little nose up it feels MUCH more comfortable. Not much, just a few mm. One of the great things about Cobb is their 6-month money back guarantee. I was able to order through my LBS, and they were able to do the same deal. I made sure to ask if they would get screwed at all since I was going to return at least one of the two saddles I tried. The other version I tried was the Cobb Max, but it was a bit too wide.

Last summer for a TT race I wore my bike shorts for the cycling team I belong to. I will NEVER do that again. It was soooo uncomfortable with the extra padding up front.

kimmydct

Excellent thanks for the tips. I'll try new saddle w diff kinds of shorts then maybe try Adamo or Cobb next if this one doesnt pan out after a few rides. What's the preferred lube/cream?

penlynwilson

I've ridden a ton of saddles over the years. I started riding an Adamo ISM a couple of years ago. That is the first saddle that didn't hurt the special parts. I still use Vaseline, but don't think I need it. I like Vaseline because it isn't water soluble which means it will last the whole ride. I'm getting a new bike fit next Friday. I'm going to talk about saddles and see if there is one with a little more padding that will protect that area.

Michele Cellai

Kim- I rode a Cobb without major issue for 2 years, then last year, my lady bits hated it all of a sudden.
I now have an Adamo and pray that I never have to go through trying saddles again.
I have loaned the Cobb out for others to try.
If you are interested, I can send it to you to try.
if you like it, we can make a deal.
If you don't, send it back. I will find a home for it eventually.

mtlarson

Ride a Cobb Vflow max on my tri bike and whatever comes with a Cannondale road bike. I use chamois butter or DZ nuts for her.

kimmydct

After 4 rides with the new Bontrager tri saddle, I've decided to try the Cobb vflow plus. Ordered and on its way! Thanks for the input and I'll let y'all know how it goes!

penlynwilson

I've ridden an Adamo ISM for a few years. Well, kind of. I've been off my bike for a couple of years, but it was working great before my break. I've been back on the bike four or five weeks now and the Adamo is still very painful. Normally, it would only be that way for a week or two. Got a Cobb V-Flow today. Can't wait to try it out.

kimmydct

Penny- I am enjoying my Cobb vflow so far. Up to 27 miles and I don't even think about it.

Beth_S

Glad to hear the Cobb V-Flow is working out -- it is my saddle of choice, too. That, DZ Nuts, and a De Soto Forza tri shorts have been a very good working gear combination for a good while now.

penlynwilson

About 30 miles on the Cobb V-flow today. Seemed OK other than residual soreness from the Adamo.

penlynwilson

Rode the Cobb again both Saturday and Sunday. Still having some sit bone soreness. And, after messing with the tilt, had some swelling. . . . Need to tilt the nose down a bit more. . . . .

What's worse?
A) Swimsuit shopping
Jeans shopping
C) Getting/adjusting/breaking in a new saddle

kimmydct

LOL @ Penny... that's a tough call! I had good luck w/ my Cobb after one adjustment. My previous issue wasn't in the sit bones though so your call to adjust tilt down seems logical, although the opposite worked for me. 43 miles Sat. and I wasn't thinking about the saddle, which is a good thing!

Good luck!

Julia Herrmann

Sooo glad I am not the only one with this issue!  I have a Cobb v-flow on my tri bike, and that's what's been giving me problems.  I will have to investigate this adamo...  I've been fit to both my tri and road bike, but it could also be outdated.  I am really comfortable on my road bike, but I am unsure if I should try the same saddle that's on my road bike because the fit is different, you know?  

I think I am just in denial about the whole thing (even though my skin has actually come *off* in very unhappy places), because my first road bike was a $300 dollar bike and I could ride for 5-6 hours easy with no problems - in tri shorts.  Even when I got nicer road & tri bikes, I still never had problems, up until earlier this year.  Thanks for these suggestions!! 

kimmydct

Update: I tried "tweaking" my saddle and screwed it up! And the more i'm in the aerobars, the more irritation I get. I re-read the Cobb fit guide again and they said for aero, you may need to tilt the saddle down vs. up. The adjustments shall continue. Also, I rode in bike shorts last night and that felt better too. I just don't know anymore! Crap!

Michele Cellai

Kim-

I know you said you have been fitted on your tri bike. Have you considered going to TTBikeFIt?
I had 3 different bike shops look at my fit after my Cobb started to hate me.
Then Todd worked with me and between tweaking everything and changing the saddle, I am super comfortable.

Carrie Chavez

I am late to the thread. Looks like you bought the Cobb saddle. I am an Adamo ISM race saddle fan. Everything changed for me and I can relax for 6 hours in the aero bars. Crazy. It took tweaking it a lot. Pinched the nose together from rails underneath with a quick tie. Tipped just right and it is awesome. Took time to break in. I get rubbing on way upper thigh area- think way high . But it is tolerable. I actually do better in training without chamois cream. Use aquafor and chamois cream in races due to being wet so as to protect the skin.

Unknown

.. I was having some serious discomfort when riding and I thought it was my saddle. The pain was not in my sits bones, but more on the soft tissue of my crotch. I started using an estrogen suppository to help with some "other issues" and like a miracle my riding pain disappeared.. it seems that I as I hit menopause the drop in estrogen was "thinning" my mucus membranes.. the little bit of estrogen cream was enough to toughen up the tissue... no more pain when riding...

i have also found during this time, that the less padding in my bike shorts the better my cut-away terry saddle was able to work.

Hope this helps some body out there! Ride on ladies!

Michele Cellai

Adamo Typhoon. That is my saddle. It doesn't hurt the sit bones and my lady bits don't develop saddle sores or abscesses.

Julia Herrmann

 omg!  I may have found a fix!!  first - my bike fitter put the nose down just a hair, this helped some, but not completely.  However, today, totally counter intuitive (to me), I finally said screw it and rode on a pair of tri shorts that had much thinner padding than what I was used to (de soto forza instead of de soto 400 mile).  and holy cow it was so freeing to not worry about anything!!  I didn't realize how my riding had been affecting by bracing myself for the little jabs of pain...  

kimmydct

New Cobb saddle just released that looks like it is good for triathletes on a road bike that ride in less aero position. That's me, so I'm going to exchange my V-Flow Plus and give it a whirl. The v-flow was great at first, but not so much in aero position. I'll let you all know how it goes!

http://www.cobbcycling.com/cart/Gen_2_C1P12.cfm

BeckyH

So Kim- how did you make out with the Gen2? I ordered three saddles from Cobb, the V-flow, the Gen2 and the HC7??... so far the v-flow is my fav, the gen 2 seemed too hard or something. Having said that, I have learned 3 hours on a saddle is totally different than a 5 minute trial ride. Took advantage of the 6 month return poilcy and figured I have the winter to play with them... hubby was not happy about me racking up $600 on seats on the cc, but he got over it (no SAUs on that one, but a girls gotta do what a gorls gotta do!!). I ended up with some pretty severe abscesses after IMC, just about done healing now. It was very much a 'suck it up' sort of deal by the end, I was using that ultra sticky Rocktape to cover the raw spots. SOOO hoping one of these seats works, I tried a Terry and thought it was the one, but that's where i got the abscesses from, so I don't know. A vote for a million times worse than jean shopping, by far!!

ShanUp

 John Cobb is fantastic about questions - if you call them, you usually can get John or his wife Ginger.   I could never get my Adamo to work "just right" - on long rides, it was too wide amd would chafe my inner thigh. I ended up with a V-Flow plus and with a bit of help from John via the phone, I'm soooooo happy. I have it on all my bikes and even bought the pink version when it came out,- couldn't resist 

John wrote a great blog post about Innies and Outies regarding women and his various seats. Here's the link: www.cobbcycling.com/articles.cfm

Stevens32

I'm looking for a new saddle too because of the discomfort with my current situation. I too only like to train in tri shorts because the less bulk down there the better for me! I was considering the Adamo, for those of you who like it, which one do you use? I know there are three they suggest for a female iron distance triathlete. I was looking at the racing II, anyone use this saddle?

Yvette Metz

I just ordered a 2013 Women's Oura,RBX Expert,Gel seat!  I will let you know how it works in a few weeks.

Does anyone have experience with this one?

 

 

Paula Nystrom

I use the Adamo road saddle, works great!  I had no adjustment issues, have used it for half -iron distance first full IM coming up in 2013.

 

Yvette Metz

Update: 2013 Women's Oura,RBX Expert,Gel seat!
well it is week two with the new seat. It is going back. I was using a S/ Jet 143 and loved it. Now this new Oura is a 165 and extremely uncomfortable. I am going back to a smaller one next week. Will let you know how it works. I found that the 165 was the correct size for my sit bones but,the issue is with extra width. Because there is so much more width the edge of the saddle rubs on my inner leg as I peddle. Hope the smaller one will do the trick.

Stevens32

Just a litte fyi, a few weeks ago I got the adamo racing II. I love it! It took a little getting used to weight bearing more on the ischial tubes when sitting up (feels a lot like same pressure spots on my mountain bike) and almost pubic rami when in aero, but it's awesome! I love it and am so much more comfortable. I'm also considering doing the retul fit soon, which can only make it all even better I hope!