My backside needs a little more comfort

[Pananimal]

I am getting ready to hit the road for a couple of weeks and want to know what I can do to make my backside a little happier. I have a Sargent seat, Alaska sheepskin and unfortunately a boney backside. I have done 300-500 mile days w/ little discomfort but am getting ready to do many of them in a row. What are some other ways to get a little more comfy, any specialy padded underwear, pads etc...

Thanks!

[Albert]

Since there would seem to be insufficient time to correct your "boney" situation through beer consumption I'll suggest an alternative. Many riders find a pair of the stretch bicycling shorts to be an aid in saddle comfort.

[Kritou]

Airhawk seat

[ben1364]

I am getting ready to hit the road for a couple of weeks and want to know what I can do to make my backside a little happier. I have a Sargent seat, Alaska sheepskin and unfortunately a boney backside. I have done 300-500 mile days w/ little discomfort but am getting ready to do many of them in a row. What are some other ways to get a little more comfy, any specialy padded underwear, pads etc...

Thanks!

 

Sargent is not my choice in a custom saddle. I have had good luck with both the Rick Mayer and the Russell Day Long concepts.

[Charles Elms]

Advil!

[Marek]

I've done 700-1100 days on my 99RT with BMW Comfort seat and Alaskan pad with out a problem. I think the secret is to be able to change your body position, I use my pegs as well as pillion pegs and I also have installed highway pegs which I've used very sparingly - just to stretch my legs for a few minutes. Moving your feet even on the same peg an inch either way will make a big difference on a long ride.

Mark

[Marek]

also - proper hydration is critical - I use camel pack with a drinking tube and a valve attached to it so I can drink while I ride.

[tomk99r11]

Contrary to popular thought, you don't need to sit in the saddle forever to make long mileage days. I find staying hydrated, stopping to get off the bike even for just a couple of minutes, eating light, using my sheep skin and my Bailey's seat, make a huge difference. And, you can't start the hydration process the day of the ride, it has to start a couple days in advance. I know your ? is a butt ?, and the above will help, but riding position is really a fundamental key to long days. Good luck.

[wolcott]

If you are leaving soon, maybe you could scoop up a pair of cycling shorts (some i see even have some sort of gel pads built into them). I'm not into mountain biking, but I know the outdoor backpacking stores have them. Try REI, Sierra Trading Post, Campmor, Northern Mountain plus some google searches. I would have one of those fancy Russell day-long seats if I were not sick and getting rid of my RT soon. I have heard nothing but good things about them.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

The key to butt pain for the boney of butt is to not sit on it.

 

I'm serious here. This is where I come into conflict with the bar riser, tall windscreen, bucket seat crowd. If you slide back in your seat and assume a more forward lean position, bending at the hips and not the waist, you will roll a good deal of your weight off your "sit" bones and onto the backs of your thighs. You get more surface area to work with and the bones don't tilt downward and come to a point. To really get it done, you need a long, flat surface to work with, more narrow in the front.

 

Even with your current setup, you can do a bit of this and the position, being more anatomically and ergonomically correct will reduce fatigue on the rest of your bod as well.

[EffBee]

Tracy, there are three basic reasons for seat discomfort.

 

1. Perspiration.

If that's the case, sheepskin can help assuming your riding pants actually breathe, too. If you have waterproof pants that are lined with polyurethane, the best you can hope for is to "talc up." Regardless of pants, though, do use talcum powder. Liberally. Bicycle shorts with an absorbent crotch material can also help.

 

2. Hot spots.

By this I mean a seat and/or butt that puts your weight on a couple of specific points (usually your butt bones), eventually creating discomfort at those points. In other words, you don't have your weight spread out evenly over a broad area. Custom seats help. They generally have a broader surface, creating more square inches of support. Same weight spread out over more square inches equals means less weight per square inch. Ahhhh! Sargent makes a good saddle. However, over my 6 years on this board, my personal experience as well as the general consensus is that they don't make the BEST saddle. At this point, however, you don't sound like you've got the time to get a Russell made. That's where things like an Air Hawk cushion can help. The downside is that it raises your seat height.

 

3. Imbalance.

You need to be perfectly balanced on your seat. If your seat is slanted forward, even a half a degree, eventually it will roll you off the meaty part of your butt and onto your delicates while simultaneously starting to give you a wedgie. Unfortunately you don't sound like you have much of a meaty rear end, so you've got even less to start with than most. Leveling the seat or even creating a half a degree of rear tilt will help get your crotch off the seat and keep you back on the rear most (fleshiest) part of your rump. If you haven't found the FAQ section on modifying seat tilt using shims under the front adjuster and/or shortening the rear rubber bumpers, do so now. These methods have been used successfully by thousands of our 1100/1150RT members.

[flat_twin]

The key to butt pain for the boney of butt is to not sit on it.

 

I'm serious here. This is where I come into conflict with the bar riser, tall windscreen, bucket seat crowd. If you slide back in your seat and assume a more forward lean position, bending at the hips and not the waist, you will roll a good deal of your weight off your "sit" bones and onto the backs of your thighs. You get more surface area to work with and the bones don't tilt downward and come to a point. To really get it done, you need a long, flat surface to work with, more narrow in the front.

 

Even with your current setup, you can do a bit of this and the position, being more anatomically and ergonomically correct will reduce fatigue on the rest of your bod as well.

 

 

Hi Tracy,

I agree with Ed's comments about riding position. Wearing bicycle shorts under synthetic trousers with no seams between you and the seat helps a lot for all day comfort. I also make a point of stopping every 90 minutes to stretch, walk and get the blood moving.

[Tommy_Boy]

...This is where I come into conflict with the bar riser, tall windscreen, bucket seat crowd...

 

Excellent point, Ed!

 

Does anyone make a "reverse bar riser" that encourages the forward lean? I'm 6'2" with long arms and it wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if the bar was a little further away.

[RSL]

I dunno about your backside, but with mine, the problem was ischial tuberosities. Google for it. Those are the horse shoe-shaped bones at the base of the pelvis, and you sit on them. After awhile, they hurt. Too cheap to buy a Russell or other good but expensive seat, I bought a ratty old stocker at a swap meet. I removed the ratty cover and carved out divits in the foam right where my ischial tuberosities go. The foam had a lower, denser foam sandwiched between the upper foam and the frame, so I cut that out and stuck in a self-inflating camping pillow from REI. Being self-inflating with a lock valve, it is infinitely adjustable in firmness. Got a sheepskin seat cover at the same swap meet, and attached it to the seat with velcro. I would rank this seat as good or better than any, regardless of price. Ischial tuberosities happy after that, and since the sheepskin is breathable, the rest of my butt is happy too. Your results may vary.

[jtbishop]

I travel each weekend from NYC to DC and stopping to relieve the pain, unless for gas, is not fun as you lose all the progress you gained through the heavy traffic.

 

I've tried a variety of options from Alaska sheepskin to Beadrider - they've all worked with a certain amount of success in relieving hot spots or just pain in the bony bits, but none were perfect. The Beadrider certainly worked very well in the Summer keeping things cooler.

 

However I discovered by accident that when I put braces on my pants(the ol' grandpa type - mine are from aerostitch) virtually all the pain went away - I can certainly go for a tankfull of gas now before stopping (whereas before it was 150 miles or so). I think that the pants are drawn tighter around the backside and preventin the bunching of material/skin/flabby bits etc. Just remember to use only flat seamed clothing underneath and preferably with a good wicking action, even in Winter.

 

I've also fitted the seat jacks from from cycle gadgets which have covered the front/family jewels side of things and these have helped preventing the slide and wince action of the "comfort seat"

 

Hope this helps

[Pananimal]

Thanks for everyone chiming in. I think this discussion is more informative than an aftermarket seat post. Well, these are the things I did and will test. I accually took my seat jacks out which tranferred the pressure a little. I got a "memory foam" pad from a medical supply shop and cut a peice to fit under the Alaska Sheepskin. Got a pair of padded bicycle shorts. So I will try these in different configurations. The great thing about the RT is that after a period of time on the bike I like to change my seat height for a different riding position. So between all of these different approaches I think I will be just fine.

If not maybe some a$$ implants might do the trick.

I do ride a lot(20-25k a year), this is just my longest by far outing and have fantasies of the Iron Butt type thing(this trip to me could be a first tiny baby step towards that) and just want to make sure I am in the right direction.

Thanks again and will update you all on my thoughts after I try all this stuff.

[bwrider]

A couple of things I didn't see (and tested positively for me on the 3K round trip run to VT). First, while riding try moving your feet to the passenger pegs (assuming you are solo). This will roll your weight off of your butt and forward onto your inner thighs. This isn't good for long (hard on the knees) but helps relieve the pain a bit. Second, if you are folliclely blessed (read: hairy), shave your butt. OK, now that all are done laughing, it really works to alleviate that stinging pain. the hair, combined with the sweat absorbed into your shorts creates a pulling effect. If you stop at a light, stand up briefly, and it stings when you sit back down, try this.

 

I run a stock seat and an Alaska Leather pad. I can do 800+ mile days without problem by applying these and many of the other suggestions in this post.

 

Later,