Discussion
OK, so I'm new to Road Bikes and have just bought a SH B'Twin Triban 3.I'm quite liking the switch so far, but after about 10 miles or so, I'm getting completely numb 'down there'.
I've looked at various sites about positioning on the bike and as far as possible, I've got the seat to the correct height as well as to the correct position regarding fore and aft (ie, my knee's over my toes at the front of the pedal stroke). I can't see my hub for my stem (also believed to be a good thing) and the seat's level.
My first long-ish ride was 15 miles and for the last 4 or five, I felt like an action man. ie, nothing in my pants.
I've been using those Specialized BG seats for years on my other bikes and not had a problem, but then apart from doing the L2B some 17 years ago, I've not ridden further than my daily commute of about 10 miles in one hit.
I tried swapping the the standard decathlon seat for one of my older BG seats for a 25 miles ride last weekend (ave spd 17mph - I was very proud of that (not bad for a 42 year old who weighs 16stone)), but still suffered the same fate.
I wondered if tilting it down ever so slightly would help.
Any suggestions?
First up, double check the seat is flat, not by eye, use a spirit level. Get it as close as you possibly can. Don't then try tilting, not a good idea, seats are designed to work when perfectly level.
Next, put your crank arm inline with your seat tube, in other words at its lowest point on its stroke, essentially treat your crank arm like a minute hand on a clock, position at 6 o'clock. Now put on the shoes your ride with, this is important. Sitting on the saddle and in a position as close to your riding position, place your heel on the pedal of the crank at 6 o'clock. Your leg should be very close to fully extended, 95% or so. This will give you as near a dammit fit for the saddle height.
Next buy yourself a Fizik Airone saddle, everyone has their own style, preference etc etc BUT this saddle keeps coming up as your Best fit saddle, I just bought one and its spot on.
The fact that the bars obscure the hub is a good thing but you could also try flipping the stem to get the bars closer to yourself and also adjust the bars so the top of the lever hoods again come closer. I get numb nuts on my track bike really badly and have had to do all of the above, apart from the lever hoods bit, and I can now feel my hairy boys again!!
Next, put your crank arm inline with your seat tube, in other words at its lowest point on its stroke, essentially treat your crank arm like a minute hand on a clock, position at 6 o'clock. Now put on the shoes your ride with, this is important. Sitting on the saddle and in a position as close to your riding position, place your heel on the pedal of the crank at 6 o'clock. Your leg should be very close to fully extended, 95% or so. This will give you as near a dammit fit for the saddle height.
Next buy yourself a Fizik Airone saddle, everyone has their own style, preference etc etc BUT this saddle keeps coming up as your Best fit saddle, I just bought one and its spot on.
The fact that the bars obscure the hub is a good thing but you could also try flipping the stem to get the bars closer to yourself and also adjust the bars so the top of the lever hoods again come closer. I get numb nuts on my track bike really badly and have had to do all of the above, apart from the lever hoods bit, and I can now feel my hairy boys again!!
Thanks for the recommendation.
I did do the seat with a spirit level in the first place - which is shy I wondered whether a slight tilt forward might just alleviate the pressure.
But if it's not a good idea, then I've got at three different 'groove' saddles in the garage so I might have a play around with those before buying something more expensive. Hard to justify spending £90 on a new saddle when the bike was only £120.
I did do the seat with a spirit level in the first place - which is shy I wondered whether a slight tilt forward might just alleviate the pressure.
But if it's not a good idea, then I've got at three different 'groove' saddles in the garage so I might have a play around with those before buying something more expensive. Hard to justify spending £90 on a new saddle when the bike was only £120.
They're not expensive if that's what you mean.
I've picked up loads of pairs over the years. The pair I had on the first time were cheap though - Muddy Fox - but I had Nike ones on on the bigger ride. Which are better quality and more expensive.
I've also got Endura, Altura but no Assos or Rapha...
I've picked up loads of pairs over the years. The pair I had on the first time were cheap though - Muddy Fox - but I had Nike ones on on the bigger ride. Which are better quality and more expensive.
I've also got Endura, Altura but no Assos or Rapha...
Good shorts and a bike fit if you can find a reasonably priced one- down here a basic fit is £35 for an hours fit, money well spent to dial you in perfectly.
FWIW- Humans aren't designed to sit on bikes, you can make improvements but I'm not sure it's possible to remove all pain and/numbness?
I did 85mile ride a couple of weeks back, I was really enjoying it and comfortable then without warning at 75miles my shoulders ceased working properly and I got stomach cramps, last 10 was agony... but I could still feel downstairs so...
FWIW- Humans aren't designed to sit on bikes, you can make improvements but I'm not sure it's possible to remove all pain and/numbness?
I did 85mile ride a couple of weeks back, I was really enjoying it and comfortable then without warning at 75miles my shoulders ceased working properly and I got stomach cramps, last 10 was agony... but I could still feel downstairs so...
scubadude said:
Good shorts and a bike fit if you can find a reasonably priced one- down here a basic fit is £35 for an hours fit, money well spent to dial you in perfectly.
FWIW- Humans aren't designed to sit on bikes, you can make improvements but I'm not sure it's possible to remove all pain and/numbness?
I did 85mile ride a couple of weeks back, I was really enjoying it and comfortable then without warning at 75miles my shoulders ceased working properly and I got stomach cramps, last 10 was agony... but I could still feel downstairs so...
Yes and no - not possible to remove *all* pain I don't think, but any numbness is a problem that should be cured. Completely agree on the bike fit as a problem solver, plenty out there, what price health?FWIW- Humans aren't designed to sit on bikes, you can make improvements but I'm not sure it's possible to remove all pain and/numbness?
I did 85mile ride a couple of weeks back, I was really enjoying it and comfortable then without warning at 75miles my shoulders ceased working properly and I got stomach cramps, last 10 was agony... but I could still feel downstairs so...
Saddles are so variable and so personal. Plenty out there that don't cost the earth tho, and more ££ is not necessarily better. e.g. Charge spoon, though a great (and cheap) saddle and good for many was giving me numbness beyond about 4hrs.. planet x's offering, at a similar price was good for me to do 7hr rides on 3 consecutive days this weekend - no numbness, but yes my quads hurt, and my shoulders have some pretty serious knots
I find having the saddle level and on some bikes/saddles just a couple of degrees pointing back (looks flat to the eye), accompanied by making sure my sit bones are on the widest part of the saddle. For me, if the saddle is angled forwards then I put too much pressure on my gooch
Best thing I found was an ISM Adamo saddle: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ism-adamo-century-saddle/?...
Pricey, but you cant put a price on an erection! Running one on my long distance bike and it takes a while to persevere but it takes all the pressure of your undercarriage onto your sit bones
I have recently got some better quality bib shorts and these help a lot as well in regards to general comfort, again though it is all personal .
Best thing I found was an ISM Adamo saddle: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ism-adamo-century-saddle/?...
Pricey, but you cant put a price on an erection! Running one on my long distance bike and it takes a while to persevere but it takes all the pressure of your undercarriage onto your sit bones
I have recently got some better quality bib shorts and these help a lot as well in regards to general comfort, again though it is all personal .
[quote=TwistingMyMelon]I find having the saddle level and on some bikes/saddles just a couple of degrees pointing back (looks flat to the eye), accompanied by making sure my sit bones are on the widest part of the saddle. For me, if the saddle is angled forwards then I put too much pressure on my gooch.
Interesting that pointing the front up would take pressure off the 'gooch'. I was thinking about doing it the other way.
Interesting that pointing the front up would take pressure off the 'gooch'. I was thinking about doing it the other way.
Kell said:
OK, so I'm new to Road Bikes and have just bought a SH B'Twin Triban 3.I'm quite liking the switch so far, but after about 10 miles or so, I'm getting completely numb 'down there'.
I've looked at various sites about positioning on the bike and as far as possible, I've got the seat to the correct height as well as to the correct position regarding fore and aft (ie, my knee's over my toes at the front of the pedal stroke). I can't see my hub for my stem (also believed to be a good thing) and the seat's level.
As a basic rule the pedal axle should transact your shoes inbetween the first joint of you big and little toe when you have you cranks forward at 90d.
This picture illustrates that:
I personally have mine set back a little from this as I like to feel that I am pedalling on the ball of my foot rather than my toes, but I'd start neutral as above.
Now you need to find your saddle height, there are many ways to do this, one of the most common is the 109% method. Take your inside leg measurement and times it by 109%, this will give you the centre of the bb to top of the saddle height.
Next you need to set your saddles fore and aft position. Again the basic rule is that with your foot clipped in and with your crank forward and at 90d the small bone at the lower outside of your knee joint should be directly above the pedal axle. You'll need a friend or wife to hold a plumb line from your knee with you either balancing or on a turbo to hold the required position!
Picture:
You then need to go for a ride and work out if you need to lengthen or shorten your stem to get a decent reach and riding position to stop you slipping off the saddle.
You may also want to tweak saddle position, making sure to re-check everything esle as you go.
The above methods can be refined based on specific bike fitter's preference, Steve Hogg is a good place to start.
Thanks for all the advice etc.
Tried a couple of things before going out this weekend.
Despite advice to contrary, I tipped the point of my seat down by a dgree or so and, combined with flipping the stem, didn't suffer any problems on the same 15 mile route as my first ride.
While I didn't think the stem would make much difference it does bring the bars, and therfore me, a little more upright.
Tried a couple of things before going out this weekend.
Despite advice to contrary, I tipped the point of my seat down by a dgree or so and, combined with flipping the stem, didn't suffer any problems on the same 15 mile route as my first ride.
While I didn't think the stem would make much difference it does bring the bars, and therfore me, a little more upright.
Tipping the saddle down slightly is a regarded method to alleviate pain, so if it works for you then go for it.
As for sitting more upright, again it is personal but ideally you want a smooth arc from your butt up to your shoulders, sitting too upright and having the pelvis flatter can actually make it worse:
The following is also a useful, if not detailed quide to tackling bike fit issues:
As for sitting more upright, again it is personal but ideally you want a smooth arc from your butt up to your shoulders, sitting too upright and having the pelvis flatter can actually make it worse:
The following is also a useful, if not detailed quide to tackling bike fit issues:
Edited by Matt_N on Monday 23 June 13:21
Fortunately for us, unfortunately for setting a bike up we are all different, a good bike set up is paramount obviously, but don't be afraid to experiment, i've seen some audaxers and road racers that do mega miles on bikes set up totally at odds with what is deemed to be "perfection".
Unfortunately it can be a costly excercise in terms of saddles, saddle posts, stems etc until you find that sweet spot.
Always always use the best quality shorts you can afford, i've always found bib-shorts to be best and Assoss to be the best of the best, and they do last a long time without falling apart.
Numb Nuts = nerve damage, which can lead to impotency so get it sorted!
ETA: i've found that the slimmer and less padded the saddle is the better it was, the best was just a pure carbon seat, with titanium rails and no padding - padding in the shorts preventing pressure points and the seat was actually well "suspended" .
Unfortunately it can be a costly excercise in terms of saddles, saddle posts, stems etc until you find that sweet spot.
Always always use the best quality shorts you can afford, i've always found bib-shorts to be best and Assoss to be the best of the best, and they do last a long time without falling apart.
Numb Nuts = nerve damage, which can lead to impotency so get it sorted!
ETA: i've found that the slimmer and less padded the saddle is the better it was, the best was just a pure carbon seat, with titanium rails and no padding - padding in the shorts preventing pressure points and the seat was actually well "suspended" .
Edited by sherbertdip on Monday 23 June 14:26
Matt_N said:
Now you need to find your saddle height, there are many ways to do this, one of the most common is the 109% method. Take your inside leg measurement and times it by 109%, this will give you the centre of the bb to top of the saddle height.
Just one last one on seat height, I've got mine set so there's a slight bend in my leg at bottom dead centre and for the most part, I do tend to pedal with my heels up. I've not noticed any rocking in my hips, so can only assume it's correct(ish) but if I was to use the method above, is the picture correct or the text correct? i.e. is it 109% minus the crank length?Haing said that, I guess it will become self-evident when I try it as it will be either massively too high or too low depending on which is correct and which one I use.
Edited by Kell on Monday 23 June 16:10
ro55a said:
Next buy yourself a Fizik Airone saddle, everyone has their own style, preference etc etc BUT this saddle keeps coming up as your Best fit saddle, I just bought one and its spot on.
Never recommend a saddle to anyone over the web!!!
I've had a Fizik Arione, and it was absolute f
king agony! The Specialized Taupe I replaced it with, on the other hand, is absolutely wonderful.You might find it the other way round. The OP may find them both to be like razor blades, or marshmallows, or anywhere in between.
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