I got out this evening for an 18-mile ride on the Veloway, which was about all I could handle after the MS over the weekend. It was a good ride, just what I needed to ease back into the biking routine after the MS ride left me with a sore taint.
I’ve got a new pair of Sugoi shorts with the largest chamois pad I’ve seen. It didn’t seem to matter. I was struck by the fact that my bottom started complaining after about the same distance when I did the century ride last fall. It’s the soft tissue that gets sore — the perineum.
I’ve written before about my Specialized Alias saddle, and how much I like it. But I gotta say, after about 50 miles, my bottom starts to hurt.
The Specialized Alias saddle.
So — it may be time to start rethinking the saddle. The Alias is firm, like a racing saddle. It could be that I need to go to something with a little more padding so that when I do longer rides, I come through them without any soreness. The problem is, how much (or how little) padding do I need?
I like to window shop as much as anyone. I’ve been attracted to the WTB line of saddles. Wilderness Trail Bikes seems to be primarily a mountain biking line, but they do have saddles for road biking. Most are reasonably priced, too. They carry a little more padding than I’ve presently got. Could be worth dropping a few bucks on one to test it out. Most retailers will take back the saddle after a reasonable try-out period.
The other thing that occurs to me is that I might need a real bike fitting. I’ve done some tweaking of my saddle position since I got the bike, so it’s not in the same place it was when they fitted me at the time of purchase. However, their fitting was rather cursory, and I wasn’t impressed with the process.
A shop in Austin is known for its fitting services, and the price is right, too. Any thoughts about new saddles vs. a professional bike fitting? Which way should I go?
The saddle looks level in this picture from September, but it turns out that it wasn’t. I think the sloping top tube throws off the eye, making the saddle seem flat, when it’s really tilted up. Even though it’s tilted, it will still look flat when compared to the top tube.