REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

Sorry for invading your lounge...my wife needs help

1176 Views 21 Replies 11 Participants Last post by mahgnillig, Dec 16, 2005

seasick

Discussion Starter · Dec 9, 2005

Hi All,

My wife is not an mountain biker, but more of a round town bike path crusier type. Nothing hard core at all, but she fairly confident considering she wasn't allowed to ride bikes as a child since "it wasn't something that ladies do". Can you imagine?

OK, cut to the details. Without going into too much detail, there was some (read: much) damage from the birth of our child and over a year and a half later she is still have difficulties after a few operations. She wants to do mellow family rides when I tow the little gal, but her current saddle set-up is *way* out of the question.

Can any recommend any saddles that are:
~ Very Soft, comfy and non-invasive (perhaps even sprung).
~ Doesn't have a nose that would rub between the legs.

I searched the net a bit (didn't do an Mtbr search, sorry), but was hoping for some actual feedback.

Thanks.

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

formica

· #2 · Dec 9, 2005 (Edited)

seasick said:
Hi All,

My wife is not an mountain biker, but more of a round town bike path crusier type. Nothing hard core at all, but she fairly confident considering she wasn't allowed to ride bikes as a child since "it wasn't something that ladies do". Can you imagine?

OK, cut to the details. Without going into too much detail, there was some (read: much) damage from the birth of our child and over a year and a half later she is still have difficulties after a few operations. She wants to do mellow family rides when I tow the little gal, but her current saddle set-up is *way* out of the question.

Can any recommend any saddles that are:
~ Very Soft, comfy and non-invasive (perhaps even sprung).
~ Doesn't have a nose that would rub between the legs.

I searched the net a bit (didn't do an Mtbr search, sorry), but was hoping for some actual feedback.

Thanks.

this is probably one of those trial and error situations. First, check the obvious... is she wearing a bike short with a high quality chamois, commando? That is #1 for preventing saddle sores. #2 is that the standard thinking on bike saddles is that the more cushy/soft/sofa-y they are, the more they make you sore. #3 is that no matter what kind of saddle set up you go for, there is always butt break in time.

There are several schools of thought, I am a real believer in getting a saddle that supports you on the sit bones and not the soft tissue. The width of your sit bones has no relationship to the size of your butt, it's a skeletal measurement. Specialized makes saddles in different widths just for this reason.

Some gals swear by the female specific type saddles with cut outs; I can't speak to those as the unisex but sized works for me.

Other things to check, seat angle etc.

Hope this helps some...

formica

ps guys are welcome here as long as they aren't trolling for dates, descriptions of our underwear, or looking for relationship advice.

See less See more

seasick

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 9, 2005

formica said:
this is probably one of those trial and error situations. First, check the obvious... is she wearing a bike short with a high quality chamois, commando? That is #1 for preventing saddle sores. #2 is that the standard thinking on bike saddles is that the more cushy/soft/sofa-y they are, the more they make you sore. #3 is that no matter what kind of saddle set up you go for, there is always butt break in time.

There are several schools of thought, I am a real believer in getting a saddle that supports you on the sit bones and not the soft tissue. The width of your sit bones has no relationship to the size of your butt, it's a skeletal measurement. Specialized makes saddles in different widths just for this reason.

Some gals swear by the female specific type saddles with cut outs; I can't speak to those as the unisex but sized works for me.

Other things to check, seat angle etc.

Hope this helps some...

formica

ps guys are welcome here as long as they aren't trolling for dates, descriptions of our underwear, or looking for relationship advice.

Thanks for the feedback. You're right - there will probably be much trial-and-error to come. She knows butt break-in time since she typical only rode from time to time and often had to go through it. She absolutely can't use a standard saddle due to the under-carriage damage and surgeries that followed...ouch.

Sit bones are an only option otherwise she stuck to taking walks and light hikes at most. That would be too bad. Some kind person passed this possibility along:

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=13378&subcategory_ID=5211#

Any thoughts? It looks like it would go OK on the old Schwinn I set up for her around town more fashionable rides *AND* more importantly be comfy.

Now, about the underwear discussion...

zenmonkey

· #4 · Dec 10, 2005

seasick said:
Thanks for the feedback. You're right - there will probably be much trial-and-error to come. She knows butt break-in time since she typical only rode from time to time and often had to go through it. She absolutely can't use a standard saddle due to the under-carriage damage and surgeries that followed...ouch.

Sit bones are an only option otherwise she stuck to taking walks and light hikes at most. That would be too bad. Some kind person passed this possibility along:

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=13378&subcategory_ID=5211#

Any thoughts? It looks like it would go OK on the old Schwinn I set up for her around town more fashionable rides *AND* more importantly be comfy.

Now, about the underwear discussion...

noseless gelfoam

http://www.bicycleseats.org/bicycle-seats.htm

kgardnez

· #5 · Dec 10, 2005

Would a recumbent be an option?

GuruAtma

· #6 · Dec 10, 2005

The local bike shops in SR (where you live, I think) are happy to let you try a saddle for a week or 2 and return it. You could probably try several in a weekend. Easier then doing the same through mail order.

verslowrdr

· #7 · Dec 11, 2005

Sympathies for your wife from someone who has been hobbling along with excruciating sciatic pain for over a week now. I'm guessing my problem stems from the birth of my daughter just 10 weeks ago.... hours of back labor has been rumored to cause that kind of thing.

I know that the RAAM riders sometimes use a split seat of some kind towards the end of the race, but don't know exactly what kind they usually choose. You may be able to search around on the internet for a brand name or something. I would also second the comment about looking seriously at a 'bent if no saddle seems to work.

seasick

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 11, 2005

kgardnez said:
Would a recumbent be an option?

She would be mainly staying in the flats and not really venturing too far off tarmac or bike trails so that's not a problem. It would definitely have to be of the suspension variety (since you can't un-weight on a bent) which would narrow the selection and increase the cost. Interesting...that may be an option. The one problem I see is that I'd have to build a shed out back to hide it from my REAL BIKE riding friends.

It may be just the ticket to getting her back in/on the saddle again, though. Thanks for the idea.

seasick

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 11, 2005

GuruAtma said:
The local bike shops in SR (where you live, I think) are happy to let you try a saddle for a week or 2 and return it. You could probably try several in a weekend. Easier then doing the same through mail order.

Hey Papa Guru! How's the newest Mtbr dad? Youre' right, I do need to check with some LBS's. The saddle needs to be *very* specific though, probably female specific - no nose extension of any kind is an option...it not a warm and fuzzy story.

seasick

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 11, 2005

verslowrdr said:
Sympathies for your wife from someone who has been hobbling along with excruciating sciatic pain for over a week now. I'm guessing my problem stems from the birth of my daughter just 10 weeks ago.... hours of back labor has been rumored to cause that kind of thing.

I know that the RAAM riders sometimes use a split seat of some kind towards the end of the race, but don't know exactly what kind they usually choose. You may be able to search around on the internet for a brand name or something. I would also second the comment about looking seriously at a 'bent if no saddle seems to work.

Thanks - and back to you. I hope you can recover and get feeling close to normal in a jiffy. My wife will be dealing with this for the rest of her life, thankfully she's a real warrior.

I'll continue to weigh the various saddle options and we'll check out bents if necessary. Best of luck to you.

Lucky

· #11 · Dec 12, 2005

Scroll on down to "sling seat" here for a do-it-yourself idea: http://www.jimlangley.net/wrench/faq.html

Or check this out: http://www.globalbikesonline.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/21_22/products_id/157

I can't vouch for the dealer, as I have never heard of them, but you can Google "Easy Seat bike seat" and see what you come up with. I used to ride with an older gentleman who had prostate issues that prevented him from using a regular saddle. He used one of these.

I wish her good recovery from her injury. It sounds very painful.

Kathy

rt

· #12 · Dec 12, 2005

Lucky said:
Or check this out: http://www.globalbikesonline.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/21_22/products_id/157

my thoughts were the same as Lucky, zenmonkey, and kgardnez. either the saddle Lucky & zenmonkey provided links to or a recumbant.

rt

wooglin

· #13 · Dec 12, 2005

FWIW, roadbikerider.com just reviewed one of those noseless saddles and found it downright dangerous. We apparently do a lot of steering with our thighs. I'd go with a bent.

Lucky

· #14 · Dec 13, 2005

wooglin said:
FWIW, roadbikerider.com just reviewed one of those noseless saddles and found it downright dangerous. We apparently do a lot of steering with our thighs. I'd go with a bent.

Remember, she's going to be on an "around town bike path crusier type", and not some twitchy performance-oriented road bike. Yes, a lot of steering comes from your tush, but since she's probably going to be sitting fairly upright, she'll probably have enough weight on her seat to have control of it. I think either would work, and a new nose-less saddle is much less of an investment to see if she's comfy enough.

Kathy :^)

Mellow Yellow

· #15 · Dec 14, 2005

Seasick's wife got her Gruv back...

Another option is one of these Raleigh Gruvs. They are designed so that when she stops, she can put her feet down with out having to stand up. The saddles are wide and comfie. Perfect for someone who does the "just around the neighborhood" rides.

https://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=6&itemid=271&va=0

<img src=https://www.raleighusa.com/images/items/sportcmft/full/2006/2006-Gruv2-gold-f.jpg>

GuruAtma

· #16 · Dec 15, 2005

Giant makes a similar bike. The seat is pretty wide. They sell them at Bike Peddler, so she could give it a try:

See less See more

rt

· #17 · Dec 15, 2005

GuruAtma said:
Giant makes a similar bike. The seat is pretty wide. They sell them at Bike Peddler, so she could give it a try:

guys, i don't think the problem is the width of the seat so much as the pressure on the soft tissue from the NOSE of the saddle. or at least that's my understanding of the OP's description of his wife's issues.

hence one of those nose-less saddles would eliminate any and all pressure on the area in question as would a recumbent with a sling-style seat.

rt

wooglin

· #18 · Dec 15, 2005

Finally got around to looking for that review I mentioned of a noseless saddle on the roadbikerider.com site, only to find that its been archived to the pay-to-view section. But I did look up the mention of it in their e-newsletter and they had a link to another saddle that might be worth considering. Looks weird to me, but you never know...

http://www.bycycleinc.com/

Edit: Whoops! Found a link to the noseless saddle review, too: http://www.roadbikerider.com/noseless.htm

seasick

Discussion Starter · #19 · Dec 15, 2005

Mellow Yellow said:
Another option is one of these Raleigh Gruvs. They are designed so that when she stops, she can put her feet down with out having to stand up. The saddles are wide and comfie. Perfect for someone who does the "just around the neighborhood" rides.

Nice idea M Y...and just in time for the holidaze too! These show promise. We'll have to check these out on a parking lot tour.

seasick

Discussion Starter · #20 · Dec 15, 2005

*rt* said:
guys, i don't think the problem is the width of the seat so much as the pressure on the soft tissue from the NOSE of the saddle. or at least that's my understanding of the OP's description of his wife's issues.

hence one of those nose-less saddles would eliminate any and all pressure on the area in question as would a recumbent with a sling-style seat.

rt

You're right, rt. Leaning forward is a definite no-no. I'm currently looking at comfort bikes with high handlebars to seat the rider very upright, with a wide noseless cruiser style saddle that she can sit back on and keep herself happy. I don't think she's recumbent material but that is still a fall back option.

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.