rbb

Thanks for this. Interestingly, one of the things the bike fitter had to do was move the handlebars closer, and I think he wants to raise them further (the part he had to order) so that I am able to sit more upright and further back in the saddle. Which is a bit odd, since I'm not particularly short - I'm 1.71m.

The till slip for the saddle says "ERGON ST GEL SADDLE". The bike fitter chose it during the bike fit. The bib was actually donated to me by a kind member of this forum - it's an ftech bib. And to answer ouzo, yes, I wore the bib to the bike fit. There is still one further adjustment that the bike fitter needs to make to the bike - he didn't have the part available at the fit so I'm going back to get that done. When I say "mild improvement" - perhaps it's better than that. Certainly there was no burning when I went to the loo after my ride today, but I still don't feel comfortable in the saddle. Maybe I'm just being overly picky and what I regard as "discomfort", others regard as normal. My biokineticist once remarked at how I get irritated by small discomforts - she had a word for it which I wish I could remember....

Thanks for this. Your point about things improving as my legs get stronger is an interesting one. I think I have fairly good core strength. My problem with making adjustments is - I don't know what adjustments to make! I have had a professional bike fit done, got a new saddle and a new bib. Things do seem to have improved mildly, so now perhaps it's just a matter of sticking with it, getting my body more used to it, and maybe trying out a few different bibs.

Wow, thanks so much everyone for the great advice! I can see this is going to be a massive learning curve and an expensive undertaking for a bit of fitness! I'll hopefully be going for a bike fit this week and see what comes out of that.

I'm a complete noob, just started riding at age 50 (literally - I never learnt to ride as a child). I bought a pair of First Ascent Domestique cycling shorts from Sportsman's Warehouse. I've done six 30-minute rides out on quiet suburban roads. My problem: I get really sore "down there" after less than 30 minutes. And I'm not talking bum soreness - I'm talking it feels like I've been cut inside my vagina. It burns when I go to the loo after a ride. And again - I'm not doing hours and hours on the bike - it's literally 30 minutes max. I just thought I needed to get the bike set up properly (which I know I do - I thought I should just get a bit more confident on the bike first), but my sister, who has been riding for years, just bought the same shorts and is complaining that she's also getting pain that she's never had before. So maybe it is just the shorts. I don't want to spend thousands of Rands on gear - I'm just doing this riding thing as a bit of a hobby to stay fit. So - which shorts to buy?