Pain in left sit bone

[DR ◣◢]

the best advise anyone gave me was to go to Richard Baxter for a setup. I was getting strange saddle sores. Also predominantly on one side. I had my setup done numerous times before and tried different saddles. Saddles which were never a problem before were all of a sudden a problem. Bibs brands that I had ridden for years trouble free were now hurting. I even had one guy put a shim under my left cleat to try and alleviate the issue.

 

Richard has a saddle pressure "thingie" that's shows exactly where you are sitting on the saddle and can identify the causes etc. Best money I ever spent.

 

 

PS. Any idea what this costs? I wouldn't mind get my setup checked.

[The Ouzo]

PS. Any idea what this costs? I wouldn't mind get my setup checked.

I paid around R1500 this time last year with Richard. Was well worth it.

[Chris_]

The piriformis muscle is around that area. She may have tweaked it on that side. Its a real pig of a thing when its inflamed.

 

Has she been to a physio or someone like that to prod around(?), it may be a jammed nerve or muscle.

Edited July 27, 2020 by Chris_

[MORNE]

If the previous bike was too big she might have been stretched out over it, and thats probably why she could ride a 135mm ish saddle? The more racey your position..the narrower you can go.

Now thats she’s more upright/neutral my gut tells me even a 142mm might be too narrow maybe? Especially if it hurts after only 1hr Ish riding.

I‘Ve been told In the past by a fitter that it is less common for women to be under 150mm since they have naturally wider pelvic bones than men for obvious reasons...

I get that there are exceptions to the rule too.

 

Edit: it could be as simple as the tilt or fore&aft being slightly off with the new position

 

For what its worth...my wife and I ride the exact same saddle. I ride it in 142mm and she rides it in 155mm. No complaints.

Edited July 27, 2020 by morneS555

[RobertWhitehead]

I second what Morne says. I think 142mm or 143mm is too narrow for her. I actually think that she had too much HTFU on the M frame and now she's had enough  .

 

If the previous bike was too big she might have been stretched out over it, and thats probably why she could ride a 135mm ish saddle? The more racey your position..the narrower you can go.
Now thats she’s more upright/neutral my gut tells me even a 142mm might be too narrow maybe? Especially if it hurts after only 1hr Ish riding.
I‘Ve been told In the past by a fitter that it is less common for women to be under 150mm since they have naturally wider pelvic bones than men for obvious reasons...
I get that there are exceptions to the rule too.

Edit: it could be as simple as the tilt or fore&aft being slightly off with the new position

For what its worth...my wife and I ride the exact same saddle. I ride it in 142mm and she rides it in 155mm. No complaints.

[DR ◣◢]

If the previous bike was too big she might have been stretched out over it, and thats probably why she could ride a 135mm ish saddle? The more racey your position..the narrower you can go.

Now thats she’s more upright/neutral my gut tells me even a 142mm might be too narrow maybe? Especially if it hurts after only 1hr Ish riding.

I‘Ve been told In the past by a fitter that it is less common for women to be under 150mm since they have naturally wider pelvic bones than men for obvious reasons...

I get that there are exceptions to the rule too.

 

Edit: it could be as simple as the tilt or fore&aft being slightly off with the new position

 

For what its worth...my wife and I ride the exact same saddle. I ride it in 142mm and she rides it in 155mm. No complaints.

 

She said to me the pain is better when she moves back slightly so I think we can try moving the saddle back 5mm and tilt the nose slightly. 

 

I'll play around with this a little and then try out a 155mm saddle. 

 

Thanks for the feedback.

[bertusras]

Pop into a Spaz store and have her sit on an assometer. It's worth the 15 minutes of a sales talk to be honest.

 

We've found that Spez saddles work really well for the lady, and she's got 3 different ones (cut-out style) that I've been able to pick up second hand over time across her bikes. I'll check the width when I get home. She's quite petite, so I'm not sure if she's on 143 or 155.

 

It might be a case that your lady is actually sitting 'off' the side of the saddle at an angle, which is what's causing her pain.

[Jewbacca]

She said to me the pain is better when she moves back slightly so I think we can try moving the saddle back 5mm and tilt the nose slightly. 

 

I'll play around with this a little and then try out a 155mm saddle. 

 

Thanks for the feedback.

'when she moves back' wouldn't that mean she is then over the wider part of the saddle? Try moving the saddle forward to she naturally sits over the wide part?

[Chriszelle]

Lady here, can confirm that when it comes to saddles for a woman it's no easy task. I've tested way more than 5 saddles over a one year period and it's down to Spez's Power OR Mimic. I follow many women's cycling forums and most prefer a Spez or the Selle Italia Gel Flow. 

I really hope only a minor adjustment is needed - it can be very frustrating to find the problem for the discomfort. 

[DR ◣◢]

Lady here, can confirm that when it comes to saddles for a woman it's no easy task. I've tested way more than 5 saddles over a one year period and it's down to Spez's Power OR Mimic. I follow many women's cycling forums and most prefer a Spez or the Selle Italia Gel Flow. 

I really hope only a minor adjustment is needed - it can be very frustrating to find the problem for the discomfort. 

 

She's on the 142mm Phenom right now and I'm starting to think more and more that a 155 is the way to go. Thanks so much for the input. 

 

Thanks so 

[Super Sywurm]

Not that I have any problem with my seating area, but this is an interesting read. 

 

I while ago I had the struggle of getting a seat that I could sit on for more than 40km.  A new Fizik M3 seat and some DIY tuning on the setup did the job.  Now, 100km in the saddle is a breeze (well, before the lock down it was).

[DR ◣◢]

'when she moves back' wouldn't that mean she is then over the wider part of the saddle? Try moving the saddle forward to she naturally sits over the wide part?

 

Very valid point. My brain is working backwards today. Bumped it forward by 5mm and pointed the nose down ever so slightly. 

 

Funny how different the setups are between men and women. On my end I have chronic coccyx pain and I run the saddle forward on the rails with the nose upwards. Both road and mountain bike. Sorted out the pain on the trainer especially. I would last about 20 minutes before the pain started. At the end of 20km I had to drag my undercarriage off the front of the saddle in order to not cry from pain. This was on a 135mm saddle. Tried a Specialized Phenom in 142mm and it was perfect. Hardly any pain. Upgraded the saddle to a Serfas 145mm now. Happy.

[bertusras]

Pop into a Spaz store and have her sit on an assometer. It's worth the 15 minutes of a sales talk to be honest.

 

We've found that Spez saddles work really well for the lady, and she's got 3 different ones (cut-out style) that I've been able to pick up second hand over time across her bikes. I'll check the width when I get home. She's quite petite, so I'm not sure if she's on 143 or 155.

 

It might be a case that your lady is actually sitting 'off' the side of the saddle at an angle, which is what's causing her pain.

 

Okay so she has a Spez Lithia, an Oura and a Rival all in 155mm. So I'd give a 155 a shot if I were you.

[Andreas_187]

I had severe pain in my right sit bone and tried 5/6/7 saddles. After a saddle fit at The Gear Change we dropped my seat by 15mm.

Now ALL the saddles in my collection are comfortable!

[Ramrod]

PS. Any idea what this costs? I wouldn't mind get my setup checked.

it depends what you have done in terms of setup.  Go to his website www.richardbaxter.co.za

 

Disclaimer: please note that I am in no way affiliated with Richard however he is probably the best in the business and is a really decent guy. That is why I advocate his services so highly.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Ramrod

[Butterbean]

You thought about leg length discrepancy? I had an irritating niggle on one side. Saddle sores, sore riding... Tried different saddles, different shorts, different setups. Problem was, my left leg is slight shorter than my right, but the right side was the one that was measured when doing bike fitments. Eventually sorted when I got a spez fitment done, purely because they were close by, and the fitter noticed a discrepancy. A little 2mn shim in the shoe and I'm 100% now... Might be worth checking...