Why has my saddle suddenly become uncomfortable?
Question: I’ve ridden the same brand and model of saddle for years and have always found it comfortable. But recently, it’s become uncomfortable, even on short rides. I know any saddle can wear out, but I have the identical saddle on my other bike, and I have the same loss of comfort on that bike as well. I’ve experimented with changing the height, tilt, and fore-and-aft position of the saddle, but nothing has helped. I haven’t gained or lost weight, but is it possible that my anatomy has changed in some way that I’m not aware of? — Art C.
RBR’S STAN PURDUM REPLIES: An unnoticed anatomical change that would affect saddle fit is possible, but before you assume that, let me tell you of an experience of mine that caused me to wonder about an anatomy change — which turned out not to be the case.
I had been riding Brooks B17 leather saddles on all my bikes for years, finding them quite comfortable. And then, seemingly all of a sudden, nine years ago, they weren’t. Each time I rode, I had pain in my left groin, but I had no pain there when not on the bike. As it happened, I’d had prostate surgery not long before, so I wondered if that could be the cause. But whether or not it was, I ended up fiddling with the positioning of the saddle, much as you have done, and I came to a position setting — lowered height — where I did feel some relief. So I decided that my anatomy had changed enough to require the saddle resetting, and I even wrote about the experience here in Road Bike Rider.
But as I continued riding with the seat lowered, it did not altogether relieve the pain, so the next time I had a checkup with the doctor who’d operated on my prostate, I asked him if the surgery could have caused the groin discomfort. He said no, and explained the procedure in enough detail to convince me he was correct. But then he asked me to describe my pain. And after I did, he said, “Sounds like tendonitis to me.” He suggested I try a three-week regimen of Ibuprofen. I did that, and it eliminated the pain.
In other words, the problem was neither the saddle nor its positioning nor a change in my anatomy, but rather a treatable inflammation of a tendon.
All of this is to say that while anatomic change is a possible explanation of your saddle discomfort, it might be worth having a conversation with your doctor before rejiggering your current saddle or trying some new ones.
If the cause is not some physical ailment, saddle degradation or something correctable by refiguring your saddle positioning yourself, the next thing I’d try is a professional bike fitting with a shop that can also do saddle pressure mapping.
Stan Purdum has ridden several long-distance bike trips, including an across-America ride recounted in his book Roll Around Heaven All Day, and a trek on U.S. 62, from Niagara Falls, New York, to El Paso, Texas, the subject of his book Playing in Traffic. Stan, a freelance writer and editor, lives in Ohio. See more at www.StanPurdum.com.
It happens, in 2019, I had done a lot of mileage on a Brooks B17, many rides preparing for Paris Brest Paris along with all its qualifiers etc with no issues including all the rides going back to PBP 2015 and then come the day and wearing the same shorts etc, within 30km of starting, I was in agony which I had to put up with for the remaining 1200+ KM and even a change into my spare shorts made no difference. The only thing that saved the day was a trip to the chemists on the return journey and prescribed some Bepathan nappy cream, it worked a treat and took the pain away instantly. I could find no reason as to why it happened. But, I have never ridden a B17 since.
Then one other thing that I have come up against years ago is, when I used get a pain in my right groin, I found out it was because my right leg is my shortest leg and because I had my saddle slightly high, I was over reaching with that leg and straining my groin. It also explained also that was why I would wear a hole in my shorts on tight ont the right had side of the groin area.
Something else that happened to me two years ago and is related to the last issue, my saddle became uncomfortable along with a groin strain and all my bike measurements from a bike fit were good, and I could not find a reason for the cause and found a solution by lowering the saddle. Shortly afterwards, I got my annual health check, it was found that I had lost nearly 2 inches in height simply because, as you get old, you lose height, so that would explain it.
Also I have found that the tip of a saddle on the inside of my leg can cause me a groin strain and just lowering the tip will resolve it.
In reality, there are probably lots of reasons as to why it happens, and just staring you in the face and you cannot spot the issue and its probably something simple.
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Good insight. I have the one-leg-shorter-than-the-other issue as well, and the shorter one is the side where the tendonitis occurred.
Thanks, for your comments.
Height isn’t the only thing that changes with age. Body composition does too. You lose muscle mass (expected) but you also lose the “padding” over those old bones (unexpected). For example, I can’t tolerate hard kitchen chairs for more than a few minutes. It hasn’t changed the ideal saddle shape for me, but I can see where it could and may become a future problem.
The advice for adjusting your saddle is a good first step but you may need to start from zero and figure out what saddle shape works for you now.
Another factor in aging is less resilient skin. I find that all of my skin has much less elasticity, than it once had, and it’s harder to find a comfortable saddle for long and/or multi-day rides. Variations on chamois cream has been my only solution so far. My discomfort, though, is not the localized pain you describe; it’s just a lot of irritated areas.
I had a friction sore from the saddle on the right side especially after long brevets. I added cleat shims to the right shoe, gradually, until the friction sore was eliminated. I also rotated the saddle clockwise a very small amount which was hardly noticeable.
I have had several Brooks saddles over the years. After a period of time, the saddles seem to sag and become unsupported, causing shaffing in the thighs. So I switched to Berthoud leather saddles. I have two. They have held up very well and can be rebuilt as well. Very supportive.
I have now switched to a Selle Anatomica leather saddle for the same reason. For a while, I was able to tighten the Brooks,, but eventually the adjuster reached the end of its range. I’m happy with the Selle.