Now take your minds out of the gutter, this is a serious question. I have been commuting to work most days for 10 years until the last 7 months whereby i have become just a weekend warrior at best. I have signed up for a couple longish distance sportives one of which is in 7 weeks time. The problem i have is my bottom isn’t prepared for long stints in the saddle, i manage about 3-3.5 hrs in the mtb saddle but then my posterior just cant handle the sitting down anymore. Are there any tricks to shall we say toughen up that area or should i just put lots of padding in my shorts? I have the turbo set up so could feasibly manage an hour on that a few times a week maybe but other than that family life dictates barely a long ride per week. Can i train my saddle area to toughen up?

Good quality padded bibshorts and chamois cream. Try now, and not on the day, in case the cream you’ve pick doesn’t agree with your skin.

someone you know well could spend half an hour bashing your bum with one of these on a regular basis?

ime, additional padding won’t help over ling rides, it’s more about saddle fit than anything else.

definitely get on the cream. twixt the cheeks is as important as the parts you’re sitting on.

Do you have a conservative local MP? If so, they’ll have some useful advice.

😆

After 3 hours in any of my saddles a hammer like that would look comfortable. I have chamois cream but that just deals with chaffing whereas my issue is more based around bruising/tenderness for want of a better word. I need to get my “saddle wings” in a short space of time. My padded shorts are probably past there best and a little thin to begin with so any suggestions for anything with a thicker padded liner?
Sadly i think my local mp is labour so my old posterior is probably not to his fetish liking!

There is always different option…

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pudyCkMaQcg[/video]

Ah well, best get spending then! Top end dhb have a thick pad. It’s all personal preference though so pick a brand you know fits well then buy the best you can afford.

Might see if there is any way i can modify my shackleton high chair to fit my seat post! I will see if i can manufacture a thicker pad from my older set of shorts and try and get on the turbo as frequently as i can.

Might see if there is any way i can modify my shackleton high chair…

How about making a stand for your bike saddle, so you can sit on it during office hours, while eating dinner, watching TV, etc… 😆

As others have said, get decent padded shorts. I find DHB are fine for me and at the opposite end of the price spectrum Assos fit great as well.

Riding on the turbo is hard work as you don’t really get the constant change in sitting/standing/moving around that you do out on the road. I’m quite happy with 6 or 7 hour rides out on the road but have only just done my first turbo session that was over an hour long.

Make sure that your bike fits would also be a good thing to look at, if you aren’t sat on the saddle correctly then no amount of quality padding is going to help. Basically you want pressure on your sit bones (clue in the name) rather than your plums or perineum.

It sounds like your problem is more with the saddle than the shorts or chamois cream. Saddle shape and width is very individual, and most people find certain types better than others. I for one can’t use a saddle with no channel down the middle for longer than half an hour! It might be worth trying out a few different saddle shapes if you can, and see if you can find one that’s more comfortable. More padding probably won’t solve anything, the shape is much more important. Same goes for shorts, proper fit and quality mean more than raw padding levels.

Use witch hazel to toughen everything up, chamois cream for actual cycling and sudocream to heal up any sores.

The saddles on my bike are mid range but by no means selected by me specifically for there ergonomics so i think this just might be one of a few things that might not be quite spot on so i will look in to that. As for bike fit i wonder if there is something in this as the sore bit does tend to be more of the area between the ball bag and the poop shoot (i assume sitting bones are more the the left and right of the poop shoot). With this in mind does that suggest the set up isnt quite right as most other measurements that i know of in a bike fit seem pretty spot on although not 100% verified. Are gel shorts any better than my cheap what feels like foam padded shorts?

Measured my sit bones which were 120mm so as far as i know you are meant to add about 20-30mm to get the approx best size saddle, is that right? Are there sizing standards for saddles or do they come in any size the manufacturer wants? Also i assume the size quoted is the max width and what i need is to measure the flat section of the saddle so to speak and not include the champhered edge (assuming i need 150mm flat section)

My current saddle is only 135 wide which my account for getting saddle sore within a few hours