Reader Brian F tells a story that dramatically illustrates the potential power or destructiveness of a bike fit, and how little adjustments can have major effects. 1500 miles in to a 2000 mile bike tour he faced defeat due to unbearable pain…
“We had already done about 1500 miles, but I started to develop saddle sores. I spent almost two entire days coasting and standing because I couldn’t bear to pedal while sitting. I was resigned to having to take a bus for the last 500 miles of the trip, which was a completely demoralizing thought. About four in the morning I woke up in my tent and said out loud, “Lower the seat.” A couple of hours later I lowered the seat by about 2 cm. and I was good to go. It was like a miracle.
Don’t you love the way his mind figured it out while he was sleeping?
Speaking of bike fit and saddle sores, I had the hardest time finding a saddle that was comfortable. I used to ride quite a bit, up to 40-50 miles was no problem, but a couple of days a week I’d do 90 miles, and occasionally I’d do 120-150.
It’s those long rides that revealed the weakness in a saddle for me… and frankly scared me a bit as I started experiencing lingering numbness and pain.
Finally I found one that worked, here’s the saddle that saved my butt.
Saddles are a very personal thing, but if you’ve had issues and are not quite satisfied with your saddle, I recommend giving this one a try.
I signed us up for the extended version which turned out to be 107 miles on day one. Around about 80 miles my knees started to feel fragile, like they were eggshells and cracking. It was almost unbearable, I only got through it with the help of painkillers.