Diagnosis: Is it a worn out saddle, or my butt?

[Louis]

So far this year I've had zero problems saddle-wise. Everything has been great. Then last weekend, after about 2 hrs I started to feel some slight unhappiness on the left side. Both of my rides during the week were just under 2 hrs, no problems. Today, after about 2 hours same deal.

Usually when this happens it turns out that one side of my Selle Italia Prolink has gone noticeably soft and the foam is just worn out. (You can tell by pressing it with your thumb - the no-pain side seems obviously harder.) Swapping out for a new saddle fixes everything.

This time I check the saddle when I get home and it seems fine - no difference either to the eye or using my calibrated fingers. I doubt it's my shorts, the PIs I wore today are relatively new and have been fine in the past. No significant increase in weekly mileage either.

So, do I try the "swap the saddle" thing again, or try something else?

How do you diagnose this sort of thing?

TIA
Louis

[dave thompson]

Time for a new bike! Cures everything.

[Louis]

Time for a new bike! Cures everything.

What do you have for sale this week? :D

[dave thompson]

What do you have for sale this week? :D
Lemme see. What flavor would you like? :)

[RIHans]

Been putting in the "seat time required"..? I switched to a new-er type, skinny
seat, Flight Type, and OMG...Best money out of pocket in a long time. After many years on Turbos...My *** don't hurt! No kidding..HH

[stevep]

archibald told me when i had the same problem to make sure the narrow end of the saddle faces the handlebars.
fixed everything.

[wasfast]

While it's possible something's amiss with the saddle, it may be something else with your body. If you've been favoring one side of your body, spine turned some, you're super stressed so muscles get tightened up etc.

[dekindy]

I can only offer what I would consider as common sense questions.

How much time/mileage has elapsed since you replaced the saddle last time versus previous saddle life spans?

Have you checked to see if other saddles of your vintage are experiencing lesser quality than previously manufactured saddles?

Did something slip and come out of adjustment?

[iffyjoe]

Before you start changing saddles, you might try checking your shorts. Many times the shorts wear out, the pad gets thin and we always look to the saddle first. Try riding a ways with new or near new shorts and see how ya feel.

[Too Tall]

Whoah there cowboy. Change is bad...what changed?

[Louis]

Whoah there cowboy. Change is bad...what changed?

Absolutely nothing at all that I can think of except on thing - warmer and more humid weather. Other than that, not a thing. Same Assoss chamois cream, same position on the bike, same routes, etc.


Iffy, I checked the shorts, and they're fine - plus it has happened on multiple shorts. My ride today will be about 2 hrs. We'll see what happens.

Thanks guys.
Louis

[Louis]

Update: It was the saddle

I swapped out the Prolink for another essentially identical, but new, Prolink (the stitching on the leather was slightly different). The result was a huge difference. For whatever reason, the new saddle does not feel as "perfect" as the one I removed (before it went bad) but still, there was still a dramatic improvement. Yesterday I did about four hours and did not have any of the serious problems that originally prompted this thread.

I guess the bottom line is that I can't expect too many miles from this model saddle. I checked my log and the saddle I removed had only been in use for one year. I didn't bother to add up all the miles since then, but I'm certainly no high-mileage rider.

Louis

[Bart001]

Comedy "I think it's a worn-out butt" reply. See if you can get a glimpse in the mirror. It might be cracked. :D




Glad it all worked out "in the end."

[Ken Robb]

I think for us to assess this problem you need to post pictures of the saddle and your butt so we can decide which one is worn out. :banana:

[dave thompson]

I think for us to assess this problem you need to post pictures of the saddle and your butt so we can decide which one is worn out. :banana:
Do you have a thing for looking at pics of used saddles, or butts? :)

[regularguy412]

This is turning into a George Carlin routine.

:beer: :banana:

MIke in AR

[pdxmech13]

who's this Carlin fellow.........