Saddle pain at the back of thighs?

[eephotog]

Basically I seem to get pain at the back of my thighs, just below the glute, a couple inches "forward" of the sit-bones?

Somehow I've been having the same issue on a ton of different saddles, and a few different bikes, from my drop bar road bike, moustache bar xo-2, and riser bar townie.

So far I've tried:
- fabric scoop shallow
- fabric scoop radius (best so far, but only in the drops)
- fizik argo vento
- prologo dimension, both 143 and 155 widths
- selle Italia superflow x
- pro stealth 155
- pro stealth curved 155
- pro turnix 142
- some no-name wtb saddle, and a super cheap brooks knock-off

With all of them, I find myself sliding off the back of the saddle trying to get comfortable, even if I'm so far back that I feel like I'm obviously too far behind the pedals. I assumed this meant the saddles were too narrow, but no improvements with the wider ones.

So far my "best" luck has been on my xo-2, which has a really short reach and deep drop.

Somewhat inaccurate measurements:
5'9"
31" inseam
~130mm sit bone with, measured by sitting on corrugated cardboard

Any ideas? (Of course, all those saddles could have paid for a bike fit...)

[fourflys]

so, not sure if you've tried this, but I know when I was having a similar issue, my saddle nose was too high.. not a lot, just enough to cause uncomfortableness..

[Turkle]

I was having similar issues, sliding around on the saddle and some odd leg pains in what sounds like the same place.

My fix was not equipment - it was flexibility. I started prioritizing pigeon and glute stretches before every ride. Getting the glutes stretched out has been mission critical for getting super comfortable putting down power on the bike.

YMMV, I'm not an expert, but it worked for me, and I suspect that (as has been my experience) many "equipment" issues are really "flexibility" issues.

Good luck!

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by Turkle

I was having similar issues, sliding around on the saddle and some odd leg pains in what sounds like the same place.

My fix was not equipment - it was flexibility. I started prioritizing pigeon and glute stretches before every ride. Getting the glutes stretched out has been mission critical for getting super comfortable putting down power on the bike.

YMMV, I'm not an expert, but it worked for me, and I suspect that (as has been my experience) many "equipment" issues are really "flexibility" issues.

Good luck!

so I'm somewhat familiar with the pigeon stretch, what glute stretches are you doing?

[Turkle]

Originally Posted by fourflys

so I'm somewhat familiar with the pigeon stretch, what glute stretches are you doing?

Just pigeon and that one where you're on your back and you do a figure 4 position, not sure what it's called...

[reuben]

Originally Posted by Turkle

Just pigeon and that one where you're on your back and you do a figure 4 position, not sure what it's called...

4 position might be seated (um, seated) or sleeping (on back) swan.

There are variants of the pigeon, and all other exercises/poses as well. Look them up, do what you can do. Don't push too hard.

Buttery and/or half butterfly might be good. Again, there are variants.

A lot of them have multiple names. Try to hold for 2-5 minutes. Don't worry if you can't do it quite right. Come out of them slowly.

Like a lot of things in life, it takes consistent practice to improve.

[giordana93]

whenever I try a wider saddle to get more support for my bum, I get the same thing, so for me saddles have to be narrow and absolutely not have a flare out as it gets wide. hits back of my thighs. 2 other things to try are pushing saddle further back and lower (it will have to go a little lower when pushed back to maintain same leg extension anyway). there are lots of formulae for setting seat height but an easy to check is if you can drop your heel a little at the bottom of your stroke. I like to be able to get my heel a little below the pedal when I make a straight leg. If you are on tippy toes or just level, it may be a bit high. I would guesstimate your saddle setback should be at least 5cm from nose behind the bottom bracket spindle center on a normal (not snub nose) saddle. minus another 2.5 for a snub nose. keep a log of changes. stretching never hurts, both hamstrings and hips.

[David Kirk]

My very first thought when seeing the long list of saddles that give you the same feeling is that it's not the saddle and that it could be the saddle height.

If the saddle is too low we tend to push our butts back to open up the knee more and get proper extension so that we can generate more power. This can lead to the hamstring getting pissed off as it pushes up against the side-hook shape of the saddle. To lessen the discomfort we move forward but now the saddle is effectively too low so we scoot back again. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Do you feel confident that you have your saddle height nailed down? Any chance that it's too low?

dave

Originally Posted by eephotog

Basically I seem to get pain at the back of my thighs, just below the glute, a couple inches "forward" of the sit-bones?

Somehow I've been having the same issue on a ton of different saddles, and a few different bikes, from my drop bar road bike, moustache bar xo-2, and riser bar townie.

So far I've tried:
- fabric scoop shallow
- fabric scoop radius (best so far, but only in the drops)
- fizik argo vento
- prologo dimension, both 143 and 155 widths
- selle Italia superflow x
- pro stealth 155
- pro stealth curved 155
- pro turnix 142
- some no-name wtb saddle, and a super cheap brooks knock-off

With all of them, I find myself sliding off the back of the saddle trying to get comfortable, even if I'm so far back that I feel like I'm obviously too far behind the pedals. I assumed this meant the saddles were too narrow, but no improvements with the wider ones.

So far my "best" luck has been on my xo-2, which has a really short reach and deep drop.

Somewhat inaccurate measurements:
5'9"
31" inseam
~130mm sit bone with, measured by sitting on corrugated cardboard

Any ideas? (Of course, all those saddles could have paid for a bike fit...)

[PortlyPuncheur]

Originally Posted by David Kirk

My very first thought when seeing the long list of saddles that give you the same feeling is that it's not the saddle and that it could be the saddle height.

If the saddle is too low we tend to push our butts back to open up the knee more and get proper extension so that we can generate more power. This can lead to the hamstring getting pissed off as it pushes up against the side-hook shape of the saddle. To lessen the discomfort we move forward but now the saddle is effectively too low so we scoot back again. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Do you feel confident that you have your saddle height nailed down? Any chance that it's too low?

dave

This makes so much sense. David Kirk is a wise fellow indeed.

Totally agree that it is probably a position problem and/or functional (flexibility) problem rather than the saddle. When I've gotten saddle position dialed in (height, setback, angle) I can ride a pretty wide range of saddles without much trouble.

If you can post up photos or even videos (better) people could give you better feedback. As an aside, it would be great if more of us did so - I love learning from other's fitting experiences!

[giordana93]

Originally Posted by PortlyPuncheur

This makes so much sense. David Kirk is a wise fellow indeed.

Totally agree that it is probably a position problem and/or functional (flexibility) problem rather than the saddle. When I've gotten saddle position dialed in (height, setback, angle) I can ride a pretty wide range of saddles without much trouble.

If you can post up photos or even videos (better) people could give you better feedback. As an aside, it would be great if more of us did so - I love learning from other's fitting experiences!

and I'll also point out (as my post implied) that a saddle that is too high can force you forward so you can't actually sit on the saddle, leading to hitting the flare with your thighs more than your sit bones on a sweet spot.

Not really sure we need to clog the bandwith with videos and photos. There are paid fitters who earn their keep, and internet forum bike fit is more discussion/education than video analysis. There are just too many factors--cleats, hamstrings, goals, weekly mileage, terrain....And differences of opinion as to what is too high or low, or forward or back.... I threw some numbers out there for fore/aft without knowing seat height but it's ballpark, point being one needs to learn what the numbers mean and where we sit; keep a log of any changes, listen when people of the pedigree of David Kirk speak, etc

[charliedid]

I normally don't post in Fit but I am local to the OP if he would like to reach out.

Dave K might be on the right track and I would add that you may need to go forward as well.

[eephotog]

Super helpful everyone, thanks!

Flexibility is definitely an issue, especially tight hamstrings and calves.
On saddle hight, no idea if I've got it right, pretty sure I've been oscillating between "too high" and "too low".

Another "functional" issue that I've been working on is strength/activation of the glute med, to help help my knees out, so I figure that can't be helping.


I think I've got a few things to try, but I can figure out photos or better info once I've poked around a touch.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

[benb]

Maybe Stance Width too.

I've had the experience of having everything dialed in on two different bikes with the same saddle and if one has a triple or is a MTB or something I will never have rub on the nose of the saddle.

If you're having trouble on the townie and stuff maybe it's not this, but it's worth checking on.

I have gotten the issue in the same area you're talking about. Mostly when I've been running SPD pedals and mountain shoes on a road bike. I think this is mostly down to the shoes restricting cleat lateral adjustment more than would be the case with SPD-SL + road shoes. It's basically my right leg/hip can't handle as narrow a q-factor as my left. If the right leg doesn't have enough room it pushes my hips to the left and I get the rub on the saddle. Various fitters have tried to adjust things to compensate for that.. but if I go get on a MTB it is never an issue and I've never even really had a "serious" fit on MTB with the same saddles. (And I can run wider saddles without issue on MTB)

[romalor]

sounds like ischial bursitis too maybe ?
just on one side the pain in front of sit bones ?

have you been checked for real or effective leg length différences ?

i have no real leg length differences after being checked by scan
but bit of a scoliosis, right side pelvis lower and more in front than the left, so effective leg length difference. Will get re fit again.

Probably need a combination of cleat wedges right foots
and cleats smallest angles wedges left when right is corrected to not have the leg rubbing the top tube. And maybe different axle length q factor pedals.

[wackyjack]

Had somewhat similar situation with 142 mm saddle and 110 mm bone width: sores in the same places after >2 hours in the saddle. Bike fitter did this:
narrower 132 mm saddle*
+1 cm in saddle height

Strangely enough, initially I was riding my saddle quite low.

If you do not have access to the bike fitter, try 142 mm saddle and start with the "too high" saddle position and move down in 5 mm increments until you feel that "it's actually about right".