My posterior is complaining, need recommendations

[Terminal Velocity]

If there is one thing I've learned in the few months I've been doing this, never compramise on quality. Everything that I have purchased so far trying to go cheap (to save money) has blown up in my face to only go back and spend the money on the good stuff to begin with. I was fortunate enough to have a dual suspension bike laying around that I added my rack mount to. I honestly don't know how much the rear susupension helps because I've never ridden without it, but I do know that i'm always "bouncing" around (flexing the spring). While you don't want to get a new bike just yet, you may find that was exactly what you needed. You can spend a lot of money buying upgrades for the bike to make it work when you could have purchased a new bike for about the same or less...just something to think about.

BTW, I ride 50 miles one way to work 2-3 days a weak...that's about 1.5-1.75 hours one way. I purchased new handlebars so I wasn't so far bent over anymore (l learned that one within a couple of rides). Now, MOST of my weight is off my hands. My butt...I shift from cheak to cheak if I notice i'm getting a little sore. My favorite seat is the one from schwinn (more like a bench seat) but I switched it for a touring seat (not as comfortable, but more functional) because I found it VERY difficult to pedal effectively for extended periods of time (more than 2 minutes). If the motor quits, I still have to get to work!!...even if it is late. So what's my point? Well, you don't want to forgo aestetics, but in order to get the comfort you're looking for you may just end up spending more than a new bike. That part that really stinks, only hindsight will reveal the answer.

That's my two cents. Good luck with your problem.

 

[AlphaGeek]

Thanks for all of the great suggestions and feedback. I had PRK laser eye surgery on Friday, so I haven't been able to spend any time online before tonight, and even now I can't read for more than a few minutes at a time. I look forward to checking out all of the excellent links and suggestions as my eyes heal up over the next few days.

-AG

 

[AlphaGeek]

While I was in REI picking up my cargo rack (finally! I think they shipped it to the store by camel express...) I also picked up:

Padded bike shorts to wear under jeans, or as the weather gets cooler/foggier, motorcycle pants for the commute to work. Even with the relatively limited amount of pedaling I do (perhaps 1 mile worth of pedaling out of 17 miles traveled) chafing and, er, comfortable positioning of the anatomy was starting to become a serious concern.

Impulse buy: A Serfas padded/elastomer-sprung comfort seat with nice, large perineal relief cut-out. Haven't taken it on a ride under power yet (see previous post regarding PRK recovery) but seemed comfortable on a few short laps pedaling around the block. My only concern, which I see was also raised by "skyl4rk", is that the elastomer springs seem to make it a bit wobbly in the lateral direction. I was careful to save the retail packaging so that I can return it if it doesn't work out, but it seems quite nice so far.

The real test will be when I resume commuting to work by bike next week. I'll be sure to report back after giving it a full trial.

Nurse Ratchet (aka my wife) just reminded me that I'm violating doctor's orders and should be resting my eyes if I want them to heal anytime soon. Time to go back to listening to an audiobook with my eyes closed. Needless to say I'd rather be working on my bike.

-AG

 

[vegaspaddy]

no more sore A$$

**** if i could mount a hd tv to this i would, next to mounting a lazy boy this is the most comfortable seat i have ever rode on, or should i say pushed a thumb throttle on !!!!!!!!

http://www.motoredbikes.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12119&d=1224623692

 

[AlphaGeek]

Nice setup, Vegas.

In followup, I'll confirm that the combination of the Nashbar suspension seatpost and the Serfas seat linked above has totally resolved my riding-comfort issues.

That's a good thing, too, since with all of the performance upgrades installed and tweaked my bike now cruises comfortably at 30mph. Funny how the bumps and lumps are so much more intense at 30mph compared to, say, 20mph.

-AG

 

[V 35]

If your patient enough to break it in, nothing beats a brooks saddle. They can be
miserable at first, but once broken in, they shape to your shape, and offer amazing comfort. Get the sprung model, and use erasers and zip ties to block out one coil at a time, for a cushined ride that isn't too wobbly.

 

[RedBaronX]

when I was a regular pedaler, sometimes just changing the height of the seat slightly would alleviate aches and pains. Luckily I had one of those seat post clamps that allowed for quick no-tool adjustments. My current MB has one of those as well. I generally leave it all the way down unless I have to pedal, then I raise it up about six inches.

 

[hybrid]

Hey Baron. I'm bidding on an old Ross Appollo high back off of Ebay right now.
Think I'll win but who knows. I intend to use it on a layback seat post so I can get a longer fuller extension for when I do pedal and it would give me more room to adjust myself forward or backwards. I've seen old sissybars made by Krate that have built-in shocks that could be modified for this application. I kind of run into the same broblem that you've outlined. I know you have more than 1 bike so maybe try it out on one of your backup bikes that you don't use as much. Just an idea.

 

[adb140275]

my Specialized has seat post suspension. works great

 

[ollicat]

I've got the Cloud-Nine - very comfy