Let’s be honest… mountain biking can be a downright “pain in the you know what”. The first few times you go out, you’ll have a blast. Then suddenly, your sit bones get so tender that the idea of hopping on a bike is crippling. What is going on that your bike seat hurts? Are you the only one with this problem? The shocking answer is NO! Luckily, we got the inside scoop from our local bike shop owner on how to fix this AND help make mountain biking more comfortable.
No Saddle To Rule Them All
First and possibly the easiest thing to do if your bike seat hurts is to change out the seat. Everyone’s body structure, weight, and style of riding is unique. This means that the seat the bike came with will most likely not work for you. In addition, there’s a BIG difference in anatomy for men and women and so the pressure points are different. As Jaime, our Local Freshies® Gal found out, getting a female-specific seat did wonders to help remove the debilitating pain. While at face value they may look the same, they’re not!
What Jaime Rides
When Jaime first started mountain biking, the bike seat pain was the #1 contributor for reducing her ride length. As soon as she got on the Specialized Power COMP with MIMIC, it was game on. The pain went away, and it wasn’t so big to the point that it felt like a granny seat. To this day, she won’t ride anything else.
Measure Your Sit-Bones
Even in the realm of women specific bike seats, they’re even different. For example, Jaime started with a WTB Deva which was WAY better than her first saddle but it still hurt. She was still getting severe pain and numbness in the genital and sit bone area on long rides. After she measured her sit bones, she realized they were at 148mm and the WTB Deva was only 145mm wide. She needed to find a bike seat that was around 20mm wider than her sit bones.
How to Get Your Sit-Bone Width
Some bike shops have a device to measure your sit-bone width, providing you exactly what saddles will fit your skeletal structure. But if you’re uncomfortable doing that or want to do it at home yourself, you can do the quick & dirty test by using a piece of thick cardboard. Jaime did this and it worked surprisingly well.
Home Screening Test
All you have to do is put a piece of corrugated cardboard on a flat chair and take a seat. Really make sure you press down hard on those two sit bones by lifting up your toes to leave a good impression. Then stand up and find the two deepest indentions your sit bones left behind and mark them with a point. You’ll then measure from one point to the other with your measuring tape (or if you have a caliper) in millimeters.
Let’s Find That Seat!
Now that you’ve got your sit-bone width, it’s time to look at some of the best models on the market. Be VERY aware that a lot of these don’t come in one size but multiple to ensure you are comfortable on the bike. Look under the tech specs to make sure you pick the right one.
Specialized Saddle Options
When you look at Specialized saddles, the options can get a bit dizzying. Similar to the German language, they add words to help define what it is. There are a few things to look for in their saddles for women, but one word in particular is VERY important for comfort and that’s MIMIC.
What is MIMIC?
In a nutshell, it’s Specialized foam design geared towards female cyclists to ensure the bike seat doesn’t hurt. In their words, at the nose soft foam eliminates pressure. At the rear, firmer foam provides sit bone support. And in the cutout, soft memory foam delivers anatomical support to prevent soft tissue swelling. All this helps reduce the pain that is associated with cycling.
Power Versus Power Arc
Specialized’s saddles might have the most diverse selection of seat types on the market. First, is the Power versus Power Arc. The Power Arc has a more curved shape (side-to-side) than the Power. It can be described as sitting on a flat plank (Power) vs. a round log (Power Arc).
Difference Between Comp, Expert, Pro and S-Works
Up next is the “Comp”, “Expert”, “Pro,” and “S-Works” lines. These tell you what kind of railings and padding they use. Comp and Expert level saddles use “Level 2” padding which is slightly thicker, providing more cushion. While “Pro” and “S-Works” use level 1 and is a bit thinner. As you’d expect, the price goes up as they use more expensive materials which weigh less. For example, the “COMP” uses steel for their rail and a plastic/carbon shell versus the “S-Works” which is ALL carbon.
Specialized Power Comp with MIMIC
Specialized Power Expert Saddle With MIMIC
Specialized S-Works Saddle With MIMIC
Selle Italia
While racing isn’t about comfort, when you use your bicycle as a daily mode of transportation, comfort becomes crucial. Selle Italia started making saddles in 1897 just outside of Milan in the cozy village of Corsica for that particular purpose. Back then, most Italians couldn’t afford autos and instead used a bike to get everywhere. These saddles are so good that to this day they sell more than a MILLION seats each year.
For both on-road and off (i.e. mountain biking), the Selle Italia Lady Gel models are some of the best on the market. Similar to the Specialized MIMIC design, the Gel Flow inserts have varying thicknesses and widths on the pressure points to provide a soft base, whilst the cut out relieves pressure. The main difference between the Diva and The Lady Gel Flow is the Lady Gel’s slightly wider rear section and has a differently shaped cut out. This extra padding in the Lady Gel Flow makes it a better option for those resting more on their sit bones than an aggressive rider leaning forward over the handlebars. Whichever option you go with, you will be as they say in Italian – Bravissima!
Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow (Medium) and Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow (Large)
Selle Italia Diva Gel Superflow
Terry
Next up is another Italian manufactured bike seat. In what has been a very male dominated sport, this company was founded by a woman Georgena Terry in 1985. A mechanical engineer, she traded in her day job at Xerox for her real passion designing and building bicycles for women. Decades later, the company is still going strong pushing the design limits not just for women but for everyone with innovative products such as their comfort saddle introduced in 1999. The seamless center cut away and contoured rear reduces pressure on soft tissue and is a game changer in the biking industry.
There are quite a few models offered such as the Liberator and Damselfly but the Butterfly seems to be the most geared towards mountain biking. While these models reduce pain in the saddle, the width might become counterproductive when you lower it via a seat dropper.
WTB
Last, but in no way the least. WTB stands for Wilderness Trail Bikes, and since their founding in 1982, the focus has been on mountain biking specific gear. Throughout its history, they’ve been constantly tinkering and re-jiggering to make things as they say “go from ‘meh’ to ‘wow!'” A perfect combination of padding in the right places and aerodynamic design allows you to crush the singletrack at her convenience. Another plus is how short the nose is allowing you to ride less obstructed when it’s lowered.
Chamois – The Dirty Secret Of Cyclists
The next piece of gear is something that could be considered the “Dirty” little secret cyclists don’t talk about. It’s all about the chamois. Not the soft pliable leather used to dry a car, but the cycling shorts designed to improve comfort and efficiency while cycling. While they might feel like you’re wearing a diaper, your rump will thank you. The built in padding will help extend your ride to a whole other level. Similar to a bike seat, don’t just try one pair but rather as many as you can. It’s a true personal preference.
Shredly is the Queen of Cycling
Jaime has owned a few pairs over the years but the ones she’s fallen in love with are made by Shredly. These are made by women for women and are so much better that she’s thrown out her old ones. For men, I love the Pearl iZumi’s.
Chamois Cream
Another taboo subject cyclists don’t really talk about is chamois cream. Just like running, as your adventures get longer, chafing becomes a bigger and bigger issue that can even become a medical problem. This cream is used to help reduce friction and keep bacterial build-up at bay. Do you need to use it? If you only ride every once in awhile for a few miles, most likely No. It’s when you start riding more and your journeys get longer that suddenly preventative products like this are important.
Don’t Have to Sacrifice Performance
We can agree that performance is key when riding on technical terrain. You don’t want to have a huge granny seat that’s in the way as you try to navigate a sandy patch or boulder field. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a ton of money or sacrifice performance to make mountain biking more comfortable. These simple tricks may help take you to the “ultimate fun” zone that mountain biking can be! To learn more about ways to make mountain biking more enjoyable, get tips on gear, what to carry on a ride, or read about hidden adventures you can have on two wheels, check out our in-depth guide: The Down & Dirty On Mountain Biking.
An excellent alternative to chamois cream is Noxema cleansing cream. About 100 years ago I thought it might work well on my chamois. Tried it and it works great! It’s also about 1/5th the cost of chamois cream. I use the Walmart brand Equate which is about $1 cheaper than Noxema and works just as well. Give it a go. You won’t be disappointed!
Mark
Bag Balm is not a bike specific product but ten times the product of butt butter. Balm doesn’t dissolve away into the chamois. How many packets of butt butter do you need for a ten hour day in the saddle? Six? Eight? Yet a single two finger scoop of Bag Balm today will last through tomorrow if necessary.