If you've ever ridden a new bike and returned home to find you could barely sit down without pain, take note: The seat that came with your bike probably isn't designed for your body type. Called "saddles," these seats come in several widths with a variety of insets, holes and grooves. Riding without pain involves a combination of the right seat at the right height with proper riding posture.
Common Complaints
Uncomfortable bike seats cause a number of medical complaints. According to Dr. Ben E. Benjamin of the Muscular Therapy Institute in Massachusetts, the unfortunate positioning of some seats can cause genital numbness, sexual disorders and urinary tract problems. Narrow bike seats force you to sit on your perineum and rest on bones that connect your anterior pelvis, bones that, according to Benjamin, aren't meant to bear your weight. When you compress and cut off the blood flow to the sensitive nerves and arteries around these bones, the area becomes numb and painful.
Riding Style
The way you ride should influence the type of saddle you buy. According to Jim Langley, former chief technical editor for Bicycling Magazine, racers require narrower seats. Langley explains that when you ride fast, you tend to lean forward and put less weight on your seat, requiring less support. Also, fast pedalers don't want a wide seat brushing against their thighs with every stroke. For slow bikers, the opposite is true. You're probably sitting farther back, Langley notes, and you need more support for your sit bones than someone leaning forward. In general, he adds, women also have wider pelvises than men, usually requiring wider seats.
Anatomical Fit
Your bike seat should fit the shape of your body. To avoid putting undue pressure on your sit bones, those bones need to land squarely in the center of your seat pads. According to Langley, if your sit bones hang off the seat, your ride will put too much pressure on the soft tissue between those bones, causing pain. He also notes that if the long nose of your bike seat compresses or pinches delicate tissue, you should look for saddles with a deep center channel or hole in the nose, designed to relieve pressure on sensitive areas.
Saddle Height
The position of your seat can also affect how much pain you feel. According to bicycle expert Sheldon Brown, if you can touch your foot to the ground while seated, your saddle is too low. A low saddle causes you to plant more weight on your saddle, amplifying any fit issues. Brown suggested raising your saddle half an inch at a time until you find a height that allows your legs to fully extend while you pedal.
Recumbent Bikes
Recumbent bikes offer a solution to uncomfortable bike seats by changing your position entirely. With a recumbent bike, you're sitting on a bench-style seat and pedaling with your legs in a forward position. According to the Recumbent Cycling Ontario Association, recumbents not only reduce saddle pain, but they cut wind resistance and are more efficient that a traditional bike.
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