I've been riding drop-bar and mtn bikes for decades and never had major fit issues. But a fully upright city bike I bought for running errands is a literal pain in my ass, giving me saddle sores, um, on the inside of my cheeks, in as little as 5 miles, unless I wear cycling shorts, which kinda defeats the purpose of a hop-on-and-go-buy-milk bike.
I've tried the usual changes: seat height, angle, and forward/backward, a narrower seat, and raised handlebars. I was prompted to buy the bike after spending some time in Amsterdam, where I rode several plain-jane poorly fitting bikes all over the place, no cycling shorts, without issue.
Amy ideas?
I know this is going to sound crazy... heard of one case where it was the wife's choice of laundry detergent. Person's skin, when sweating didn't like the detergent.
Upright bikes usually require wider seats.
And there is always Eucerin.
Try more different saddles? You can even buy some at a dollar store just to cheaply see if different saddles help. One of the most comfortable saddles I have is actually a dollar store saddle. If you can confirm the saddle is a problem then you can take your time finding one you're happy with long-term.
You put more weight on the saddle on an upright city bike than on a road bike, as I'm sure you know. Riding the Amsterdam clunkers without issue though, it sounds like it's something more specific to this bike. Think back to the Amsterdam bikes, were the seats significantly lower than you'd ride with your road bike? You may have made seat height changes but not gone far enough. Many are also significantly laid back with regards to seat angle (like, more than you can achieve with sliding the seat on the rails). Setback seat post?
I get knee pain if I lower my saddle too much from my road fit, but for short city jaunts, give it a try.
Figure out what saddles the Amserdam bikes use and buy one of those.
Unless its comically too large or too small, this is a likely a saddle issue.
Its the saddle. Not the bike. Try switching it to a saddle on one of your other bikes that you are already comfortable riding.
procainestart said:
I've been riding drop-bar and mtn bikes for decades and never had major fit issues. But a fully upright city bike I bought for running errands is a literal pain in my ass, giving me saddle sores, um, on the inside of my cheeks, in as little as 5 miles, unless I wear cycling shorts, which kinda defeats the purpose of a hop-on-and-go-buy-milk bike.
Amy ideas?
I'm not sure any of the "Amy ideas" should be applied to this situation, but let us know how that works out!
Edit to add that a tiny smear of gel type deodorant provides excellent lubrication and is good insurance against chafing.
In my experience, the more upright the bike, the greater the percentage of load carried on the saddle, and less so on the bars, so saddle shape/density becomes critical for comfort. In addition, as you sit more upright, the angle of your pelvis changes, and the contact points move further apart with a more upright riding position.
I'd try a wider saddle. Some local bike shops have demo saddles or a similar program that makes it easier to exchange and try several options without having to buy ten different seats. It might also be worth trying a softer one (not crazy squishy soft, as that just increases pressure in the wrong areas) and a slightly firmer one to see which is better for you. Avoid anything with a saddle cover that is too textured, grippy, emossed/embroidered, or seems like it might wrinkle as these are all no bueno for minimizing chafing when riding in street clothes.
You could also lower the bars a little bit and see if that helps.
In reply to procainestart :
This sounds very similar to issues I was having with my Trek. I found that I had to lower my seat about 1/4" than where it should be. Thankfully I haven't noticed any(new) problems with my knees.
If you bought it at a bike shop, go back there and see if they can help you adjust things to fit you better. Hopefully they have people on staff who are experienced with that.
Thanks for the responses.
The bikes I rode in Amsterdam had marshmallow seats like you'd see in a Florida retiree complex. The current replacement seat stupidly has a seam sewn into the edge that is almost certainly not doing me any favors. The OE seat is wide, but the surface has fabric bonded to it that's not unlike Cordura, so it's pretty rough. Meanwhile, I'll swap in a seat from one of my other bikes and try dropping the height, then buy another, if necessary.
For bike dorks: The bike is a ~2014 VanMoof, before they went electric. The frame is anodized, not painted; 8-speed Alfine hub; front hub generator for integrated front/rear lights; rear rack that can hold crazy amounts of weight cuz they knew it'd be used as a passenger seat; front rack made of laminated bamboo; metal fenders; integrated wheel lock. I wanted a beater when I bought it, but the price was decent, and, frankly, I like the frame design.
This isn't mine, but it's similar:
I rode an ebike Van Moof in Seattle at their store (dead now, I presume).
It seemed like they put some thought into it, but I didn't like some of their design choices.
The non ebike version at least presumably won't have the software issues that people are having with the ebikes now.
