To the Tri-girls Out There!

(Warning: due to the graphic nature of this article husbands/boyfriends/ men in general may want to skip this article!)

A few weeks ago Cliff and I decided to dial in our TT positions to make them more aero but also more comfortable. We arrived at a position that I thought would work for me. The next day, we planned a ride together to try out the new positions. The one word to sum up the ride? OWWWW! To put it delicately, my ‘woman bits’ had taken a mighty thrashing. If you are a woman and have ridden more than an hour on a bike, you probably know what I am talking about! After a ride like that, you realize that sitting (and using the restroom) may be difficult for the better part of a couple days.

Since I am training for a half IM I knew that I would need to be logging some serious hours on the bike and I didn’t want to be out of commission for 2 days after each ride. I started to research people who had been having the same problem as me. You see, when I bought my new Cervelo, the seat that came with it was the generic ‘made-for-men’ version.  It had a big nose and a narrow seat; not really designed for many women. The trick was going to be finding the right seat for me. Most women have a wider pelvis and thus wider sit bones. If a seat does not support these sit bones (pubic bones) then all of our weight will come to rest on…you guessed it…our ‘woman bits’ creating what I like to term the ‘hot dog effect.’ Every bump on the road produces agony on a ride where we aren’t supported correctly.

I looked at some reviews on different saddles and I was willing to pay handsomely for a saddle that provided the comfort I needed. I payed a visit to a local bike shop, and the handsome, dapper owner was more than willing to help me.  He told me to bring my bike in and he would let me try out some saddles.  We took off my saddle and he showed me some of my options. We decided to try the one that he has the most success with; the Selle Italia Diva Gel-Flow. It is a road bike saddle but would work well with a TT bike as well. It has a cutout (a hole in the center), which according to some people is a necessity for women but according to others is not as useful. From the moment I hopped on, I was smitten! I could already feel the pressure taken off points that were sore from previous rides. With a tiny adjustment (tilting the nose down slightly), the seat I could tell was perfect. Though steep ($169.00), I decided to try it out with the understanding that if it didn’t do the job, I was marching right back to return it. Well needless to say, the love affair has grown. I love my new “Diva” and have enjoyed every ride since purchasing it! It was so well worth the money, especially at the race last weekend with only a thin chamois in my tri-shorts.

So just a few notes for those of you who have the same problem:

1)      Not every woman requires a ‘woman’s specific’ seat especially if you have a narrow pelvis, but if you are having problems on a men’s saddle you may want to try one made for women.

2)      There is no one saddle that will work for every woman

3)      If purchasing a new bike, see if the bike shop will swap a saddle that fits you in place of the factory saddle.

4)      Cut-outs can be your friend!! If they are placed correctly for your body they will distribute the weight on your bones and leave the soft tissue supported.

5)      See if you can try out some different saddles at your bike shop. Spend some quality time finding one that suits you. The man at the store said that many people can tell almost right away if the saddle is the right fit; that’s how it was for me. As soon as I sat on it, it felt like I was sitting on a comfy couch!

6)      Don’t settle for major pain; tiny pains are normal but if you are walking bowlegged after a ride, there are a good chance your saddle doesn’t fit you!

There are many types of saddles out there; Bontrager just came out with a new model (the inForm line) that is available in men’s and women’s and in 3 different sizes of each depending on your pressure points which is determined by sitting on a special pad designed to tell you what size you need. I did see a lot of good comments on Terry saddles though they weren’t a favorite of my bike shop guy.