Posted: 3/9/2006 10:56:11 AM EDT
| I jumped back on my Mt. Bike yesterday after a 4 month layoff. As usual, after not riding my bike for awhile and starting again my rear is sore. I'm curious is this bruising or muscle related? |
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I am not sure if it's really a muscle build up thing. Therefore I do not know if there is any particular exersises to isolate and strengthen that area other than seat time. This is something I expereienced when transitioning between road bikes and mountain bikes. Good luck. |
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'Performance' seats are not designed to be comfortable, just lightweight. If you're finding that your seat is uncomfortable, you have two options: 1) By a more comfortable seat. 2) By cycling shorts. (They now even come in 'baggy / surf' style so you don't have to look teh ghey while riding with tight shorts) |
| It's normal and you can swap seats out all day long but if you spend any time in the saddle after being off the bike for a while nothing, except more riding, is going to help. Shorts are a must but more importantly make sure your seat height is adjusted properly. If you don't know how to determine this find a bike shop to help you out. I had no problem selling gel seats at $50+ a pop but 95% of the time when someone came in the shop complaining about their taint hurting properly adjusting their seat height made all the difference in the world. |
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Don't buy a cushy gel seat or seat cover. Do buy a decent pair of cycling shorts with a chamois. Baggies are acceptable for a mountain bike. Do buy a decent saddle if the cycling shorts don't help. Soreness is normal for the first few rides after a long layoff. Soft, cushy seats are bad because your bodyweight will displace the gel from the load-bearing portion of your body and force it against softer spots. A good saddle should be firm against the bony part of your butt and support your body weight on these spots. A rough formula for seat height is to multiply your inseam length by .883. That number should be the distance from the center of the bottom bracker to the midpoint of your saddle. |