Cycling - will my bum ever stop hurting?

Question

I went from being completely innactive to biking 12-25km per day, 4-5 days per week. On average, I've been doing 50 to 100km weekly for the past three weeks.

My knees and legs were sore at first, but are fine now. My bum is still in agony, though. I got a large gel pad seat which doesn't seem to help much. I find myself in a weird position, trying to take pressure off my bum when I'm biking; and getting out of a chair days later is torture.

Will this ever end, or do I need a different seat?

Answer 1

I used to get a sore butt after 50-80 miles, or after back-to-back big mileage days. As I got older, my recovery time got longer, until I finally said enough was enough, and got a recumbent. I haven't had a sore butt in years now, even on 100-200 mile days.

Answer 2

The first thing you should do is go to a bike shop and ask them if your bike is a proper fit for you.  Typically there is soreness for the first couple weeks, and you may be overdoing it a bit since you just started.  Take a few days or one week off the bike and then get back on you will be surprised at how much better it feels and how much more jump you have after a bit of a lay off.

Answer 3

You know it took me just under a year of doing roughly the same as you describe to really get my legs (and me bum) under me.  Now I can ride hard 5 days a week and really not even think about it.  So maybe time is all it takes.

In addition to maybe looking at the seat, let me ask:  Have you been fitted properly for the bike you are riding?  If the seat is too high it might cause you to rock your hips side to side - even slightly - enough to cause discomfort like chaffing or bruising of the muscles.

If the seat is too low - it may cause you to sit back too much and put more weight on your bum, though this is less likely to be causing the pain you describe.

Yes - make sure the bike is set up properly for you - a fitting isn't just relevant to the seat - handlebar position is also important.  The gents at the local bike shop should be able to help out.

Hope this helps and thanks for the opportunity to discuss your bum!  It's always a pleasure to talk about another person's bum now isn't it?

Answer 4

u need cycling shorts with padding.it works.i do 88 miles every saturday

Answer 5

It's you bike seat that is making you hurt.  Eventually you get use to it. I always had that problem when I start biking again.  for a few weeks the seat just hurts.  But after a little while your butt gets use to and the pain will be very little.  

You could look into a better seat but the most comfortable bike seats are the big wide ones that you see on the Cursing bikes.  

IF you can deal with the pain for a little bit longer it will become nothing once you get use to your bike.

Answer 6

Perhaps you do have the wrong seat.  A large gel pad seat can be your problem.  Most serious riders find a narrow seat that fits their "sit bones" to be much more comfortable.  

I can sit on mine for 100's of miles at a time.

Answer 7

Take a week off and get padded shorts. If that doesn't work see a doc. Pain should be gone at least gotten better after a few days.

Answer 8

My family owns a high-end bike shop in Australia & I have found with our customers that the cause of soreness can vary. As someone rightly pointed out you should be professionally fitted to your bike, position is everything. However, that does not mean that your position is to blame for your soreness.

The two main components for a comfortable ride are knicks & saddle. Knicks are fairly straight forward, generally the higher the price the better the quality. I would strongly suggest that you invest in a good pair of knicks, personally, for what it is worth, I use Pearl Izumi & Assos bib-knicks, but they aren't the only good brands.

Saddle choice is a difficult thing, while one saddle may work for one cyclist, another may have a completely different shape. I ride on a Fizik Arione cx, and have never ridden a more comfortable saddle, my father on the other hand tried the same saddle & found it very uncomfortable, so hopefully your local bike shop are generous & allow customers to trial saddles because you wont know until you try it.

Then again, you have only been doing this for the past three weeks, so your body may just need to adapt. Hope you work it out.

Answer 9

No. For the rest of your life your bum will be in agony. Sorry, you should have read the warning lable on your bike before riding it.  Buy those tight black pants and wear them, that ought to make your butt feel better.

Answer 10

I think you should see a doctor.

Because if you cycle this often, then you shouldn't be being hurt like that. Generally, pain during exercise is the ripping and rebuilding of muscles as well as the burning of fat.

However, that's excessive. :/