Sometimes when I ride my road bike, my bottom hurts even if I've only ridden less than 30km.

If you've previously ridden a city bike (mamachari) or a mini velo, road bike saddles are often firmer, so you might experience butt pain until you get used to it.

In such cases, you'll gradually get used to it within a month, and you'll likely forget about it.

If you don't get used to it after several months and your bottom still hurts, you should consider other reasons.

Here, we'll provide solutions for when your bottom hurts while riding a road bike.

Basic Center of Gravity Position on a Road Bike

A road bike connects with the rider at three points.

・Handlebars

・Saddle

・Pedals

The center of gravity should be positioned between the handlebars and the saddle.

If the center of gravity is too close to the saddle, the load increases and your bottom will hurt.

Conversely, if it's too close to the handlebars, your arms will start to hurt.

Solutions for when the Center of Gravity is too Close to the Saddle

If the center of gravity is too close to the saddle, there are four possible causes:

・The bike's frame size simply doesn't fit your body.

・The settings for each part are incorrect.

・Your riding form is incorrect.

・Your riding speed is too slow.

We will explain each of these.

• The bike's frame size simply doesn't fit your body.

Bicycles always stop.

And when you stop, you put your feet down. If the frame size doesn't fit, you can't put your feet down correctly, leading to poor posture and strain on your bottom.

This continuous strain during riding, without a chance to rest, can make it unbearable even over relatively short distances.

If lowering the saddle can solve the problem, then reducing the saddle height will resolve it, but this also changes the balance of other parts, so please read the following explanations as well.

• The settings for each part are incorrect.

If the center of gravity on a road bike is too far towards the arms, continuous strain is placed on the arms during riding, often causing pain in the palms (especially the area opposite the thumb).

This is due to the arms supporting the weight of the upper body, leading to fatigue.

Conversely, if it's too close to the saddle, too much load is placed on the bottom, causing pain.

In this case, the entire upper body weight is borne by the saddle, leading to pain.

As a solution, if your arms hurt, raise the handlebar height by 5mm at a time.

Gradually, your forward-leaning posture will shift to a more upright posture.

This shifts the weight that was supported by your upper body towards the saddle.

If your bottom hurts, conversely, raise the saddle by about 5mm at a time.

By doing so, the center of gravity will gradually shift towards your arms, reducing the burden on your bottom.

(Conversely, the burden on your arms will increase, so find a height that provides a good balance.)

There is an optimal height depending on your height and the shape of the bicycle, so the process involves changing the settings slightly, riding to check how it feels, then changing the settings again and trying again.

Although it takes some effort, many road bike riders seem to enjoy the process of finding their personalized setup.

• Your riding form is incorrect.

If your form is incorrect, various problems can arise.

Butt pain is one of them.

If you adopt a forward-leaning posture with a rounded back, where your pelvis is tilted, the load on the saddle increases.

If your left and right core muscles are misaligned, only one side of your bottom might hurt.

In this case, you should correct your posture to ride straight.

• Your riding speed is too slow.

When you try to ride fast, you unconsciously put more weight on the pedals.

This reduces the pressure on the saddle.

If you ride too slowly, your posture tends to be more upright, increasing the load on the saddle.

Also, you're not putting much force into the pedals, so your bottom gradually starts to hurt.

If your average riding speed (gross average speed) is 15 km/h or more, it can't be considered too slow.

In urban areas, if you ride at about 30 km/h when fast, stop completely at traffic lights, and maintain about 20 km/h under normal conditions, your gross average should be around 15 km/h to 20 km/h.

Saddle and Body Cushioning

Considering the saddle alone, sometimes the saddle cushioning is too firm.

Even if the settings are fine, your bottom might hurt because the saddle itself is too firm.

In this case, there are options like gel-padded seats, so you can try a different saddle.

If possible, you'd want to try it out in a store before buying, but in reality, you won't know until you've ridden tens of kilometers, so ultimately, the only way is to buy it, ride it yourself, and check.

Finally, there's also the issue of cushioning on your bottom.

When you first start riding a road bike, your gluteal muscles are soft and quickly become sore, but as you ride, your gluteal muscles gradually strengthen, and the pain subsides.

If you want to solve it quickly, you can do muscle training, but if you increase your road biking opportunities, you'll likely stop noticing it in about a month.

External Writer: Koichi Okuno

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