Sitting pretty

Comfort in the saddle is one of the most important things about cycling. Here are my tips for ensuring your sensitive bits stay sore free

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I was asked recently about keeping a comfortable seat when on the bike. If you spend any time at all cycling you really don’t any chafing, rubbing or bumping against your most delicate areas. Cycling is meant to be enjoyable, and bruised and battered ladybits are certainly not my idea of fun.

There are four very simple things you can do to prevent pain down there. Here’s my advice.

Saddle
Pretty much the first thing you should invest in after buying your bike is a new saddle. Your butt and other delicate areas are going to be in contact with the saddle almost constantly, so it’s worth spending as much as you can afford.

It’s best to get a women’s-specific saddle. Why? Because women have wider apart sit bones and wider hips than men. If you use a men’s or unisex saddle then it’s likely to be too narrow and not support your sit bones properly. I also think a central cutaway is a good idea. This allows the saddle to flex more, so it’s less likely to jounce against your bits.

Getting the right saddle really makes a difference.

Try out as many saddles as you need to until you find the right one for you. Most bike shops will be happy to let you have a bit of a ride around so you can test out how the seats feel.

The seat on my main bike is the Selle Italia Women’s Diva Gel Flow. This came highly recommended and I love it. It retails at £79.99, which isn’t cheap but is way less than many out there.

Positioning
Once you’ve found your ideal saddle, you need to make sure it’s in the right place. There are three adjustments you can make for this. First, height. Sit on your bike. You should just be able to touch the ground with your toes. When pedalling your leg should be very slightly bent at the knee when the pedal is in its lowest position. Adjust your seat post until you achieve this.

You can adjust the saddle along the seat
rails to increase comfort.

Once you’ve got the height sorted, you need to look at position and angle. Start with angle. It’s best to first position it flat and go from there. You can then angle the seat up or down depending on which feels best to you. This will depend on your riding style – do you sit up quite straight or tend to hunker down? I have quite an ‘aggressive’ riding style, meaning I lean forward. So my saddle is angled downwards and away from my pubic bone to reduce the risk of bashing against the seat.

You can also move your seat about 4cm forwards or backwards along its rails (the metal tubes under the seat). This will move you closer or further away from your handlebars. The ideal position should mean your body and arms form a right angle. You can check this out in a mirror or ask someone to watch you riding. Again, experiment until you find the most comfortable position for you.

Padding
Cycling shorts and tights come with pads. It’s recommended that you wear padded shorts for any rides longer than about two hours. But I say that even if you’re only doing a half-hour commute, if padded shorts make things more comfy for you then wear them.

I’ve got a mix of padded and non-padded shorts and leggings. The non-padded ones are generally meant for running and quite often have reflective patches so runners can be seen at night.

Padded shorts can take some getting used to, but they do help.

Padded shorts really do make a difference. I wore them on the London to Cambridge and my god am I pleased I did. I even occasionally wear them on my short work commute and can even feel the difference over that five-mile distance.

They do feel a bit weird when you first put them on – a bit like wearing a nappy, probably – but you soon get used to them. And it really doesn’t matter if you’re doing 100-mile sportives, commuting every day or just pottering around on the weekends, if wearing padded short or tights means you’re more likely to get out on your bike, then wear them.

Go commando
Yes, you did read that right. Leave your knickers at home (or if you’re commuting to work in your rucksack). Padded shorts are meant to be worn sans pants anyway – the chamois is specially designed to sit next to your skin to reduce rubbing, so wearing undies will negate all the work that went into perfecting the design.

I decided to experiment with pant-free riding after wearing padded shorts for the first time. Previously – in running shorts – I’d had a bit of chafing where my knickers rubbed against the shorts. Using padded shorts (with no knickers) resulted in no chafing. Hmm, I thought, would this work with normal shorts too? In a word, yes. And I’ve been happily riding undie free ever since.

The chamois provides a layer of padding between
you and the saddle.

If you’re worried about cleanliness and don’t want to wash your kit every day – and let’s face it, who does? – do what I do and invest in some baby wipes. A quick wipe of the crotch area leaves everything fresh and clean for your next ride.