Cycling pad

PAD CYCLING 

Who among you has never suffered a sore butt after a long mountain bike ride!

Yes, pain during sitting often discourages many people from riding a bicycle or mountain bike.
So today we would discuss 5 tips that will help you solve this annoying problem with the buttocks.

So let's talk about the saddle.
When you buy a new bike, a standard saddle is provided.
In fact, top-of-the-line bikes , with rather high prices, come with quality , lightweight, perhaps carbon saddles, but which unfortunately, in some cases, are not suitable for our physical constitution.

In my opinion, it would be more logical for customers to choose their saddle according to their physical constitution needs. We spend entire hours sitting in the saddle, and if it is not comfortable and conforms to our constitution, we risk ruining our enjoyment of the sport. There are many saddles on the market, and choosing the one that suits our needs is really difficult, because there are several variables to be considered, first of all the measurement of the distance of our ischial bones, which vary from person to person.

For measuring there is a method you can do it yourself. Take a rather thick and soft cardboard, lay it on a hard surface, and then sit on it without clothing. This will create two depressions. Identify their epicenters and draw a line which represents the distance of your ischial bones.

There are also other variables to consider, for example, the type of mountain bike you use, cross country, all mountain, Enduro, the frequency of your weekly rides and the average duration of an asingola ride, and it also matters whether you are a man or a woman.

Saddle manufacturers offer special guides on the Internet to find the right size and design for your ischial bones and suggest suitable materials to be used for your purpose.

Most saddle manufacturers have gone further, and offer test saddles to try for several days.

The most common mistake is to think that a nice, wide, padded, soft saddle is the most suitable and comfortable saddle ever. In reality it will only be comfortable in the first few minutes, but by going a longer distance you will feel more pain than by using a hard saddle because the contact surface is greater than on a hard, stiff saddle. On the hard one the points of contact with the butt will be just the two struts of the ischial bones being supported.

I can confirm that for the first few times even with the stiff ones you will feel the pain, but believe me that as time passes, if you go out regularly things will improve. It is the people that once they find the right sela, they buy two pieces, because in case the saddle goes out of production, they will have a rezerva one.

How we identify the bottom

So, once you have identified the saddle you need to identify the bottom. What is the pad? The pad is a padding of the shorts whose function is to protect the intimate parts, facilitate breathability and ultimately increase the comfort of pedaling.

Usually the pads are made of gel or it could be the polyurethane-based foam. You will find a variety of them on the market; they can be for men and for women. People often think exclusively about the comfort of the padding, sometimes ignoring the type of materials.

It is best to choose a foam pad, because unlike a gel pad it offers proper breathability of intimate areas. Your choice should fall on technical fabrics, because they ensure breathability and dissipation of sweat. The density of the foam can be different in some places, and they can have very specific characteristics: bacterio static, which is different from antibacterial garments that are another thing.

Static bacterial pads are designed to limit the spread of bacteria generated by sweating while pedaling.

In conclusion, only take quality saddles, which make a difference. Quality ones are expensive, almost as expensive as a saddle, but the benefits are absolute.

Another thing, in this case the underwear should not be worn, because the bottoms are designed to be in direct contact with the skin.

In case you do long bike rides, which require a lot of time in the saddle, then you'd better buy the pad.

The cream of chamois

Chamois cream is used to minimize friction between clothing and skin. It prevents irritation caused by rubbing caused by balls with the pad. The chamois cream can be applied directly to the skin, or to the pad.

Saddle corner

There is a risk of buying a rather expensive saddle, and it may be uncomfortable due to incorrect fitting. Being fitted correctly means finding the right angle, set back and forward. By taking a hard book and a bubble, the angle could be checked. The angle should be zero and the bubble should be perfectly horizontal. Another inviece suggestion is that the angle should be 1 or 1.5 downward, so you put less pressure on the perinal area. Correct positioning will help you get the right power on the pedal and at the same time help you avoid knee inflammation.

If you feel pain in your knees while pedaling, it means that your riding position is wrong.

Saddle height

Incorrect saddle height can lead to dispersion of pedaling power and consequently could cause the muscle problems. Having perfect positioning on the MTB is not easy at all. However, there are the methods that allow you to adjust the saddle height. So put on a pair of shorts with a pad, holding the saddle collar open, raise the saddle to almost pelvic bone height. If you have a telescopic seat post make sure it is fully extended before you start the check, and that it does not cross the line of the minimum frame insertion. It is prefferable that a person help you hold the bicycle. In case that you are alone, you can use a counter or wall so that you can lean against it. Having done this, place the crank in line with the seat tube and rest your heel on the pedal. Your leg should be fully extended and you should be able to touch the pedal. The foot should be in a horizontal position. If the leg is not and fully extended, it means the saddle is too low. Make sure the heel stays well in contact with the pedal and the foot is horizontal when the crank is at 5 o'clock. If the pelvis moves on the saddle, it means the saddle is too high.