Why Your Butt Hurts During a Bike Ride and How to Fix It

If your butt hurts during a bike ride, don’t worry, there are plenty of easy steps you can take to alleviate the pain during your next rides.

It’s a shared experience among cyclists to have a sore butt during a bike ride. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned rider, this discomfort is something we all encounter at some point.

There are many reasons why your butt would hurt during a bike ride, but there are even more easy fixes, too.

It is important to address why your butt hurts during a bike ride so that you can focus your efforts on enjoying your bike ride and getting fit.

In this article, I’ll discuss the causes of pain and what you can do to stop it.

Common Reasons Your Butt Hurts During a Bike Ride

One of the most common reasons that your butt hurts during a bike ride is due to improper bike saddles or seats.

The size and shape of your bike saddle can have an impact on your butt. Depending on your situation, you might need a larger saddle or even a smaller one based on your size and comfort level.

If you continue to experience pain, it’s important to try different saddle sizes and types. This will help you find the best saddle for you.

No one saddle fits all at the end of the day.

The position of your saddle could also be causing you problems. You need to make sure the saddle is straight and level. If it’s bent to one side or tilted down or up too much, it will definitely lead to pain.

Inadequate padding is often the main reason why your butt hurts during a bike ride.

Cycling shorts were created to help overcome this nuance. The compression and padding (chamois) built into the shorts help ease discomfort and make the ride more enjoyable.

But there is such thing as too much and too little padding when it comes to cycling shorts.

A poor riding posture will surely aid in a sore bottom on the bike, as well.

If your posture is wrong on the bike, not only will your butt hurt, but everything else might hurt as well. This includes your back, neck, feet, and legs.

You want to maintain a neutral spine while cycling and balance out your body weight distribution as you sit in your saddle and pedal to a rhythmic cadence.

A longer bike ride with inadequate breaks will lead to a sore bum, too.

Sitting in your saddle for too long will cause pressure buildups. It will make your sit bones sore. It can numb areas. All of this will prevent pain from forming and sticking with you for most of the ride until you take time to rest.

It’s important to take a break here and there, stand up, and ride occasionally, if you can, to relieve pressure.

Solutions to Relieve and Prevent Butt Pain

One of the best things you can do to prevent butt pain while biking is to get a proper bike fit.

For a more personalized solution, consider a professional bike fit at your local reputable bike shop. They’ll measure you and ensure you get a saddle that fits your height, weight, and body positioning. This service is often free and can significantly improve your comfort.

If your butt hurts during a bike ride, a local bike shop just needs to give your saddle come basic adjustments as well.

Sometimes, you might need to replace your saddle. Before you think about getting one with more padding, consider one with no padding at all, especially if you wear padded cycling shorts. Sometimes, too much padding can cause pain.

Wear cycling shorts, especially the tight spandex kind. They’re super comfortable, and cyclists think they look great on you.

The compression of cycling shorts helps wick moisture from you which can lead to chafing and pain in your backside. The compression also helps with warming muscles, which encourages healing and recovery.

The primary reason for wearing cycling shorts is the padding built into them. This padding, also known as a chamois, helps to reduce pain while riding. The compression of cycling shorts also helps wick moisture from your body, reducing the risk of chafing and discomfort. There are many benefits to wearing spandex cycling shorts on your bike.

You might also need to adjust your riding posture if your butt hurts during a bike ride.

Try adjusting your sitting position on the saddle to where your sit bones contact the saddle. You’ll need to push your butt to the back of the saddle, bend your elbows, and “click” into your bike more. Try to make this a habitual way of riding your bike.

It also helps to improve your overall strength, not just in your legs and glutes. Try to strengthen your core and work on improving your overall balance.

Change your biking habits for the better.

Take breaks on longer rides. Stop, get off your bike, hydrate, go pee, and walk around a little bit. You don’t have to do this for every ride, but at least try it on the longer ones.

On shorter and longer rides, try periodically standing up and pedaling for a little while. Stand up when going downhill. This will help relieve pressure and assist with numbing issues.

Additional Tips for Long-Term Comfort

Don’t make the mistake of assuming your butt hurts during a bike ride because your new saddle isn’t a good one.

You need to break new bike seats in before passing judgment on them. Ride with them for a few longer rides so you can get used to them. Sometimes, a new saddle will take a couple of months to be broken in.

Your cycling shorts could also be a problem. You should ensure that they are clean and dry when you put them on. Make sure you have the right padding per gender-based pad. Ensure that you have the right thickness of the pad for the type of ride. Make sure there are no tears and rough spots.

Try to stretch a little after each ride. Also, make sure you’re doing other exercises to strengthen your core and other body parts.

And lastly, make sure you’re resting and taking some time to recover here and there. You shouldn’t be cycling every single day.

Final Thoughts

If your butt hurts during a bike ride, then you definitely need to look at the reasons why and how you can beat the pain from the tips above.  As I said, ignoring it can lead to bigger problems and make you even hate cycling.

Please comment below telling me what you do when your butt hurts during a bike ride.

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