Recumbent Butt

[Rick Moore]

I’ve got about 650 miles on my V-20 and so I’m starting to do some intervals. Now, however, I am starting to get some recumbent butt in my left buttock.

Would appreciate any ideas on what is causing this and what I can do about it.

Thanks

 

[cranky cyclist]

I’ve got about 650 miles on my V-20 and so I’m starting to do some intervals. Now, however, I am starting to get some recumbent butt in my left buttock.

Would appreciate any ideas on what is causing this and what I can do about it.

Thanks

I repositioned my pad so that it was moved more towards the front. Seemed to solve the problem for me. Only about 1 inch.

 

[Rampa]

I have a theory that a level seat base causes recumbutt. So what CC says will essentially be creating a "nose-up" seat base. That is, a little more cushion that will bulge up a little forward of your butt. I think it provides a better butt-seat interface in that more of you is supported by pad that way. It also gives a more bucket-seat feeling.

 

[billyk]

I have a Q45. Not sure if this is relevant to the V ....

I think recumbutt is due to soft tissue compression and resulting reduced blood flow.

The stock Q seat has a thin layer of dense foam on the bottom, with a thicker layer of softer foam above. That was giving me recumbutt, I think because I sank deeper into the soft foam and compressed the tissues. The easy fix was to reverse the foam layers. Now I get general cushioning/shock reduction from the soft foam, but the dense foam above keeps me from sinking in too far.

Seems to help.

 

[jond]

I’ve got about 650 miles on my V-20 and so I’m starting to do some intervals. Now, however, I am starting to get some recumbent butt in my left buttock.

Would appreciate any ideas on what is causing this and what I can do about it.

Thanks

Probably not much you can do about it. If you are comfortable on your seat don’t change anything just ride more. Stop and massage. Eventually you will suffer less.

If not quite comfy then perhaps try add to or adjust your seat. Though I doubt you will find relief.

Ride more the left buttock will turn the other cheek.

 

[telephd]

I use the comfort Ventist pad on my V20 and was having problems sliding down the seat. It wasn't much, about an inch or so, but was enough to affect my pedal length and caused a bit of knee problem as I settled into the ride. I build a 1/2-3/4" lip on the front of my seat out of a blue closed-cell sleeping pad and velcoro'd it to the existing strip on the seat. It seems to have solved it pretty well and mitigated the knee pain. Created a bit of a pocket for me to sit in that kept me in place. Don't know if this will help but it might be worth a try.

 

[Rick Moore]

Thanks everyone for the input. Will try some of your ideas.

 

[Balor]

I have a Q45. Not sure if this is relevant to the V ....

I think recumbutt is due to soft tissue compression and resulting reduced blood flow.

The stock Q seat has a thin layer of dense foam on the bottom, with a thicker layer of softer foam above. That was giving me recumbutt, I think because I sank deeper into the soft foam and compressed the tissues. The easy fix was to reverse the foam layers. Now I get general cushioning/shock reduction from the soft foam, but the dense foam above keeps me from sinking in too far.

Seems to help.

No matter how soft the seat base is, your tissues will still be compressed - that's how "springs" is series work. It will make better pressure distribution though, without obvious hot spots.
What is really important is sit width, now THAT will reduce pressure by distributing it over much larger area. I have no idea why recumbent seats are made in 25 or so width, I think that's DF mindset speaking (or unhealthy weight weenie tendencies). Making the seat at least 40cm wide would be of great help.

I think a mesh seat with a carbon frame may actually be lighter AND an order of magnitude more comfortable. After all, I can sit in my office chair (50cm width) all day long without any butt issues!
It is supposed to work great even for very upright LWB angles.

https://sites.google.com/site/recycledrecumbents/seat-frame-construction