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Improving Riding Comfort

C

CarlPeters

Training Wheels
Group,

I would like your suggestions regarding improving riding comfort. I have a friend who is fairly overwieght, is in his early 60s and rode 320 miles yesterday on back roads in northern MN.  He has a variety of health isssues,
but the main  one he mentioned  to me  was that is tailbone hurt. No, he does not have a Connie, it is one of those machines made in Milwaukee. I will not mention the brand!

I suggested a gel pack or gel seat, maybe bicycle shorts and a sheepskin. He and his wife were bottoming out on his rear air shocks and he had them set to the maximumn if I remember correctly is 5O#. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,

Carl
Mpls, MN
 
A stronger rear shock or shocks (depending on which model) would help carry the load and bottoming out effect. A better seat would help the pain from the tail bone. There are a lot of good seats made for HD's including the HD accessory brand. A sheep skin would also help. Maybe even a airhawk. (but airhawks are not cheap to find out).
 
Some of those Milwaukee bikes have some pretty small rear suspension travel specs, like less than 3", IIRC. It's kinda tough to work with that little bit of travel, but $$$ will help. Ohlins? Progressive?
 
Carl,
This is a problem a friend of mine has, almost exactly. My friend is quite overweight, he is 5'9" and 325 lbs. His HD is lowered for his verticaly challanged frame, and his ars gives him lots of problems in just 100 miles.
We have tried the beads, he broke them, gel, it leaked, foam, it died and misc. pillows, all are gone. Short of a new bike and new seat it is a tough one.

My suggestion is seat time, He just doesn't ride enough to buid up some kind of endurance. I explain it like getting ready for a 5k race, no practice, no run.
Maybe some stretching exercises could help, but ars time does wonders for longer riding times when needed.
Just my $.02.
Ride safe all, and ATGATT please.
Greg
 
I have a Road King that I changed the shock oil to 7.5w Bel-Ray on the stock rear shocks.  HD puts cheap oil in their air shocks on the touring bikes.  With the stock set-up I was running 25psi with the wife and I (we are not small, but not overweight either).  Afterwards I was able to go down to 8psi and not bottom out.  It greatly improved the ride, I just put these shocks on my buddy's Electra Glide and he loves them.

Get a vacuum pump with a catch can (I have a mighty might) and a brass fitting to fit where the air line goes into the shock.  Invert the shock and pump out 9oz of old oil and dump it.  Turn the shock right side up and refill with 7.5w to 10w shock oil. 
 
Part of the problem is you're always sitting on your tailbone on that style bike. One suggestion I haven't seen mentioned is possibly modifying the seat by removing the foam at that pressure point and installing some softer foam to reduce the pressure. But, in my opinion, with that seating position there's only so much you can do. It's hard to shift your position and/or stand on the pegs to get some relief.

Eddie
 
Ok I will say it.  Eat better, exercise and buy a bike that does not force you to sit right on your tail bone.  Try a Concours.
 
smithr-scad said:
Ok I will say it.  Eat better, exercise and buy a bike that does not force you to sit right on your tail bone.  Try a Concours.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, but maybe he is like me, and physically unable to "exercise". Those of you without joint issues who can walk all day and fast walk on treadmills, for example,  tend to forget not everyone is able to do what you can, and should not be judged by your standards.

Having said that, I personally have addressed the bike comfort part successfully, but am also addressing the weight problem. For me, its a difficult problem to solve. Going to see an indocrinologist next week even, and it may end up having to be addressed with surgery. But I agree, get rid of the weight problem and a lot of the ride comfort problems go away.
 
I used to "rag" on people who smoke, then I realized that I had been trying to control my addiction to food for years with no success.
 
I can't believe nobody has suggested a custom saddle. Talk to any long distance rider. The single biggest butt-comfort factor is the saddle. The KING of custom saddles is the Russell "Day Long" saddle. They're custom designed with a proprietary suspension system that spreads the weight over a larger area so you don't get hot spots. That's absolutely critical for people over 250 pounds trying to ride a stock seat designed for a 140 pound guy with a 32" waist. Read the reviews on Russell saddles. Not a close call.

I've had three seats made by Rick Mayer. His seats are great, and not as goofy looking as the Russell seats. Rick is one of hte sons of the guy who designed the Russell saddles, and he's also in northern California. I've done one "mail-in" according to his instructions with photos and measurements, and two ride-in appointments. All methods have produced seats VASTLY superior to the factory seats. I'm 6'3" and used to weigh almost 260 when I was eating and training all the time. Now I'm down to only 210 -- and I still really appreciate a custom seat.  ;D
 
smithr-scad said:
Ok I will say it.  Eat better, exercise and buy a bike that does not force you to sit right on your tail bone.  Try a Concours.
Click to expand...


Agreed , but even the Concours can hurt some sensitive areas.... :eek:
 
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