Bike Fit & Saddle Pressure Mapping: Why It’s More Than Just the Saddle

If you’ve ever experienced saddle discomfort, numbness, or pain on the bike, you’ve probably wondered whether the problem is your saddle, your position – or both.

At Kernow Physio, saddle pressure mapping is one of the tools used during a physio-led bike fit to help understand how a rider is interacting with their bike. But as Scott Tomkinson explains, it’s rarely as simple as just changing a saddle.

Experience Matters in Bike Fitting

Scott has been practising physiotherapy for over 20 years and has been bike fitting for almost as long, completing more than 3,000 bike fits during his career. He began bike fitting while working as a physiotherapist with Team Garmin, and bike fitting has remained a central part of his clinical practice ever since.

What Scott enjoys most about bike fitting is that no two riders are the same. Everyone moves differently, and everyone brings a different medical and injury history with them – something that can’t be understood by measurements alone.

Why Saddle Pressure Mapping Is Useful

Saddle pressure mapping allows Scott to visualise how pressure is distributed across the saddle while a rider is pedalling. This can highlight:

• asymmetries left to right
• excessive pressure in sensitive areas
• instability through the pelvis
• compensations caused by movement restrictions

However, pressure mapping is not a magic fix. It doesn’t replace proper assessment – it supports it.

As Scott puts it, simply placing a pressure pad on the saddle and declaring the problem solved often misses the real issue.

A Real-World Example

In one case, a rider arrived with ongoing discomfort on a time trial bike despite having already had a bike fit elsewhere. Saddle pressure mapping showed that she was consistently sliding to one side of the saddle and struggling to stabilise her pelvis.

At first glance, this could have been mistaken for a saddle or cleat issue. But a deeper physiotherapy assessment revealed significant restriction in her left hip, later identified as a labral problem.

The solution wasn’t just adjusting the bike.

Scott made small changes to her position to open up the hip angle on the bike, but just as importantly, he prescribed specific off-bike exercises to improve hip mobility and control. Over time, as the rider worked on these limitations, her saddle pressure distribution became more even, with clear sit bone support on both sides.

It took several weeks – not minutes – for her to become pain-free.

Why It’s a Process, Not a One-Off Adjustment

This example highlights an important point: effective bike fitting is a process.

Saddle pressure mapping can show what is happening on the bike, but understanding why it’s happening requires physiotherapy knowledge. In many cases, riders need:

• targeted exercises
• time for their body to adapt
• follow-up refinement

When bike fit and physiotherapy are combined, the results are more robust, longer-lasting, and safer – especially for riders with previous injuries or movement restrictions.

Bike Fit and Physiotherapy Go Hand in Hand

Whether a rider is dealing with pain, numbness, or simply wants to become more efficient and comfortable on the bike, saddle pressure mapping is most effective when used as part of a wider, evidence-based approach.

That’s why Scott believes cyclists benefit most from seeing a bike fitter who is also trained in physiotherapy. The bike and the body can’t be separated – and when they’re treated together, the outcome is far better.