RonK wrote:Sound like she may be sitting on the narrow part of the saddle - it may be set too far back. Try moving it forward.
You don't mention that she is using chamois cream - get some and apply it liberally to the chamois.
She may also need to consider if the quality of her knicks is up to scratch. Are they womens-specific? And definitely no underwear - I though all women knew that a VPL is tres gauche.
All this still leaves the possibility that the saddle doesn't suit. A womens-specific saddle, shorter, wider, perhaps with a cutaway may be necessary, perhaps a Terry.
Finally, this all assumes that her bike fit is correct. If she is experiencing clitoral irritation (it's ok to say that here) as you seem to be alluding to, this may indicate that the reach is too long or the front is too low causing her pelvis to roll forward and increasing the pressure on her genitals.
Worked through all these issues when my wife started cycling.
Ditto!
The first thing Gabby and I did was to go to a bike shop, put her bike in a home trainer and then try different saddles. It was a little of cart before horse but was the fastest and cheapest first step.
The result from that was dramatic - many saddles were an instant and emphatic no. The right saddle was instantaneously a yes...
Then we got her fitted for a custom built frame. Again the difference was dramatic! The main triangle on her first bike looked like an equilateral triangle but on the custom frame it was like an isosceles triangle.
Her comment after her first ride on the custom frame (with the "right" saddle moved over) was "I didn't realise cycling didn't have to hurt".
That comment blew me away because she had ridden the length of Tasmania, Broken Hill to Bacchus Marsh and several 200km rides by that point.
It was after that I became passionate about women's cycling and women's bike fit!
Good luck with your wife's comfort issue - please reassure her she is not the first to go through this and that the end result of persevering is worth it!
Andrew