Definitely play with the seat angle, but the zero seat does have limited movement possibilities… any chance of a finer ‘teeth’ set up. It made a big difference when I lifted the front of my freeride seat on my 29er by about a mm at the front bolts. I’d put up with the pain for years…
Regarding bars, I m getting some distance in on the 36 and haven’t put on the KH bar yet as I am quite happy with the seat handle and I do try to get a bit of weight on to that. So if the OP isn’t comfortable riding with both hands on the seat I would suggest that as the first move in truth.
Oh, and I do wear bike shorts too.
Done more riding in the last week and a half than in the previous two months (7 hours)
I was about to replace my UDC freeride seat when I was given advice to lift the front and where bike pants , I can now ride 5 - 10 kms with minimal pain and my back has never been better like one track but now my neck is complaining .
I think you’re right. I probably sat too far forward on my last ride. On another note, I did just purchase the KH One since there were a lot of people saying it was a big improvement.
Also since there was a mention about Unicon – Pretty sure my wife and myself will be at the Unicon in South Korea 2018. She’s from China, so we’ll be there for about 3 weeks and I told her I want to ride a unicycle on the Great Wall of china :). So we’ll probably fly to Beijing and then Seoul in the way home.
I also agree about the need to strengthen my muscles, but I think it’s more so of my thighs and knees so that riding in general is easier and I’d be less tense overall.
Please let us know how the Zero works out. In the meantime you could try this idea. I call it the Unibokk step saddle.
I took a piece of padding from a knee pad and secured it to the saddle with a sock.
The step allows the old boys to be elevated from the main saddle. The extra cushioning of the added padding accommodates the sit bones and it’s soooh comfortable.
You can tailor the padding to suit your own anatomy. I have cut it slightly narrower than the saddle. I find that this reduces the outward pressure of the wide saddle pressing outward against the inner thighs.
You can add this to your zero without damaging the Zero’s covering.
P.S. To get the full benefits of the step saddle, you may need to cut back the padding in your cycling shorts so that the old boys are not restrained from hanging.
Also don’t wear underwear under your cycling shorts.
The padding in your shorts should really only be located under your sit bones in my opinion.
My saddle area is almost always my limiting factor when I’m riding. I’ve tried that seat before and while a lot of folks swear by it, I think it’s a torture device… Yeah yeah Yeah, I didn’t put in my 300 miles with a handlebar to allow my body to adjust to it, granted. But that being a prerequisite makes me think it’s not the most comfortable saddle out there for me. KH fusion freeride and nimbus gel saddles are my go to and always have been.
You didn’t mention how long you’ve been riding and your weight, both could have something to do with it. I’m large, the physics of it is I have way more weight on the saddle than most of the people here. You definitely have to work up your milage, if 9 miles is hurting too much and you’re not being able to ride the next day because of it then back off quite a bit. Find the number of miles that you can ride 3 days in a row comfortably, then slowly work up the distance. Like others have said, you can bruise and irritate those areas, then you really need to take time off for them to heal before the pain will go away. Breaks are your friend, even just 3 or 4 minutes off the saddle every 30 min riding will make a big difference, you can get up out of the saddle for a minute while riding, also helps.
After my longest ride on my 29er (24 miles) I was in so much pain I couldn’t believe it, it really put the comfort of riding my bike in perspective, I no longer complain about my bike saddles after 4 hour rides.
I would say quite the opposite. Hanging is a quick way to get them somewhere awkward. I wear padded lycra bib shorts plus cotton shorts with braces to ensure everything is kept up out of harm’s way.
I do a lot of hill climbing and there is nothing worse than being unable to settle back onto the saddle during a climb.
The main reason for the padding in shorts is to have something wicking your sweat away, not to cushion your ride. Otherwise padded seats would make more sense.
I remember reading about how cyclists in the early years of the Tour De France used to use a piece of raw steak meat down below and it wasn’t for the wicking effect you describe.
Modern materials provide wicking for additional comfort but the padding in the sit bone area is primarily for cushioning the sit bones.
Yes it helped prevent saddle sores caused by pressure and chaffing resulting from friction and downward pressure. It also helped to reduce pain caused by sitting on the saddle for so many hours. It cushioned the sit bones.
That said, my wife says similar things about my glutes as well. 
