Selle SMP vs Specialized Toupe

bianchi10 · #1 4 Weeks Ago

I apologize for making a couple of threads regarding saddles. just want to narrow down some options.

I'm between the Selle SMP glider/stratos(not sure which one will fit my sit bones better at this point) and the Specialized Toupe.

I REALLY want to try the SMP but it seems as if there are no bike shops in my area that have one for me to try before buying. I like the clean aggressive look to it and think it would look fantastic on my bike.

I have made pretty good friends with a guy down at my bike shop and he said he would give me some killer discounts.(I work for red bull and give him a can or two when I go in) they have a returned toupe white/red that he said they could give me for $50! the saddle is BRAND NEW. the problem for me is when I look at the toupe I feel like it appears to be cheap, as if I got it form kmart or something. I care a lot how my bike looks and don't want to think my own bike has a cheap looking saddle. BUT more importantly I want a functional comfortable saddle.

Between the 2 which would you go with?

Peter@vecchios · #2 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by bianchi10

I apologize for making a couple of threads regarding saddles. just want to narrow down some options.

I'm between the Selle SMP glider/stratos(not sure which one will fit my sit bones better at this point) and the Specialized Toupe.

I REALLY want to try the SMP but it seems as if there are no bike shops in my area that have one for me to try before buying. I like the clean aggressive look to it and think it would look fantastic on my bike. I can get it new for $185.

I have made pretty good friends with a guy down at my bike shop and he said he would give me some killer discounts.(I work for red bull and give him a can or two when I go in) they have a returned toupe white/red that he said they could give me for $50! the saddle is BRAND NEW. the problem for me is when I look at the toupe I feel like it appears to be cheap, as if I got it form kmart or something. I care a lot how my bike looks and don't want to think my own bike has a cheap looking saddle. BUT more importantly I want a functional comfortable saddle.

Between the 2 which would you go with?

The one YOUR butt is happy with. There are few if any real answers in terms of saddles. They are a zillion makers with numerous models each. Try it first, if ya like it buy it, if you don't, swap. Getting a deeply discounted saddle 'may' mean you can't return or swap it. Depends on the shop.

Who sells the SMP for $185?

bianchi10 · #3 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter@vecchios

The one YOUR butt is happy with. There are few if any real answers in terms of saddles. They are a zillion makers with numerous models each. Try it first, if ya like it buy it, if you don't, swap. Getting a deeply discounted saddle 'may' mean you can't return or swap it. Depends on the shop.

Who sells the SMP for $185?

like I said, I can get a discount at this bike shop. He said I can try the toupe and return it if I dont like it. The saddle feels great in my hand, I like the flex it has, it is light, but it looks very cheap to me.
I guess I was looking more for what people liked in their own experience with either one and which one they liked the looks of better. I am going to a dealer today that has a glider smp and said I can test ride it around the block or put it on a trainer. I am going to try that first and if I like it I will order a white one from my buddy for that discounted price. I think the smp just looks like a higher quality saddle.

daveryanwyoming · #4 4 Weeks Ago

I don't know much about the SMP glider, but the Specialized Toupe comes in three widths (130mm, 143mm, 155mm) which really helps in terms of finding a comfortable fit.

Try more than one if you can before buying or talk to your dealer about a free exchange to a wider or narrower version if you take care to protect the saddle rails with electrical tape and ride the saddle for a few days. That's exactly the program at my LBS that convinced me that the 143mm Specialized Toupe was a much better fit than the narrower or wider versions.

Good luck,
-Dave

Farmguy · #5 4 Weeks Ago

I have been on a Sella Stratos, (I think) saddle for the past year and I am very impressed with the fit and comfort, no issues with numbness or anything else. Average week for me is 100-120 miles, maybe a 3+ hrs on the weekends with 4-5 century's a year. I was not able to take it for a test ride as a slight drop would scuff a $250 saddle and if I did not like it, the shop would be stuck with a damaged seat. The LBS did set up a trainer and a DVD in a corner and let me have fun for as long as I wanted, I bought the seat. The guy did say that everyone he has sold one to, he has yet to hear a bad review. It is a spendy saddle, but for me it works.

tonyzackery · #6 4 Weeks Ago

FWIW, I've tried both and where the Toupe is a 'pretender', the SMP is a 'contender'. For me, the SMP is a "6 hour saddle". Takes a ride or two to get accustomed, but after that it's like riding in a Cadillac...The Toupe was a Yugo in comparison...YMMV

bianchi10 · #7 4 Weeks Ago

here is another questing in regards to getting the right fit for the smp. on the ass-o-meter, I was rated 120 which barely put me into the 143. I have heard from several people that they were rated a 143 but rode a 130 OR rated a 130 and rode wider. I went to a local shop that wouldn't let me do anything with the saddle (smp glider) other than place it on a chair and sit on it. I was in jeans, obviously it wasn't positioned correctly but it hurt as if the rails were right in the crease of my parineal/inner thigh. almost like I was sitting on 2 rulers laying on their sides. would that mean the saddle was to wide or narrow? The cavity in the smp seems to be much wider than other saddles and have been told several times that it is imperative that I get the right saddle of the smp or it will be the worst saddle I have ever sat on.

that ridge I was feeling from that cavity...would that break in after time on it?

so should I go towards the stratos which is more narrow or go wider with the lite 209?

bianchi10 · #8 4 Weeks Ago

anyone ever tried a selle italia thoork?

bianchi10 · #9 4 Weeks Ago

does the fizik arione carbon have any kind of gel/silicone cover or is it plain carbon and hard on your rear? I see they describe it as a "technogel" but haven't been able to see what that really means.

alienator · #10 4 Weeks Ago

What have the looks of a saddle got to do with the function?

Trying a saddle by sitting on it in a chair, in jeans, tells you nothing about the saddle. It does tell you not to go back to that LBS again. Hell, riding a saddle on a trainer means nothing.

What others think of saddles is completely irrelevant. I've run into scads of people that think the SLR is a slice of fine cheese, but I think the thing is an a$$ hatchet.

Just start trying saddles. Trying a saddle by internet opinion is a sure fire way to end up with a saddle that doesn't work for you.

bianchi10 · #11 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by alienator

What have the looks of a saddle got to do with the function?

it doesn't and I know that as I stated before already. I was saying that I want a saddle that not ONLY is functional to my needs, but also looks good to compliment my bike. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

alienator · #12 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by bianchi10

it doesn't and I know that as I stated before already. I was saying that I want a saddle that not ONLY is functional to my needs, but also looks good to compliment my bike. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

You know, when you're on the saddle, no one sees it. I think I'd put comfort number one and looks about number 38, as ugly won't keep you off the bike, while an uncomfortable saddle just might.

tonyzackery · #13 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by bianchi10

it doesn't and I know that as I stated before already. I was saying that I want a saddle that not ONLY is functional to my needs, but also looks good to compliment my bike. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

You're not the only one - for sure. Why do you think all these saddle manufacturers make colored saddles and not simply only black ones?

I just picked up a white and orange BMC frame and it will definitely be saddled with something other than basic black - most likely a white saddle, and maybe orange if I can find it...

Substance over style - for sure, but they're not mutually exclusive...Definitely there are those out there that have little to no style and couldn't care less, but if there's something worth doing (IMO) it's worth doing with a little style...

nbfman · #14 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by bianchi10

I guess I was looking more for what people liked in their own experience with either one and which one they liked the looks of better.

I have not tried either one, but I voted for the SMP because I thought it looked better (just saw pictures) and because it seemed to be the more expensive of the two. And since the premise was that one of them is given to you, I would accept the pricier one for the chance to try a saddle I normally would not be able to afford.

If you can afford the SMP, since you already think the other one looks cheap, it sounds like you should go with the SMP and see how it goes.

Peter@vecchios · #15 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by bianchi10

like I said, I can get a discount at this bike shop. He said I can try the toupe and return it if I dont like it. The saddle feels great in my hand, I like the flex it has, it is light, but it looks very cheap to me.
I guess I was looking more for what people liked in their own experience with either one and which one they liked the looks of better. I am going to a dealer today that has a glider smp and said I can test ride it around the block or put it on a trainer. I am going to try that first and if I like it I will order a white one from my buddy for that discounted price. I think the smp just looks like a higher quality saddle.

Hmmmmmm......
Try at one shop, buy at another....bad form in my opinion but I own a bike shop so it's what you could expect.

View Poll Results: Which would you ride if one was GIVEN to you?
Selle SMP Glider	9	50.00%
Specialized toupe	9	50.00%
Voters: 18. This poll is closed

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