Good Times/Bad Times

in message <[email hidden]>, Paul

(') said:

However, this has come at a cost to me I can tell you. Some time ago I
was having problems with numbness down below after rides which I
thought I had mastered after getting the bike set up professionally
and investing in the same saddle for both my bikes - a Selle Flight.
Everything has seemed ok over my normal runs of 30 - 40 miles but
today has done me in and the problem has returned so I really need
some good advice so a few questions:

1. Over such a long distance is some degree of numbness not
inevitable?

I haven't done a 100 miles in recent memory, but I did a 70 recently. I
had pain and incipient cramp in my calves towards the end of it, but no
saddle discomfort. You definitely should not have any. My saddles are
Brooks Professionals, and I find them very comfortable. However,
they're definitely heavy.

I am looking for a lighter saddle which will be equally comfortable, and
am currently thinking of experimenting with a Selle Italia SLR which is
pretty light (135g) and quite a lot of people seem to like.
<URL:http://www.parker-international.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/1323/>

I was wondering if I could find a site anywhere with either a detailed
breakdown of the kit on different road race professionals bikes or else
good photos of the bikes sans rider on which the kit can be identified.
After all the TdF riders are doing over a hundred miles a day every day
for three weeks and they must use comfortable saddles. Any suggestions?

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
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I nearly gave up cycling because of saddle problems but the Hobson saddle I now have on both bikes I find really helps

hobsonseats.commedical.htmOpen ↗

"Paul" <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

Some good news and some bad news from me tonight and a plea for help.

Quoted message said:

Good news is that I completed the Manchester 100 mile ride (103 actually Mr
Ride Organiser!) today in 6hrs 50 mins which, considering it was my first
run over such a large distance I am pretty pleased with. The last 20 miles
or so was pretty hard but I hung in there and actually felt pretty fresh at
the end. I raised £300 for Christie's cancer care in the process so a good
days work.

Well done!

Quoted message said:

1. Over such a long distance is some degree of numbness not inevitable?

No. It is a problem with some (very few AAMOF) long-distance riders. (I
conducted an informal e-survey of this problem on a long-distance
cyclists email group - [email hidden])
There is much debate about which saddle is best but saddles have to fit
the rider and we're all different.

Whichever saddle you use, you must get your weight off it frequently, to
ease pressure and get some air to the skin. In particular, get your butt
off the seat whenever cycling over potholes and other irregularities in
the road.

Quoted message said:

2. Assuming no what else can I do? (Answers including the word 'recumbent'
will be ignored!! ). Saddles are a very personal thing and it may be a bit
futile asking for recommendations but I'm getting desperate!

WAIT!
Most problems after a single day's ride resolve in time.
It's unlikely you'll have permanent damage.

Quoted message said:

Finally, on a sad note, last week I arranged to sell my other bike on Ebay
so as to invest in another one and whilst I rode today on my 2nd bike it was
sitting in my garage waiting to be boxed and shipped. I say 'was' because
when I got home some scrote had decided to break in and take it along with
300 quid's worth of tools and a pressure washer! How can I explain to the
guy who has bought it that he's gonna be getting his cheque back? Is this
likely to cause me a problem given it was sold on ebay?

Sorry to hear that. Horrible, isn't it?
I don't think ebay will be a problem so long as you're straight with the
poor purchaser and refund his dosh ASAP.
Your failure to deliver the goods is understandable and you've not
disappeared with the cash.

Quoted message said:

Hope my house insurance pays out.

So do I>...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

Paul <[email hidden]> wrote:

: 1. Over such a long distance is some degree of numbness not inevitable?

No.

: 2. Assuming no what else can I do? (Answers including the word 'recumbent'
: will be ignored!! ). Saddles are a very personal thing and it may be a bit
: futile asking for recommendations but I'm getting desperate!

Try lots of saddles. Raise your bars (don't try and emulate a pro riding position).
Lose weight if you have a spare tyre.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org
"Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

Simon Brooke said:

I was wondering if I could find a site anywhere with either a detailed
breakdown of the kit on different road race professionals bikes or else
good photos of the bikes sans rider on which the kit can be identified.
After all the TdF riders are doing over a hundred miles a day every day
for three weeks and they must use comfortable saddles. Any suggestions?

ISTR some companies sell TdF team replica bikes which presumably have the same
level of spec as the genuine article. They'll probably have a complete
breakdown of the kit for each of their models, even if the sport-following
sites do not.

I don't know who these companies are, though.

Regards,

-david

Simon Brooke <[email hidden]> wrote:
: breakdown of the kit on different road race professionals bikes or else
: good photos of the bikes sans rider on which the kit can be identified.
: After all the TdF riders are doing over a hundred miles a day every day
: for three weeks and they must use comfortable saddles. Any suggestions?

www.cyclingnews.com

However, trying to copy pro's equipment and position on the bike with
out their light weight, flexibility and fitness is a recipe for numbness.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org
"Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

"Paul" <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

Some good news and some bad news from me tonight and a plea for help.

Quoted message said:

Good news is that I completed the Manchester 100 mile ride (103 actually Mr
Ride Organiser!) today in 6hrs 50 mins which, considering it was my first
run over such a large distance I am pretty pleased with. The last 20 miles
or so was pretty hard but I hung in there and actually felt pretty fresh at
the end. I raised £300 for Christie's cancer care in the process so a good
days work.

Well done!

Yes well done indeed ..........

Quoted message said:

In particular, get your butt off the seat

My wife keeps saying this to me, not sure what she means ;-)

"Arthur Clune" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Paul <[email hidden]> wrote:

: 1. Over such a long distance is some degree of numbness not inevitable?

No.

: 2. Assuming no what else can I do? (Answers including the word

'recumbent'

Quoted message said:

: will be ignored!! ). Saddles are a very personal thing and it may be a

bit

Quoted message said:

: futile asking for recommendations but I'm getting desperate!

Try lots of saddles. Raise your bars (don't try and emulate a pro riding

position).

Quoted message said:

Lose weight if you have a spare tyre.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org
"Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

Thanks to all so far. A bit of progress in that the insurance company are
prepared to cough up on the basis of their initial assessment, even though I
won't get a 'new for old' recompense but something is better than nothing I
guess. The guy who 'bought' my bike was absolutely great about it with no
hassle at all and I have arranged to refund him this week - that was a
relief. I am not counting my chickens yet though - there's a lot of red
tape to go through before cheque hits mat!

As a person who tries to see the positive in everything I guess it's my
opportunity to look for a new bike and I have reflected today over what I
would really like, particularly as I rode the 100 on Sunday on my Bianchi
San Remo, which was great, but I couldn't help but ponder how much easier
the ride would have been had I taken the bike that was being nicked at the
time. Weight was a big factor for me.

So...I have decided to go for it and, in addition to whatever insurance cash
I end up getting, I am gonna sell the Bianchi and push the boat out for a
really nice road bike which I can do a bit of distance on in addition to
training. They say you never miss something until its gone.

I should therefore have a budget of around £1300 of which I will spend what
I have to in order to get what I want and am comfortable with.

Oh, and I will also get it insured up to value separately........

Cheers

Paul