How do you pick a saddle?

[Peter Cole]

"Scic" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> >From: "Peter Cole"
>
> >When I say "low back angles", I meant more parallel to the ground, AKA
> "flatter" (as in going down into the drops).
>
> Understood... results in pressure.
>
> However, rotating the pelvis forward, that is, thrusting the bottom of the pelvis forward (top of
> the pelvis goes rearward), results in less pressure
when
> in the drops.
>
> Haven't seen much written about this lately. Perhaps saddle designers no longer think it's
> necessary to do so. A quick Google resulted in the following (although it's not saddle specific,
> the principle applies):
>
> http://www.io.tudelft.nl/research/ica/publications/papers2000/DESIGN_Moes_ Distance.pdf

I don't know what this has to do with saddles, but from the drawing, you have your terminology
reversed from theirs and mine. I think that most people consider rotating the pelvis forward to mean
rotating the top of the pelvis, not the bottom.

 

[Ta]

Just like you pick your nose...carefully. "Prometheus" <[email protected]> wrote
in message news:[email protected]...
> This is not a troll. I just finished a century ride this weekend and
heard
> a lot of people saying, "I don't like this saddle." Now, commonsense says you try them all until
> you find one you like, but surely there is some
other
> thought behind it than having to purchase all of the ones in the
Performance
> catalog. Would they even accept returns if you didn't like them? Anyway, I'm curious. Do "bad"
> saddles give you saddle sores??? Or, is it just
pure
> discomfort? Physically debilitating? Mine is not overly comfortable, but
I
> haven't tried any others.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <KTOfa.33859$A%[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Paul Southworth) wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, Prometheus
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >This is not a troll. I just finished a century ride this weekend and heard a lot of people
> >saying, "I don't like this saddle."
>
> The usual translation is "I don't like how my ass feels" which often has relatively little to do
> with the saddle and a lot to do with inadequate mileage on the soft parts.
>
> There is such a thing as a badly fitting saddle but I think many saddle complaints are "rider
> error" - they need more miles on their ass but prefer to put the blame on something that can be
> purchased.

Could be, but my personal experience was that I rode around on a nice soft saddle, it ****** me
off and made me numb despite repeated attempts to adjust it, and then I went and bought a nice
narrow saddle. That worked. The new saddle is reasonably comfortable for distances up to at least
a metric century.

Then, I got another bike that came with another nice soft saddle, and it only took me another
week to get annoyed and numb, and then I swapped it for another one of the same saddle I bought
before. Ahhh.

You have to have your saddle positioned properly, but a saddle that isn't compatible with your soft
parts is going to hurt no matter what. I don't see any point in claiming that one of these elements
is more important than the other.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

 

[x]

RE/
>The usual translation is "I don't like how my ass feels" which often has relatively little to do
>with the saddle and a lot to do with inadequate mileage on the soft parts.
>
>There is such a thing as a badly fitting saddle but I think many saddle complaints are
>"rider error"

I would agree 100% with those statements - having been there and done that....

But I would also caution that the consequences of "gutting it out" with a too-narrow saddle can be
severe and long-lasting.

Don't ask.
-----------------------
PeteCresswell