saddle suggestions

Hi

A few have suggested for me to lower my saddle a little. Thanks for the
suggestion. but I'm quite sure my saddle is not too high. In fact by fit-kit
standards it's a little lower than typical. I've always ridden a little low.
In fact, I tried once, lowering my saddle even lower than it currently is. I
ended up "bouncing" up and down, which hurt even more than the pressure of
the saddle at its current height.

Bob P.

"Robin Hubert" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bob Palermo said:

Hi,

When I bought my road bike, it came with a low end Sella San Marco saddle
that had hard edges that cut into my thighs. I quickly replaced it with a
Selle Italia Flite. The shape was great, and the edges are soft. It was
fine for my "sit" bones but it was too hard on the more "sensitive" area
just behind my privates. (There must be a name for that area but I don't
know it.) Anyway, I returned it for a Selle Italia Flite Gel. It's the
same shape as the Flite and I find it a little softer. I rode the season
with it, taking a month to dial it in. Dialed in, it was passable but
never comfortable in that area. Now that I'm riding it on my trainer,
it's real uncomfortable.

So I'm looking for ideas and suggestions on alternatives. I know there
are hundreds of saddles out there so I'm not wanting a survey of favorite
saddles. I'm hoping someone out there has had similar experience with the
"flite" line (ie: good feel as far as position and pedaling stroke but a
little too hard) and found a good alternative.

Let me add that I'm 50 yrs old, 5'9" 140 lbs, ride about 3 times per
week, with typical rides being 25 - 40 miles at average speeds of 18 - 20
mph. Also, the saddle on my mountain bike (which I don't ride very often
since I got my new road bike) is a Vetta "flex" that came with the bike.
It's more padded (foam padding?) than the Flite Gel, but not as versatile
for positioning. I find it comfortable to ride but I don't think it's a
viable alternative for my road bike.

Thanks for any ideas and suggestions.

Bob P.

Lower your saddle a smidgen?

Robin Hubert

Bob Palermo said:

Hi,

When I bought my road bike, it came with a low end Sella San Marco saddle
that had hard edges that cut into my thighs. I quickly replaced it with a
Selle Italia Flite. The shape was great, and the edges are soft. It was fine
for my "sit" bones but it was too hard on the more "sensitive" area just
behind my privates. (There must be a name for that area but I don't know
it.) Anyway, I returned it for a Selle Italia Flite Gel. It's the same shape
as the Flite and I find it a little softer. I rode the season with it,
taking a month to dial it in. Dialed in, it was passable but never
comfortable in that area. Now that I'm riding it on my trainer, it's real
uncomfortable.

So I'm looking for ideas and suggestions on alternatives. I know there are
hundreds of saddles out there so I'm not wanting a survey of favorite
saddles. I'm hoping someone out there has had similar experience with the
"flite" line (ie: good feel as far as position and pedaling stroke but a
little too hard) and found a good alternative.

Let me add that I'm 50 yrs old, 5'9" 140 lbs, ride about 3 times per week,
with typical rides being 25 - 40 miles at average speeds of 18 - 20 mph.
Also, the saddle on my mountain bike (which I don't ride very often since I
got my new road bike) is a Vetta "flex" that came with the bike. It's more
padded (foam padding?) than the Flite Gel, but not as versatile for
positioning. I find it comfortable to ride but I don't think it's a viable
alternative for my road bike.

Thanks for any ideas and suggestions.

Bob P.

if you like the flite, try the slr. and there's an almost identical
saddle to that sold as the colorado cyclist house brand for a much more
competitive price.

regarding position, don't adjust height, but try scooting it forward
1/4" - helped me.

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 08:43:39 -0700, [email hidden] (Mark D) wrote:

[---]

Quoted message said:

Has anyone every tried Scotchguard Waterproofing on the
underside of a Brooks? I know Brooks always says don't use nothing but
Proofhide.

Ordinary leather fat (leather grease? - not sure of the English word;
it's the stuff used for water-proofing leather boots and shoes) works
fine.

Per Mark D:

Quoted message said:

The other downside to a Brooks (At least for my Swift Ti I notice) is
that because of the design, there is a limited amount of Fore-Aft travel
on the rails.

Also, Brooks saddles and Thompson posts aren't such a good combo. Something
about Brooks' rails severely limits downward adjustment/tilt of the saddle's
nose.
--
PeteCresswell

Per Mark D:

Quoted message said:

Has anyone every tried Scotchguard Waterproofing on the
underside of a Brooks? I know Brooks always says don't use nothing but
Proofhide.

I just carry a plastic bag in my tool wedge.
--
PeteCresswell

Dear bob,

Saddles are kind of a personal preference. I liked Brooks (Pro) on my
regular ride. then a bike stester who had one of my bikes snet me
Trico saddle. It was light and more compfortable than the Brooks, and
has lasted five years. I've had pretty good luck with Wilderness
Trails mountain bike saddles as well. They have a slot down the middle
to keep you from messing up your stuff. They are lighter than the
Brooks.

Unfortunately, there is no saddle known to man that will prevent your
stuff going numb on a long ride.

good luck

jn

Bob Palermo said:

Hi,

When I bought my road bike, it came with a low end Sella San Marco
saddle that had hard edges that cut into my thighs. I quickly
replaced it with a Selle Italia Flite. The shape was great, and the
edges are soft. It was fine for my "sit" bones but it was too hard on
the more "sensitive" area just behind my privates. (There must be a
name for that area but I don't know it.) Anyway, I returned it for a
Selle Italia Flite Gel. It's the same shape as the Flite and I find
it a little softer. I rode the season with it, taking a month to dial
it in. Dialed in, it was passable but never comfortable in that area.
Now that I'm riding it on my trainer, it's real uncomfortable.

So I'm looking for ideas and suggestions on alternatives. I know
there are hundreds of saddles out there so I'm not wanting a survey
of favorite saddles. I'm hoping someone out there has had similar
experience with the "flite" line (ie: good feel as far as position
and pedaling stroke but a little too hard) and found a good
alternative.

Those things are terrible, IME. For my butt, I use exclusively the WTB
Rocket V on all my bikes. The whale-tail and drop-nose design is just
oh-so-comfortable and positions my sit bones exactly where they need to be,
and the "Love Channel" gets rid of the center pressure point entirely. And
best of all, it's quite a bit cheaper than all of the Flite series, and is
just as light (219g for the Ti rail version) as the gel ones. If you want
real cheap, the cro-mo rail version is half the price as the Ti rail
version.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Hoffer said:

On Fri, 2 Dec 2005 20:15:07 -0600, "Bob Palermo" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi,

When I bought my road bike, it came with a low end Sella San Marco saddle
that had hard edges that cut into my thighs. I quickly replaced it with a
Selle Italia Flite. The shape was great, and the edges are soft. It was fine
for my "sit" bones but it was too hard on the more "sensitive" area just
behind my privates. (There must be a name for that area but I don't know
it.) Anyway, I returned it for a Selle Italia Flite Gel. It's the same shape
as the Flite and I find it a little softer. I rode the season with it,
taking a month to dial it in. Dialed in, it was passable but never
comfortable in that area. Now that I'm riding it on my trainer, it's real
uncomfortable.

You'll get the standard warnings about 'gel' causing you to sink even
further into the saddle, leaving the high spots able to press into your
perineal region even more. So think about that.

The thing I found was that on a trainer I seem to have more weight on the
saddle than on my road bike. Not sure why. Might be that I'm still getting
used to it. I do spend about 1/4 of the time sitting completely upright, no
hands on the trainer and that means more of my bodyweight will be on the
saddle.

Quoted message said:

So I'm looking for ideas and suggestions on alternatives. I know there are
hundreds of saddles out there so I'm not wanting a survey of favorite
saddles. I'm hoping someone out there has had similar experience with the
"flite" line (ie: good feel as far as position and pedaling stroke but a
little too hard) and found a good alternative.

Let me add that I'm 50 yrs old, 5'9" 140 lbs, ride about 3 times per week,
with typical rides being 25 - 40 miles at average speeds of 18 - 20 mph.

If you're sitting correctly and distributing your weight correctly 1/3 on
handlebars, 1/3 on feet/pedals, 1/3 on saddle, then that's only 43lbs
parked on the saddle. I have no idea how that tiny amount of weight is
causing you a problem.

Have you tried altering your position? You might try this:

On a flat section, move slightly forward but just by shifting your weight
not by changing your position on the saddle - do it partly by tucking your
pelvis, partly by leaning forward and bending your arms.

Then just -start- to shift as though you're about to stand to pedal, don't
actually lift up off the saddle completely. That puts more of your weight
on your pedals. See how that feels.

Experiment with that and with bending your forearms more towards parallel
to the ground, which brings your weight more onto the pedals and
handlebars.

I'm not advocating a change in how you ride, just some thoughts on getting
more weight over your pedals.

Generally, though, I think more foam, gel or padding is the wrong way to
go. At your weight, just about any saddle that isn't cutting into your
thighs on the sides, or too long for you, or with too much of an upraise in
the nose should be a problem. Once you get up over 180lbs, then I think
some people get more problems because there's more weight on the saddle.

That hasn't been my experience, as a 206lb rider. The extra padding
still causes the same problem by pushing on the major arteries and
perineum after letting your sit bones sink in. My legs are thick, so if
the nose is wider due to padding, there is more outward pressure on the
arteries. Even if you're large I would recommend trying a seat with a
narrow nose, properly spaced wings and cutout for the perineum.

Quoted message said:

Unless you have an unnaturally thin or underdeveloped gluteus muscle, or
something. ;-)

-jet

Quoted message said:

Also, the saddle on my mountain bike (which I don't ride very often since I
got my new road bike) is a Vetta "flex" that came with the bike. It's more
padded (foam padding?) than the Flite Gel, but not as versatile for
positioning. I find it comfortable to ride but I don't think it's a viable
alternative for my road bike.

Thanks for any ideas and suggestions.

Bob P.

Per [email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Unfortunately, there is no saddle known to man that will prevent your
stuff going numb on a long ride.

How long a ride?
--
PeteCresswell

In article <[email hidden]>, Bob Palermo

Quoted message said:

Hi,

When I bought my road bike, it came with a low end Sella San Marco saddle
that had hard edges that cut into my thighs. I quickly replaced it with a
Selle Italia Flite. The shape was great, and the edges are soft. It was fine
for my "sit" bones but it was too hard on the more "sensitive" area just
behind my privates. (There must be a name for that area but I don't know
it.) Anyway, I returned it for a Selle Italia Flite Gel. It's the same shape
as the Flite and I find it a little softer. I rode the season with it,
taking a month to dial it in. Dialed in, it was passable but never
comfortable in that area. Now that I'm riding it on my trainer, it's real
uncomfortable.

So I'm looking for ideas and suggestions on alternatives. I know there are
hundreds of saddles out there so I'm not wanting a survey of favorite
saddles. I'm hoping someone out there has had similar experience with the
"flite" line (ie: good feel as far as position and pedaling stroke but a
little too hard) and found a good alternative.

Let me add that I'm 50 yrs old, 5'9" 140 lbs, ride about 3 times per week,
with typical rides being 25 - 40 miles at average speeds of 18 - 20 mph.
Also, the saddle on my mountain bike (which I don't ride very often since I
got my new road bike) is a Vetta "flex" that came with the bike. It's more
padded (foam padding?) than the Flite Gel, but not as versatile for
positioning. I find it comfortable to ride but I don't think it's a viable
alternative for my road bike.

Thanks for any ideas and suggestions.

Bob P.

Why not try the Vetta on the roadie? Even if it's uncomfortable it may
enlighten you as to what the your ideal saddle requires. Try putting a
few 'trainer' miles on the bike after swapping seats, compensating for
the Vetta's extra padding, by wearing shorts without a chamois.

Luke

Andrew Price said:

Ordinary leather fat (leather grease? - not sure of the English word;
it's the stuff used for water-proofing leather boots and shoes) works
fine.

My shoes (Panama Jack) came with a small container of horse grease (which
is what it sounds like) for that purpose, but most animal fats shgould
work. Proofide has one or two different animal fats, beeswax, and some
other stuff in it.

Jasper

You can also use a product called Sno-Seal for the underside. It's
available at many sporting goods stores. It's used to waterproof
boots.
I still need to periodically retension the saddle due to stretching
leather though. Not to gross anyone out, but Texas climate is such
that my shorts saturate with sweat.

Bob Palermo said:

Hi,

---snip---

Quoted message said:

Thanks for any ideas and suggestions.

Bob P.

After experiencing a horrible bladder/urinary tract infection, I
ditched my flite (which had outlasted one mountain bike and two road
bikes) for a flite gel (the older kind, with the oval 'taint' gel
insert). While reasonable comfortable, I never really took to that
saddle. After moving to UT and finding myself confined to the trainer
for a winter, I decided to look for something better. I've been riding
a Terry Fly Ti for about a year now, and find it exceptionally comfy.
Honestly, my only complaint is that it lacks the slight 'kick' in the
rear that the flite has, making it difficult to 'push back' during
climbs.

SYJ