Saddle

Well I'm now on my fourth saddle and still not getting the fit I want. Is there really a comfort saddle out there for century rides. . .say over 100 miles?

 

Ha ha, Sorry man just heard that many times befor, personally i find a realy skinny hard as nails seat is better for the long rides. i know it sounds wrong but it aint. I use a sella san marco ERA. and all my saddle sore probs are a thing of the past.

 

You don't want a cushiony saddle, nice firm flat saddle will be more comfortable. Plus, your butt needs to get conditioned.

My guess is that you are blaming the saddle when most likely it is the fitting that is the issue. You can spend a lifetime swapping saddles around, but unless you get it adjusted properly (height, tilt, for/aft) you'll never achieve anal nirvana.

I can ride Fiziks, San Marcos (ERA rocks) & Selle Italias with equal comport because they are installed correctly.

 

Check out the Terri's. I have riden Fizik,all of them plus San Marco and Selle.
The Terri works great for me on the long hauls. I emphasis for me!
When I was in my twenties I could ride on a cactus and get use to it but now I like something that breaks in rather than breaks me in.

 

I'm with insane on this one .....I had more cushion on last years bike. This year I have a Selle San Marco SKN and love it to death.

Josh

 

I'm into my 16th year on my Brooks Pro, well worth the initial pain of wearing it in. Spent best part of 23hrs on doing a 400km Audax on it no complaints from my butt. Everything else complained but can't praise it enough.

 

Well I just got a new Specialized Alias. It's great. My first thought when I got on it was, this one is as hard as a rock. After a couple miles it seemed pretty good. By the time I finished 20 miles It did seem to bother my butt a little. If it only bothers me this small amout after 20 miles, I can't wait for the saddle to get broken in a little. Saturday I plan on 30 miles.

Here is a good link to an article that helped me, it's called "The Quest for the perfect saddle"

http://active.com/story.cfm?story_id=13529&sidebar=21&category=cycling

 

I had a Selle San Marco Era and after a year I still couldn't break it in. (If anyone wants to buy it, it's sitting in my box o' bike parts right now). Swapped it out for a Fizik Arione and have NEVER had a complaint. I've heard this from everyone else I've spoken with who rides the arione. As for distances, I've done a handful of centuries and 140 mile rides on the arione with no problems.

BTW, I heard somewhere that you may lose "efficiency" sliding around on a saddle like the Arione (because you don't lock into one position on the saddle) but you can find more positions (ie. riding aero on the front of the saddle vs. climbing on the back of the saddle). I guess I'm with the latter group.

 

I have to agree with everyone else. I used an old Vetta Saddle which was real nice and cushy and all was well until I went to dismount. I felt no pain while sitting on it, but had some serious pain in the lower back when the pressure was off. I have since changed over to an old Selle Italia Prolink which is a much harder saddle. It does, however, have two lightly padded areas right under my ishial bones. This way, I am supported by what I am supposed to be supported by, rather than by other things are aren't supposed to support weight. It took a little while to get used to this saddle, but I wouldn't trade it for the world now.

 

Might be interested, hit me up at [email protected]

Thanks.

 

Wow someone actually agreed with me