Selle SMP vs Specialized Toupe

[bianchi10]

well as I have found, my hip bones do not fit a 131mm saddle therefor eliminating ALL of the ones I wanted to try. I am looking into the Selle italia Signos flow as it is a but wider (141mm). I am hoping to try 2 different saddles this coming Friday at my LBS but throwing my bike on a trainer and give them a go for a half hour each or so. I know some have said it can take a week or 2 (or more) for anyone to really break in a saddle and get used to it, but I figure a half hour on one can help eliminate some choices narrow down my field.

 

[Peter@vecchios]

well he didn't do anything to help me in the first place other than let me hold it in my hand and second, I am going to shop around and get it at the place where I can get it the cheapest. I'm not going to spend an extra $65+ just because the guy was friendly. Thats what people do when they shop around. You ever test drive a vehicle at one dealership and buy it 2 weeks later at a different dealer because they had it for cheaper?

Often with bicycles, and bicycle stuff, you buy the shop as much as the item. If one guy helped me, went the extra little bit but was more expensive than the 'stuff in boxes' bike shop that really didn't care if I was there or not...yes, I'd pay the $ to get better knowledge and service but it's yer $, do what you want in the light of much 'free' advice, here and elsewhere.

 

[vspa]

S. Toupe with titanium rails broke down in less than 1 year.

 

[swampy1970]

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

There's always the sitting on the Specialized "butt-o-meter" to get the correct width... I think I went with the 143mm version too and it's that comfy that ,combined with a good pair of shorts, you basically forget about the saddle even on rides over 8 hours. There's not really much more that you can legally ask from a saddle in public places

I've been over the as recommended 'minimum weight' for the saddle pretty much most of it's life - ie the past two years... no issues thus far.

 

[slovakguy]

in with swampy on this one. seven hour rides in the saddle with the toupe and it's held up magnificently for four years of riding. good shorts are a must for the longer rides (kind of an obvious statement), but even four hour rides in my bargain pants is without discomfort. good flex and still keeps my bottom from sliding around during the ride.

more to the point, have to side with the advice which recommends putting it on the post and ride it. go make up your own mind.

 

[bianchi10]

So I finally got a new saddle. After a full week of research, questions and thinking I went to my LBS and realized that all my questions and thinking did me no good. The only thing I could do with the 5 choices I had sitting in front of me was simply by one and try it. Now that I had narrowed it down to these 5, I had the frustrating decision of which one should I try first? My buddy at the shop got tired of me sitting there staring at them, so he grabbed one and mounted it on my bike. He chose the specialized Toupe. I went out and rode it and it KILLED me!!! I came back to the shop and said..."that is not the saddle for me!" I had him take it off and put on the selle italia flight (not the max). went out and IMMEDIATELY felt a huge difference. I rode it for 2 miles and came back with a smile. Who knows it may not end up being the saddle I stick with, but for now it was a much better fit.
they gave me a black saddle (I want white) and told me to try it for 2 weeks and if I like it brig it back and they will exchange it for a white. Win-win situation!!!
It was poaring outside when I got home and I don't have rain gear so I threw my bike on my trainer and rode it a bit. Again it was a big difference, but getting it out on the road for a good ride will be the true test.

 

[alienator]

Don't put to much weight behind what a saddle feels like on a trainer. I find the road and trainer to be two vastly different experiences in terms of comfort.

 

[bianchi10]

Don't put to much weight behind what a saddle feels like on a trainer. I find the road and trainer to be two vastly different experiences in terms of comfort.

yeah that's what I was told. I just wanted to see how it would feel, but wont reley on the feedback till I get it out on the road.