Geoff's Arse....

gtvlusso

Hi All,

Back on my Boardman racing bike, being used as a commuter - I have the standard saddle fitted (like a fecking razor blade!) I wear padded shorts too......

Any advice on saddles, keeping in style with the bike? Don't want to spend a fortune, but need more comfort.

I am doing between 40 and 72 miles a day and my gooch won't take much more - mileage depends on banana and coffee intake.

Currently sitting on one cheek at the moment....

Cheers

G

weedy1

I know the feeling, first time out on mine and I felt like someone had booted me up the hoop :shock: . Funny 'nuff its miles more comfy than me old Selle Italia MTB saddle. Got some Giordana Tenax shorts tho.......... uummm nice.

Monty Dog

Check your saddle angle and height - ideally it should be horizontal or very slightly nose-down - anything else is usually a sign of incorrect positioning. The key to saddle confort is keeping the weight/pressure off the soft tissue, which means supporting your weight on the pelvic bones towards the back of the saddle. Too much weight on the front can be due to too much reach to the bars. Without knowing what symptoms of pain your experiencing i.e. front or back, then it's hard to make further recommendations. You say you're wearing shorts - some padding is merely lipservice whereas better shorts have thicker padding that doesn't squish to nothing when under pressure.

il_principe

I agree with Monty - could well be the setup that's causing you bother. Having said that I've tried several saddles but have found the Specialized Toupe combined with Castelli shorts to be my ideal solution.

James_London

Toupe (or its porkier Specialized BG stable-mates) works very well for lots of people though at first you may have your doubts. Fizik Arione also has lots of comfortable positions (tilit the nose down a little to cure numb nu*s). Fizik Aliante is a throne and higher end models are very well made to boot.

I find it takes at least three decent (>80km) rides once you think you've got the adjustment right to decide whether a saddle will work for your posterior.

always_tyred

Between 40 and 72 miles a day?

When do you find time to work if you spend 4 to 5 hours on a bike?

geoff_ss

Monty Dog wrote:

Check your saddle angle and height - ideally it should be horizontal or very slightly nose-down - anything else is usually a sign of incorrect positioning. The key to saddle confort is keeping the weight/pressure off the soft tissue, which means supporting your weight on the pelvic bones towards the back of the saddle. Too much weight on the front can be due to too much reach to the bars. Without knowing what symptoms of pain your experiencing i.e. front or back, then it's hard to make further recommendations. You say you're wearing shorts - some padding is merely lipservice whereas better shorts have thicker padding that doesn't squish to nothing when under pressure.

Saddle angle is a very personal thing. I'm a horizontal aficionado, too but a guy I fed on the 24 hr was persuaded to set his horizontal from his usual angle by our ex national women's road coach and we found him after a couple of hours racing putting it back to where he'd had it before.

The last time I saw Sheila Simpson's saddle it looked about 30 degrees down at the front IIRC and she's a well known mile eater so I guess it suits her OK.

I swear by (not at!) Brooks leather saddles and have survived many 1000s of miles astride them with no backside problems at all and wearing a variety of modestly priced shorts. But saddles are very personal things and it's very difficult to offer sound advice. The very last thing you should concern yourself with is appearance - comfort comes first, last and always.

Geoff

gtvlusso

between 20 and 36 miles in the morning and evening. Early in and late home....I sleep allot....

Thanks for the input - will make some adjustments and see what happens!