Toupe's in the Peleton

Coach H
Coach H Posts: 1,092
edited July 2008 in Workshop
Watching the last couple of stages in the Tour means that I have noticed what saddle the pro's are riding (as they have been standing up a lot more)

The Spesh Toupe gets loads of good press and is widely recommended in this forum but I haven't seen one under the bum of a pro. Most are Selle Italia's Fizik's and Prologo's

I know the sponsors will put pressure on riders but as another thread on 'classis saddles' has mentioned the pros use the one they like, but why when toupes are so well liked by us amateurs do the pros not ride them as well?

Does anyone know of any pro that rides on (rather than wears!) a toupe?

PS. I have a Spesh Toupe (partly due to the recommendations on these forums) and think it is by a country mile better for my bum than anything else I have tried. Perhaps I don't have the bum of a pro!
Coach H. (Dont ask me for training advice - 'It's not about the bike')

Comments

  • Rich-Ti
    Rich-Ti Posts: 1,831
    (out of interest) do they do a Toupe in silver?
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  • aarw
    aarw Posts: 448
    i've noticed this also. the only 'pro's' i've seen riding the toupe saddles are some of the sean kelly squad who are sponsered by specialized.

    Pretty sure none of the 'pro-tour' teams have specialized sponsering them for saddles.
  • aarw
    aarw Posts: 448
    Rich-Ti wrote:
    (out of interest) do they do a Toupe in silver?

    one of the team versions is black with silver - i have one on my winter bike.
  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    I wonder if its something to do with position on the bike. A pro's riding position is the same as a hack's time trial position.... more or less. I'm trying to take that argument further. I'll get back to you.
  • aarw
    aarw Posts: 448
    could have a point there, i couldn't sit on the nose of the toupe for hours on end. the saddle on my race bike sits slightly more forward because of this and has a pretty aggresive set up.

    when you're racing for 5+ hours though (which i don't as a 3rd cat!) you'd want a saddle that is comfy when cruising and also when on the rivet for hour after hour. maybe....
  • tenor
    tenor Posts: 278
    Your right, and I havn't seen any Brooks, either...

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