saddles

allen

OK so which of these ? I ride typically 3 to 4 hours and need a better saddle.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Fizik ... 360051262/

or one of these

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Charg ... 360029531/

Any thoughts ?

giant_man

Nobody can recommend a certain saddle to you, because everyone's ar$e is different.

The Charge spoon is cheap but not for everyone, as is the Nisene. You could start by going for the most popular saddles and going from there. People swear by the Fizik Arione but again not for everyone.

It's a long haul.

allen

or this

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cha ... l-ec008617

will the ti rails absorb some impact ?

cougie

Id not bother with Ti to be honest.

Spoon is nice and comfy for me though. As is Arione.

blorg

AFAIK Ti rails are generally employed to save weight rather than absorb impact. Up to you whether the weight saving is worth it.

mroli

Cheapest arione I can find is here http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/SAF ... ils-saddle

I have 3. They're great.

Rich Hcp

Brooks Team Pro

Comfy for hours on end

blorg

Rich Hcp wrote:

Brooks Team Pro

Comfy for hours on end

Personal thing and frankly I would never suggest Brooks to someone coming on just looking for a saddle for a road bike. It is a bit of an extreme option and at 550g the Team Pro is a lot to lug around compared to what he is looking at. Incidentally I have a Team Pro myself and for me it is by far the least comfortable of my four Brooks (Team Pro, B17, Swift and Swallow.)

bobtbuilder

mroli wrote:

Cheapest arione I can find is here http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/SAF ... ils-saddle

I have 3. They're great.

I can't stand Arione's - really uncomfortable. Just goes to show that we're all different!

keef66

@ Blorg

"I have a Team Pro myself and for me it is by far the least comfortable of my four Brooks (Team Pro, B17, Swift and Swallow.)"

Come on, tell us which you find the most comfortable then!

Mister W

I use a Selle Royal Viper which comes into the "cheap and nasty" category as far as saddles are concerned but I find it very comfortable.

blorg

keef66 wrote:

@ Blorg

"I have a Team Pro myself and for me it is by far the least comfortable of my four Brooks (Team Pro, B17, Swift and Swallow.)"

Come on, tell us which you find the most comfortable then!

I used rate them in that order of ascending comfort but recently am coming to prefer the Swift over the Swallow. The issue with the Swallow is that it sags and distorts to a pretty extreme degree. All Brooks mould to your arse but the Swallow has sagged maybe beyond the optimal. This is over maybe 20,000km, I should probably try tightening it. A friend who is a bit heavier than me completely ruined one; the leather ended up on the actual rails. So I think it is a general issue.

The B17 is great for shorter distances or if you are more upright and I have it on my commuter. I prefer the narrower saddles over long distance (150km+) But again this is personal, I tour on a Swift while many would think the B17 more optimal for this use.

The Team Pro is still not bad but it is very hard leather compared to the others and has not moulded to my shape to the same extent. It also tends to put pressure on my perineum particularly in the drops or if using aero bars although some of this was a factor of saddle height.

pastey_boy

light, cheap and comfy
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp? ... rc=froogle

gsk82

do people think that the cut outs make much difference?

i've been suffering with gonad pain this year and am looking for anything that will reduce its occurence. my assos shorts usually work but from time to time don't quite manage it which leave me pedalling wit 1 leg

RDB66

gsk82 wrote:

do people think that the cut outs make much difference?

i've been suffering with gonad pain this year and am looking for anything that will reduce its occurence. my assos shorts usually work but from time to time don't quite manage it which leave me pedalling wit 1 leg

Yes, i think they do work. I use a Selle Italia Flight GelFlow with a cutout...Very Comfy.

gsk82

RDB66 wrote:

gsk82 wrote:

do people think that the cut outs make much difference?

i've been suffering with gonad pain this year and am looking for anything that will reduce its occurence. my assos shorts usually work but from time to time don't quite manage it which leave me pedalling wit 1 leg

Yes, i think they do work. I use a Selle Italia Flight GelFlow with a cutout...Very Comfy.

i ordered one of them this morning, it best be good at that price

passout

gsk82 wrote:

do people think that the cut outs make much difference?

i've been suffering with gonad pain this year and am looking for anything that will reduce its occurence. my assos shorts usually work but from time to time don't quite manage it which leave me pedalling wit 1 leg

I find it makes a difference alongside a dropped / drooping nose. I went from a Fiizik Pave (numbness / pain after two hours) to a Selle SMP (no numbness / pain ever). I currently ride a WTB Silverado and find that very good too.

prawny

I've got a spoon, very comfy I bought it to get me home from work when breaking in a B17 narrow got too much. I don't want to go back to the brooks now. I might put it on my MTB or sell it.

With saddles you really need to try a few and get to know the sort of shape that suits. It's looking like my @rse like bucket type seat (spoon, aliante, selle smp types) as opposed to flatter tops (arione, stiffer brooks etc)