Saddle

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Comments

  • EKE_38BPM
    EKE_38BPM Posts: 5,821
    Initialised wrote:
    Numb nuts? I lost sensation in my bell end the other day.

    So also in the market for a new saddle.

    How does one go about measuring ones posterior dimensions?

    Find a bike shop who sell Specialized BG saddles. They usually have a foam pad which you sit on and when you get up off of it there will be two dents where your sit bones are. The distance between these dents is measured and from that measurements the shop staff should be able to point you to suitable saddles for your width of sit bones.
    FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
    FCN 4: Planet X Schmaffenschmack 2- workhorse
    FCN 9: B Twin Vitamin - winter commuter/loan bike for trainees

    I'm hungry. I'm always hungry!
  • steelie600
    steelie600 Posts: 519
    Ive got a Velo plush Gel on both commuter and MTB. Very comfy. But firm, Not like armchair comfy but can cycle for ages and it doesnt seem to annoy me. And never got numb of it or had a sore arse when ive got off.
    Idiot ^^^^^^^^^

    Ralph
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Initialised wrote:
    Numb nuts? I lost sensation in my bell end the other day.

    So also in the market for a new saddle.

    How does one go about measuring ones posterior dimensions?

    Yep I pretty much had that.... I was scared sh!tless, it was completely numb... It's never happened before but then I don't regularly ride 100 milers. Also I was on the drops for quite a bit of the time which probably didn't help. Anyway the new Spesh Romin should be here today... I've tried playing around with the angle etc of the seat on my other bikes too...
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  • gtvlusso
    gtvlusso Posts: 5,112
    I was surprised at how much the saddle rail material made a difference. My old saddle was steel railed, and had no damping, the road vibration came right through. The new saddle has carbon rails and the damping is much better.

    So, for me - a rail material that will flex a little, Gel for comfort and a perineum cutout for longevity in the sadlle as essentials.

    Then it is a case of sizing for seat bones and tip size....
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    gtvlusso wrote:
    I was surprised at how much the saddle rail material made a difference. My old saddle was steel railed, and had no damping, the road vibration came right through. The new saddle has carbon rails and the damping is much better.

    So, for me - a rail material that will flex a little, Gel for comfort and a perineum cutout for longevity in the sadlle as essentials.

    Then it is a case of sizing for seat bones and tip size....

    Although according to some research padding is bad as you sink further into the saddle which can cause problems...
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  • gtvlusso
    gtvlusso Posts: 5,112
    Headhuunter wrote:
    gtvlusso wrote:
    I was surprised at how much the saddle rail material made a difference. My old saddle was steel railed, and had no damping, the road vibration came right through. The new saddle has carbon rails and the damping is much better.

    So, for me - a rail material that will flex a little, Gel for comfort and a perineum cutout for longevity in the sadlle as essentials.

    Then it is a case of sizing for seat bones and tip size....

    Although according to some research padding is bad as you sink further into the saddle which can cause problems...

    I can see the logic in that. However, I have found that a gel saddle places you more correctly and keeps you in place whilst riding - I guess there will always be pros and cons, but ultimately, getting numb down there is not going to be good for you either.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,770
    EKE_38BPM wrote:
    Initialised wrote:
    Numb nuts? I lost sensation in my bell end the other day.

    So also in the market for a new saddle.

    How does one go about measuring ones posterior dimensions?

    Find a bike shop who sell Specialized BG saddles. They usually have a foam pad which you sit on and when you get up off of it there will be two dents where your sit bones are. The distance between these dents is measured and from that measurements the shop staff should be able to point you to suitable saddles for your width of sit bones.
    I did this. I sat for a while, the bloke looked at my aris', I felt a bit wierd. He then looked at the dents and said I could go for the narrower or the middle option. Narrower if I spend a lot of time in the drops, middle for MTB and majority of time on the hoods. But he didn't sound very sure of himself.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Veronese68 wrote:
    EKE_38BPM wrote:
    Initialised wrote:
    Numb nuts? I lost sensation in my bell end the other day.

    So also in the market for a new saddle.

    How does one go about measuring ones posterior dimensions?

    Find a bike shop who sell Specialized BG saddles. They usually have a foam pad which you sit on and when you get up off of it there will be two dents where your sit bones are. The distance between these dents is measured and from that measurements the shop staff should be able to point you to suitable saddles for your width of sit bones.
    I did this. I sat for a while, the bloke looked at my aris', I felt a bit wierd. He then looked at the dents and said I could go for the narrower or the middle option. Narrower if I spend a lot of time in the drops, middle for MTB and majority of time on the hoods. But he didn't sound very sure of himself.

    I was too light to make an imprint :(.
    _
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Veronese68 wrote:
    EKE_38BPM wrote:
    Initialised wrote:
    Numb nuts? I lost sensation in my bell end the other day.

    So also in the market for a new saddle.

    How does one go about measuring ones posterior dimensions?

    Find a bike shop who sell Specialized BG saddles. They usually have a foam pad which you sit on and when you get up off of it there will be two dents where your sit bones are. The distance between these dents is measured and from that measurements the shop staff should be able to point you to suitable saddles for your width of sit bones.
    I did this. I sat for a while, the bloke looked at my aris', I felt a bit wierd. He then looked at the dents and said I could go for the narrower or the middle option. Narrower if I spend a lot of time in the drops, middle for MTB and majority of time on the hoods. But he didn't sound very sure of himself.

    I was too light to make an imprint :(.

    Hilarious! The guy in cycle surgery said the dents were about 150mm apart so I should go for the 143mm... so I did. It arrived today. Everyone in the office is making the usual comments - "you going to ride 300 miles to Paris on that? It'll split you in half" etc etc
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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Headhuunter wrote:
    Everyone in the office is making the usual comments - "you going to ride 300 miles to Paris on that? It'll split you in half" etc etc

    What did they have to say about your bike saddle? ;)
    _
  • jonomc4
    jonomc4 Posts: 891
    Just gonna copy and paste something I put in another thread about the saddle on my bike (Selle SMP Stratos)

    "available from UK sellers though. The hardest thing is trying one out before you buy - unless you have a LBS nearby which stocks them then it is a real risk buying one.

    Evans were very kind and let me use their ass-o-meter to measure my sit bones so at least I got the right model - but buying it was a real risk. I took the opinion though that as they were so rare I could sell it as new on eBay for at least 9o% of the price I paid - but I bought it as cheap as possible to lessen the potential loss - I got it about £30 cheaper.

    The selle smp site does have a very good range of sizes and saddle types with varying padding to out and out carbon. You can see them all on the site here:

    http://www.sellesmp.com/smp4bike/en/products/saddles

    I did a review on the saddle on my blog which you can flick through here:
    http://ukmambo.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/s ... eview.html

    I am very happy with the choice - but was unhappy to take such a big risk on such a very expensive product (RRP about £180 for mine) without being able to try it out first though at an LBS.

    I did a lot of investigation into the saddle purchase - maybe 20 hours - investigating the comfort and health benefits - so I didn't make the choice lightly."

    Worth a look at IMHO
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,770
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    I was too light to make an imprint :(.
    You should have asked the shop assistant to sit on your shoulders.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Veronese68 wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    I was too light to make an imprint :(.
    You should have asked the shop assistant to sit on your shoulders.

    Are we still talking about trying to find a saddle?

    Genuinely - never found one that is comfortable.

    Just get out the saddle every so often, and make sure you sit down in the right way so nothing gets caught.
    _
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,770
    Rick Chasey wrote:

    Are we still talking about trying to find a saddle?
    If you like.
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Genuinely - never found one that is comfortable.
    Nor have I. Haven't actually tried the Spesh one yet as it's on the MTB. I think you and I both suffer with insufficient padding.
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    make sure you sit down in the right way so nothing gets caught.
    Hell yes.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Headhuunter wrote:
    Everyone in the office is making the usual comments - "you going to ride 300 miles to Paris on that? It'll split you in half" etc etc

    What did they have to say about your bike saddle? ;)

    Wehay...
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Veronese68 wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    I was too light to make an imprint :(.
    You should have asked the shop assistant to sit on your shoulders.

    Are we still talking about trying to find a saddle?

    Genuinely - never found one that is comfortable.

    Just get out the saddle every so often, and make sure you sit down in the right way so nothing gets caught.

    You're so light that you probably don't need to worry too much, not enough weight to restrict blood flow through the perineum...
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  • Christophe3967
    Christophe3967 Posts: 1,200
    edited May 2012
    Whilst the choice has already been made in this case, if the only criteria is comfort, then much as I find Spesh saddles (Toupe Gel & Alias) tick the right boxes, I have been really surprised at how comfortable the Brooks B17 is, having read all the stories of how hard they are to break in. Doubt I'd ever put one on a road bike :?
    Bike1
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/35118936@N07/3258551288/
    Bike 2
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/35118936@N ... otostream/
    New Bike
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/35118936@N07/3479300346/
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    I don't seem to be sensitive to saddles i normally use the stock ones....

    MTB has one that came with it, some 6 years ago.

    Old roadie had a 10 year old MTB saddle.

    stolen SS had a stock saddle was fine for 50+ miles.
  • Jay dubbleU
    Jay dubbleU Posts: 3,159
    Brooks on all my bikes now - took some getting used too but now any other saddle feels wierd

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