Saddle - alternative to Specialized Romin

Calpol

Gents

I am looking for some alternatives to consider to my Specialized Romin saddles which are on both my road bikes. I have found these comfortable on rides up to 6 hours but this year I have developed an annoying saddle sore/ chafing issue on the right side only. Before you ask - have done the following

1. Bike fit - check
2. Decent shorts - Mostly castelli with progetto pad
3. Saddle height - as per bike fit but have shimmed right shoe a bit to try and ease the problem.

I am beginning to think that maybe I should try a flatter saddle and was wondering what anyone might recommend. Any of the Fizik models. According to their test I am a "snake" so should try an Arione. I think I have an old Charge Spoon on my mtb I could possibly try I suppose. Any other suggestions?

Dippydog3

I would try Specialized Toupe or Specialized Phenom. The Toupe is the flatter of the two, but both are worth a go.

I have a couple of new Toupes that are soon to go on eBay. PM me if interested.

jonny_trousers

Not all Romins are the same. Can't remember, which is which, but they do vary.

Also, very little help here for you, but Cycling Plus gave an incredible review to something by a new Brit brand a couple of months ago.

on-yer-bike

Interesting. I have a similar problem with same saddle. On one bike I have a Romin Evo pro which might be better but I alternate between two bikes for every ride so Im not sure. It has more padding and is a slightly different shape. Situation also confused by my LBS's incompetent use of the arsometer. They put me on a 153 mm and I asked them to check and found that I was right on the 143 mm.

matt-h

i had a Romin, quite liked it but prefer the Selle Italia SLR

rowlers

Similar situation here too.
I've got a Toupe on my Winter Fondriest, which is spot on, but I can;t get away with it on my Summer Felt. Best I've got so far on the Felt is a Romin, but its no where near good.

I've tried Arione, Aliante, Charge Spoon, Sella Italia SLR and a Tioga Spider copy (surprisingly comfy but too narrow).
I think my hips rotate forward quite a lot putting pressure on my perineum. I am fairly flexible and have "wideish" sitbones.

Next on the list to try is a Prologo Zero (its flat) and the Selle San Marco Manta and Aspide.
There is also these:
http://www.rido-cyclesaddles.com/
which may be worth a try...?

Calpol

Many thanks for the input chaps.interesting that some others have had similar issues. I suspect there is just going to be an element of trial and error with this. Fortunately if I decide to sell the romins I should recoup some money as the second hand market is quite strong.

Dippydog3

I am a Toupe collector. Love them. Tried a Romin or two but not happy.

Recently bought a bike with Phenom.

As comfortable. Less slippery. Although I have only ridden it for four hours longest ride so it hasn't had the all day test yet.

northpole

Have you tried the Romin Evo Expert - similar but a bit different to the Romin and less harsh than the Pro version which is stiffer with more carbon in the construction? I think this works for me. I may still give the Selle SMP range a try as part of my never quite getting there ultimate comfortable saddle search!

Peter

IShaggy

I went from a spez alias to a ritchey pro marathon for the same reason - i developed a persistant saddle sore. The width of the ritchey is the same as the spez, 135mm. And with the ritchey rotated slightly forward my weight is on the sit bones, so similar in feel to the spez. I also changed my shorts to a different brand which has a slightly different shape of pad. Overall an expensive measure - as i have 5 bikes that i ride regularly, and so needed 5 new saddles. But worth it as the saddle sore is now a distant memoty.

carl69

Suffering with exactly the same problem. Right side - goes away for a couple of weeks then re appears. Ride the Romin Evo Pro in a 155 and it feels comfortable enough but obviously something is not right. Same as the OP bike fit was done by a well respected fitter and I wear good shorts. Never had a problem with sores just this last year. Beginning to drive me daft. At the end of a long club ride I,m beginning to resemble one of those Derny riders with one knee pointing out wards to relieve pressure. Just need the hat and I,m away. Cheers.

Coach H

Are you sure a saddle change is needed?
Quite often something fairly random and temporary can cause a saddle sore. Then once you have it they can be right troublesome to shift.
Could it be that the hull of one of your saddles has sagged (a known Spesh trait)?

If you really want to try something different, I used to be on Romins for a few years but finally got fed up of the wide nose bruising my thighs (everything else was good). Currently trying out a Prologo Nago Evo Pas (cheapest is Ribble) which is the same kind of profile across the width as a Romin but flatter for the front 2/3rds

Romin Evo's didn't do it for me due to the more pronounced drop off across the width.