Can the community give me some idea about saddle mileage one can expect from a good quality saddle, i.e Fizik? I own a Tri Arione and have about 7,000 miles on it. During the past two months, I have been experiencing numbness in the taint area. This has not happened before and I have not changed any other variables. I use chamois butter and wear Desoto 400-mile bibs on most all of my long rides (>3 hours). This is the best saddle I have had. There are cracks on the wings of the saddle, but other than the mileage, it is in good shape. I weigh 65kg. Earlier saddles were changed out mainly because they were a bad fit. Is it time to spend money on a new saddle?
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Re: Longevity of Saddle [scooter58]
[ In reply to ]
I've been using the same saddle on my road bikes since 1998. It has gone from bike, to bike, to bike, to bike. I'd bet that saddle has at least 40k on it and would probably be nearing 100k if I hadn't burned out 3 years after I got moved to Cat. 2. At 7k that sucker should just be getting broken in.
Re: Longevity of Saddle [scooter58]
[ In reply to ]
How old are your shorts? How old are your shoes/pedals? Are you increasing your mileage/time in the saddle substantially?
In my experience, the saddle rails are what start wearing out. They start to creak and eventually break.
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Ignorance is bliss until they take your bliss away.
In my experience, the saddle rails are what start wearing out. They start to creak and eventually break.
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Ignorance is bliss until they take your bliss away.
Re: Longevity of Saddle [pito00]
[ In reply to ]
More info: The Desoto's were bought in late '08 and are used no more than 5x per month (long rides). Shoes and pedals are about 15 months old. Mileage has not increased substantially and is less mileage than I was putting in from August to October last year. Thanks for the info on the rails. Mine appear to be in good shape.
I always thought if a saddle fit well to begin with, it should get better with age. I had a Specialized Body Geometry Pro-Ti for many years before I switched to Toupe. The only reason I switched was to get my saddle to BB distance down a bit due to a permanently stuck carbon seatpost. The difference in the distance between the Pro-Ti and the Toupe was just what I needed.
I had a week to break that saddle in before Tour of Elk Grove, but I was already used to the BG's, they're feel is very similar.
I had a week to break that saddle in before Tour of Elk Grove, but I was already used to the BG's, they're feel is very similar.