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Any of you ladies have MTN bike seat issues?
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Tracy has Terry Butterfly Ti saddles on all of her bikes - Specialized Dolce Pro road, Giant Trinity Tri and Giant Anthem X Advanced dual susp. MTN.

On her MTN bike she just plain can not get comfortable on the exact same seat that she has on her other two bikes. It is either too much pressure on the sit bones, or too much on the front area. It just seems that with the same shorts and same seat it is not the same comfort. I have not seen (ever) any MTN specific womens seats and dont know what would be so diffrent form the Road/Tri bikes that would cause the seat to be terribly uncomfortable after just an hour or so on the bike (other than the more upright position of the MTN bike).

Any ideas?

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?
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Re: Any of you ladies have MTN bike seat issues? [R10C] [ In reply to ]
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Are the bikes set up the same way? Saddle height, fore/aft, bar drop?

I suspect the more up right position might be part of it, as you're putting more weight on the saddle.
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Re: Any of you ladies have MTN bike seat issues? [mayhew] [ In reply to ]
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The road/tri are exact, being as the MTN is full susp I have the seat about 1" lower. We are mostly on rough singletrack and moderate small/steep/stone hills. I did try to raise it and it cause extra "frontal" discomfort, when I tried to tip it down a bit there was shoulder/back issues. At regular height and level is when it hurts the sit bones.

She is good for about an hour - I was actually wondering if it is the on again off again seating that is not there with the road bikes - road you are sitting 99% of the time, on the MTN she is up and down.

Oh, also tried to lower the rear shock PSI and eased up on the dampening - no change.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?
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Re: Any of you ladies have MTN bike seat issues? [R10C] [ In reply to ]
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That really surprises me. I'm most comfortable on my mtb versus road and tt bike.

I have the specialized mtb saddles, and love them.
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Re: Any of you ladies have MTN bike seat issues? [R10C] [ In reply to ]
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YES! I had the same saddles (first terry fly, then terry race x) on all my bikes, but my MTB was KILLING me (literally--one day I happened to have a gyno appt after a 90 minute ride She wanted to call social services b/c she thought I had been abused. :O) I ended up buying a mid/lower end specialized saddle on ebay for like %5 out of desperation...and it is GLORIOUS.


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Re: Any of you ladies have MTN bike seat issues? [mmrocker13] [ In reply to ]
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You happen to have a model of the Specialized seat?

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?
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Re: Any of you ladies have MTN bike seat issues? [R10C] [ In reply to ]
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Ah, such tricky questions...

I will look and see if I can figure it out.


mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea

http://momocharms.wordpress.com
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Re: Any of you ladies have MTN bike seat issues? [R10C] [ In reply to ]
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I ride the Butterfly on my cross bike and had one on my road bike. On my mountain bike (FS) I ride a WTB Speed She Pro Gel. Very comfy, I've been putting in a lot of dirt miles lately and my ass is pretty happy. A week or so ago I borrowed a frinds single speed (HT) and she had a Terry Damselfly on it. I have to say I found it more comfortable than the Butterfly. Not quite as wide. I'm fixing to get a ss and will likely put a damselfly on it (even though I get a ridiculously good deal on WTB through sponsorship).

I'm assuming you had her sit on the bike on a trainer to set the rear shock to the right pressure. My saddle on my mtb is actually slightly higher than on my cross bike, and I've been professionally fit on it.

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Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

Last edited by: Katy: Jul 12, 10 18:37
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Re: Any of you ladies have MTN bike seat issues? [R10C] [ In reply to ]
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I run the Specialized Ruby saddle on all my bikes and haven't had any issues.

I would recommend her getting a MTB fit done - there are huge differences between the road/tri and the MTB. Consider the reach between the saddle and bars and the drop from saddle to bars. The reach on my Era about 3cm longer then on the road/tri bikes. In addition, I have the MTB saddle a little lower so I have better manuverablity for descents - 61.5 cms BB to saddle vs 63 on my tri/road bikes. I also have a positive drop - my handle bars are higher then the saddle on the MTB vs level for the road/tri. It might not be the saddle - it might be that the bike is not fitting her properly and the saddle as the primary contact point is where the pain is focusing. Just some thoughts.

I can't see that it would be the riding style that would affect the comfort of the saddle. I can get away with a stiffer saddle for longer rides on the MTB because I'm not on the saddle as much. Sometimes I wish I had a little more padding on the tri bike because I'm in the saddle so much!


Vale!
Tracy T
http://www.thelencoaching.com
Some light reading::: http://www.tracythelen.blogspot.com
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Re: Any of you ladies have MTN bike seat issues? [Tracy T] [ In reply to ]
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She has had a MTN bike fit (by me, and yes - I am an expert). Her saddle I started about 1cm lower than the road bikes just for the clearance that you mention - saddle level. The seat height is static from the BB shell as it is integrated and not connected to the rear suspention. She also has a slightly longer reach on the MTN bike as would be expected. My bet is that she is not taking the load off of her fanny when hitting bumps and expecting the suspention to absorb it all and leaving more weight on the saddle. Then there is the contant on and off of the saddle that the park has to offer - in any case I think I am going to try out the Ruby as I am betting that would be a good step two - step one was to buy some real "bike" shorts as opposed to DeSoto and Sugoi tri shorts that she is always in as they have the very minimal pad as compared to bike shorts.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?
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Re: Any of you ladies have MTN bike seat issues? [R10C] [ In reply to ]
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I'm sure you know this, but the Ruby is like the men's Toupe saddle. Not much padding at all. And it also comes in different widths. Real shorts might help, but it sounds like you've tried that already. I hate doing bricks on the MTB b/c for whatever reason, the tri shorts are not as comfortable on the MTB as on my tri bike.

Good luck


Vale!
Tracy T
http://www.thelencoaching.com
Some light reading::: http://www.tracythelen.blogspot.com
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