First off, good job researching and testing your gear before race day. That is smart. I can;t tell you how many people just try new equipment, be it clothing or something like a seat pad, right before or the day of a race.

Big mistake. Your approach is much better. Good on ya.

From my experience the wet DeSoto neoprene cover has not damaged my own Arione. Before I responded to this post I walked out on the sales floor and peeled the cover back far enough to look at the saddle. It looks less worn than the Arione on my road bike which has no neoprene cover- and my tri bike sadlle has many more miles, including some pretty gross, nasty, sweaty four hour rides on the Computrainer.

I have had great luck with the Sugoi technifine fabric tri shorts. I consider them the best. Very nice. I hav'e had problems with seams and I think there is a little "break in" that mostly happens in the washing machine. One word, be careful about using fabric softner or other fancy stuff to "speed up" the process. It may cause you to itch when you get sweaty and wet.

Using Bodyglide is key in the longer events. I used Sugoi shorts, a saddle pad and my Arione at IMNZ and it was 100% perfect. Zero problems from the bike seat.

Again, good job conducting your testing. I wish all our customers were as careful and thorough. Sometimes it is like pullig teeth to get people to get a pre-race tune-up!

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Although Tom answered your questions, I have been using the setup that you are contemplating and think you should be fine. I have the Arione saddle, QR saddle pad, and use DeSoto Power Tri shorts for racing.

After long rides I will remove the saddle pad and wash it in the sink. When I clean the bike, I will hose off the saddle, then dry it with a towel. On shorter rides(under two hours) I just leave the pad on there if it is dry. The saddle looks fine after four months of use, and a lot of riding in the rain.

Good luck on your race. See you in four weeks!

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David, I hope this info helps. I have an Arione on my road bike. Two weeks ago, on the way home from a group ride, it poured buckets of rain for over half an hour. My saddle was absolutely soaked. When I got home, I toweled it off as best I could. The next day, it looked and felt brand new.

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Tom,

Do you remove the cover when using cycling shorts to train in or do you leave it on - always? I tend to only use my Tri shorts for specific rides when training - all the rest are done in bib shorts - so the reason for the question is to check if the pad should come off when not in Tri shorts? I'm also thinking maybe a height issue - although the "extra" support does help on a trainer even with cycling shorts!

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For one who has no objective, nothing is relevant. (Confucius)
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