First let me state that I’m not a triathlete…you guys are amazing, I’m just a simple beginning bike racer. I’m here because I simply can’t get the information that I need from the bike racing side it appears.
I have become somewhat dedicated to Time Trialing and just upgraded my Felt S32 to a Trek 9.5TTX (LBS shot me a deal that I couldn’t say no too). I was never completely comfortable on the Felt and I’m still not on the Trek. I’ve been fitted by 2 seperate fitters that I got good references for and still the issue.
Here goes. My front end etc is fine, the issue that I am fighting is the saddle. Both the Felt and the Trek have the “tri type” saddles that are padded and a bit longer. My Giant road bike is fitted with a Specialized Body Geometry Toupe…a minimalist type saddle. It doesn’t matter how I set up the saddle on my TT bikes I have issues with pressure and rubbing in the groin area. I’ve tried moving the saddle forward, back, up, down etc to no avail…ideas? When I’m really hammering in a TT or even on a training ride I slowly move towards the nose of the saddle as I believe that most people do…problem is that I don’t want to be there all the time. Is it simply time to give up on the tri type saddles and go to more of a road saddle or is this even an issue?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
James
I think that you will find that many of us ride the Arione Road version on our tri bikes. I ride a Arione Carbon/Carbon and love it. I hate the padded noses of most tri saddles because they cause numbness for me. don’t be afraid to try some riad saddles on your bike (the SLR is also popular) also you can try to point it a little off center - think ‘dress to the left, point to the right’
omg…point the saddle off center…its so simple I didn’t think of it.
I’ve been noticing I tend to tweak my body off center to get comfortable…haha…moving the saddle is obviously a better answer =)
With aero seatposts you can’t slight your saddle to one side. Has to be centered.
Cervelo’s P2SL and Dual aero seatpost can be set any way you wan’t =)
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Thanks for the quick reply’s guys!!
Yeah the TTX has two adjustments on the seat post…UP & DOWN…that’s it! LOL
If anyone else has any ideas please shoot them my way.
Saddles are very much an individual preference. However, most people I know like the same saddle on the road and tri bike. So try the Specialized on your tri bike. Otherwise, just try different saddles until you find one you like. It helps if you have friends you can borrow one from, so you can try before you buy.
You didn’t mention changing saddle angle. Comfort can be very sensitive to slight adjustment of pointing up or down. So try that if you haven’t.
Also, you mentioned rubbing as a problem. If by that, you mean the result is chaffing, then use some form of lube. There are several chamois creams made just for this purpose. Personally, I just use a petroleum jelly. Lube up the “chamois area” mainly at the crease in the leg to crotch. Apply directly to you, or the shorts if you prefer. Just a warning, be carefull to not sit down on any furniture after doing this. I usually put on enough that some bleeds through the shorts, and it would stain any appolstered furniture.
Paul
Find a shop that will let you try the adamo. tons of threads on here if you search. worked for me.
I use a tri saddle with lots of padding in the nose AND a cutout. Hard saddles simply don’t work for me.
You might do well with one of the Blackwell Adamo saddles
I don’t think the ttx post will allow off centre saddle unless you do the rail clamp up incorrectly.
I use a Toupe on both road and tt bikes, Specialized are coming out with a tri version of the toupe which may be worth a look. The thing with saddles is always to try a few out to find what works for you for the application you’re using it on. Don’t accept discomfort.
There is the potential that your position could be exacerbating the issue but given that you have seen 2 fitters I would hope that it’s pretty good, may need to revisit it if trying different saddles doesn’t help.
Well here is an update and thanks for the help to this point.
Found a little used Coda saddle from one of my old road bikes that I never really liked. It is a much more basic road saddle without much padding. Swapped it out and raised the seat a tic to get back to the height of the tri saddle. Some success! It still isn’t like riding my road bike but the difference is profound as I spent about 1.5hrs on the trainer last night working on the setup. This morning I have some pain in the front of my knees so I may have to take the saddle up a bit more yet but I’m out of forward adjustment on the saddle rails…might have to flip the seat post to the more aggressive position and then adjust the seat a bit.
Anybody have difficulty when switching from the ski bend type extentions to the s-bend version? My wrists don’t like me much so I’m still monkeying with that as well. I’ve got about 10-days to figure this out before a 20k TT on July 1st…man I hate switching bikes mid season!
James
i’m glad the S bend wave washed past me. I’ve been riding the Profile carbon strykes since I started which puts my hands up in front of me whith a really natural wrist angle. Low and behold it looks like all the TT guys are going back to this style!