Is there any reason why I should consider finding another saddle for Triathlons and TT when I already have a comfortable saddle on my road bike? I ride my road bike with a Specialized Toupe. I am considering either buying another Toupe for my TT bike or finding something new. Any suggestions? I know that saddles are highly individual, but I am looking for personal experiences from you fine folks.
Thanks and Flame On,
IndyRider
Well, on a road saddle you are generally riding with your weight on the back and there is more padding there. On most tri-saddles there’s less padding on the back and more on the front. I have Aliante road saddles on all of my bikes becasue I can stay in the same place and not move all around as I can on a tri-saddle. The Aliante isn’t the most comfortable saddle on the nose, so on my training bike I am trying out the Cervelo tri saddle. If it is more comfortable on the nose than the Aliante, I’ll go for that.
But, as you said, it is highly personalized.
Bob
I ride a Specialized Toupe saddle on my road bike and I like to do long rides where I stay in the drops … mostly 'cuz I imagine the work in that position to translate better when I go over to my TT bike. Even down in the drops for extended periods, that saddle is the most comfortable I’ve ever ridden on the road bike.
I don’t know why I’ve never given it a try on the TT bike. I’ve always gone with the tri-specific saddles and I keep swapping them out looking for something better. One time I went online to order a Toupe for the TT bike and ended up ordering their “Tri tip” instead. That didn’t work at all for me and I returned it. But it really was nothing like the road saddle.
I’m planning to do my next couple of training rides on the TT bike, so I might just throw the Toupe on there and see how it works out. I’ll let you know if I’m singing its’ praises or singing soprano.
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Thanks, Bob. Your info is greatly appreciated.
similar story to indyrider…
i have been using the toupe on my tri bike and enjoy it as much as i do on my other bikes.
saddles are always a personal thing.
however… one of my toupes just had catostrophic collapse under my weight and i removed the toupe from my tri bike to put it on the other one…
instead of getting a new toupe i am trying out a tritip… but if i don’t like it i’ll head back to the toupe… i really had no probs and really enjoyed it on the tri bike… just felt i would give the tritip a go.
the only thing i would add is that i don’t race long at the moment and only do up to 60k ride sections in races
some people prefer padding… i ‘currently’ prefer less padding.
someone please tell me why i am getting a tritip?.. doesn’t seem to add up now!!
oh yeah… i wanted a white spesh saddle with a bike rack attachment thingy! haha…
some people prefer padding… i ‘currently’ prefer less padding.
When I started back cycling 15 years ago, cycling shorts still had chamois (a very thin leather-like “pad”) instead of the thick, anatomical “inserts” shorts have today. (Of course, I know tri shorts don’t have those inserts.) I think when you combine a thickly padded short with a wide and padded tri saddle you just get too much going on down there. Things tend to feel too wide for me even though I’m often out on the nose of the saddle.
It’s hard to find a time trial skinsuit that doesn’t have the typical thick anatomical inserts that are popular these days, so maybe going with a more minimal saddle will be a good answer. I’m glad this thread has motivated me to give it a try. It’ll shave about 150 gms. off my bike, too. (Currently running a San Marco Azoto Tri saddle.)
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I tried a bunch of tri specific saddles when I bought my first tri bike last May. None worked but as soon as I gave the Selle Italia SLR Gel Flo a try, it was the best yet, even being a road saddle. Stuck with that one for a few months and finally tried the Blackwell Flow saddle and it is a little better but I’ll be switching back to the SLR Gel Flow if I get tired of this one or want to try something else again.