Seems like I’ve been “saddle chasing” for almost 2 years now. I got fit on my Litespeed by Lori Hoefer at Cycling Specifics back when it still existed in Carrboro, NC and thought I was fine (though she said my top tube could be .5-1cm shorter) but still haven’t been able to get rid of nubness. I know it can be gotten rid of I’m just wondering who’s the person that can help me achieve that. Has anyone had any experience with fitting with Bruce Guild out of Cool Breeze Cyclery? Or has anyone had a similar problem and found a solution to it? I’m sick and tired of having to adjust my junk or stand up while riding every 15 minutes…
I like what you called it, ‘saddle chasing’. I did it for years until I had a friend give me a Fizik Tri saddle. It had a long, narrow nose with a surprising amount of cushioning. It worked for me because the narrow nose let me sit where I needed. I think saddle comfort when in the aero position is a question of how you sit more than you are using. On a road saddle you sit on the two points of your pelvis and it distributes your weight. You can’t do that in the aero pos because there is nowhere for you gear to go. For me the answer is sitting offset; basically you have to choose one side of your gear or the other and support your weight on the bone to the side. Your gear sort of hands off to the side of the saddle nose and doesn’t take any weight. This works for me because I have a bit of a leg length discrepency and I sit on the left side where my short leg is. You almost have to sit the nose of the saddle if you are in the aero positon, otherwise, your gear gets smashed.
A saddle with a narrow flat nose is best. For longer races I had a neoprene cover and that also helps. The Adamo might be worth a try, but it didn’t work for me because of the leg length issue. I couldn’t ‘pick a side’.
Chad
If you’ve tried the usual suspects (Arione Tri2, Selle Italia SLR T1, Profile Design TriStryke - no cutout) then I’d give two other saddles a try. I’d actually not having a problem with these saddles as first recommendations, but the people seem to be more willing to take a risk on a different saddle if they’ve tried to “favorites” and not found comfort.
- John Cobb V-Flow Plus
- ISM Adamo Race
The Adamo especially is VERY different. But if you’ve tried everything else, this saddle truly is different. Thankfully, they are both a LOT cheaper than the fancy carbon-railed, carbon-shelled saddles out there.
I’m thinking more in line for my road bike, haven’t had much of a problem with my tri bike.
Use those gel / bib shorts work , sometimes the padded bike underwear are a great help in keeping your
twig & berries swept up forward / or pick a side . The more miles you have to toughen your " Taint " the better .
My joke is , you end up liking the ( POS ) seat your bike came with after 2 years .
I’ve been riding for 5 years, I’m pretty sure my taint is tough enough. There’s being stupid and being tough. I’m over being “stupid tough” ie: dealing with the numbness.
WTF are bibs?
JUST KIDDING.
There is a 40 buck version of this , after a while you realize all the hot seats - pedals - shifter might not be for you . Buy whats comfortable .
Gel pad bib shorts Link 5 years Taint much !
bike base layer shorts LINK comfy easy to wash . "But who the F*** wears those ‘’ ME !!!
Getting back to my original question, or at least trying to, has anyone worked with Bruce Guild out of Cool Breeze Cyclery in Mooresville, NC?
“Saddle Chasing” is a good term for it, I may borrow that…
People tend to go from saddle to saddle searching for the one “best” or “most comfortable” one without adderssing the other aspects of saddle comfort that include:
Correct bike fit and position. Wearing the appropriate shorts and wearing them correctly (no underwear, tight enough, fit correctly). Using some type of chamois cream.
The saddle itself is an important part of the saddle comfort equation, but it is only a part. Here’s an article I wrote about the “Three Steps to Saddle Comfort”:
http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/saddlecomfort.shtml
For a road application then, I would recommend finding a flat saddle that supports the weight on your sit bones. I tried the Speciallized Toupe 143 version and found it be highly effective at sparing my gear the discomfort. However, the Toupe version was so hard it then gave me sores under my sit bones. Others have found it to work just fine. I found a saddle from San Marco called the SKN (it is about 140mm wide) that has a split down the back and each side actually moves independantly. It has a bit more padding than the Toupe and I’ve been pretty happy with it. For really long rides I still add the neoprene cover.
A lot of light saddles are very narrow so the weight is supported in the middle and not on the sit bones.
Chad
I got my road bike fit from one of bruce’s guys while he was watching and for the most part have been very happy with it. Having said that I would still try a bunch of saddles for a little while and see if anything works. competitive cyclist offers a cool program for trying out saddles though they are almost all road saddles. You might want to give that a try.
Yea I did the Specialized saddle fit, didn’t work for me. Have tried Arione, almost all Selle Italia’s, Terry Butterfly. I use chamois cream (assos), never have worn underwear with bibs (who the f. does that?!), always wear bibs (unless it’s a du or tri) and they all fit. At this point I’m thinking it might have to do with my reach, or saddle to handlebar distance which is throwing off the position of my sit bones on the saddle distributing weight and pressure onto my perinium causing the numbness. I’m rocking out a 90mm stem so there’s not much more to work with there. Don’t know if moving the seat forward would help, but with that I’m wondering about being thrown off of KOPs (knee over spindle).
I had numb junk with the fizik airone road, specialized toupe and a few other ones I have since forgotten. My true savior is the Adamo Road saddle. My junk rarely ever goes numb anymore and if it get’s tingly, I only need to stand up for a few seconds and the feeling comes back. I highy recomend you give it a try. There is an even more cushy one by Adamo that some of the bigger dudes like, but I’m only 150 pounds so the road is plenty cushy for me.
Good luck.
Dave
The “cushy” one is the Adamo Typhoon. I’m only 158lbs and I love that saddle. Cured my numb junk problem.
At this point I’m thinking it might have to do with my reach, or saddle to handlebar distance which is throwing off the position of my sit bones on the saddle distributing weight and pressure onto my perinium causing the numbness.
I would go with your self-diagnosis. I use a mtb with powercranks that has a much longer reach than my road set-up and definately rolls me forward of the sit bones more. Knee over the spindles is urban legend, myth, whatever. It is irrelevant. I ride my road bike at 76 to 77 degrees and prefer it that way. I would definately move the seat forward and see how it works.
Chad