Ok everyone a quick question about my bike saddle fit. I know I need a proper fitting and my LBS wants me to ride for a little while and get a little more comfortable on my bike, as this is my first road bike, and then they are going to do a proper bike fitting for me. Also that will give me some time to lose some weight. But in the mean time is there any advice you guys can give me to help while I ride. Last night was my first official long trainer ride, 35 minutes, and well my groin area and genitals fell asleep. not sure if there is a good adjustment to help with this. Like lowering the nose of the saddle? Any advise would be greatly appreciated
Saddles are quite personal, and many like the cut out models. Without knowing what you have makes it a bit difficult, but you will get tons of suggestions. One thing is that almost always, indoor trainer riding is more prone for such symptoms, as outside you move quite a bit more on the saddle. In my experience, tipping down the saddle often makes things worse, as if you are sliding forward, the tissues compress and hurt more. So, contrary to what many think, it usually is better to tip it up to flat or more, especially on a road bike. Tri bikes are a bit different. Good luck, and with time it does get better…
The saddle is the one that came with my bike. The Argon 18 Nitrogen comes with a Prologo Kappa Evo saddle.
What geiger said! If you have access to a Specialized dealer, they will likely have an Ass-O-Meter. A gel pad that helps measure the distance between your sitz bones. This will help you determine how wide a saddle you need. You may need a different saddle.
Regarding “proper fit”. Did your shop do more than just set saddle height? If they didn’t look at other factors, you may not be in the proper position. If you’ve been riding a tri-bike, you may have some perineal discomfort as you begin riding a road bike more, but it shouldn’t be huge. If your current fit isn’t close, riding won’t be enjoyable and you’re less likely to continue.
As an example, my next door neighbor bought a bike. Decent shop, except for fitting. She’s just starting out (about 13mph) and was miserable. Sore perineum, sore neck, sore palms. Her stem was too longhand too low and her saddle was too high. I lowered the saddle 1mm and moved it forward 7mm. She didn’t want to buy a stem and it’s not optimal, but she doesn’t hurt anymore and is enjoying riding her bike.
Fit really matters, even at a casual level.
They did a pretty basic fit; saddle, cleats. But since I was new to road bikes, had been riding a 24" mountain bike, they had recommended that I ride some and get use to the bike that way I may better understand what my fit needs to be. I’m supposed to go back in a few weeks for a proper fitting.
You should get fit properly before ever riding the bike so you don’t hurt yourself.
Prologo Kappa Evo saddle.
Your fit still needs to be looked at, but there is a strong likelihood that you’ll never be comfortable with that saddle. They tend to put quite a bit of load on your delicate bits.
My experience has been that for road riding just about any saddle will work if I follow a few guide lines.
A more firm saddle with less padding is better for me. That means buy good bibs that fit. That was a game changer.
The saddle needs a cut out and a small up tilt and that’s it.
I can ride almost anything on my road bike. Tri bike is another story. I have benn thru adamo/tritone/cobb jof/arione and have yet to find one that really works well. Even the “comfortable” one create lots of numbness
For tri, look at the Dash saddles. I’ve tried all you listed and more, and this is the first that works pretty well for me.