Still struggling to find the right saddle! Anyone with experience on the Specialized Tri Tip care to comment? I’ve been trying to force myself to like the Adamo but just can’t get comfortable. Thanks.
I love it, I dont know why but my balls love it also. Make sure it matches your bike.
i had the tri tip on my bike, then went to the adamo, which fucked me up hard. so back to the tri tip and i have been happy ever sense, well except for when i noticed that my saddle was actually pointed up instead of level. =]
I love my Tri Tip SL, 50mm wide. Just got it recently and been on it for a month. The longer I am on it, the more my taint thanks me. I am a nose rider and in the span of a year went trough:
- Bontrager TT, nope
- Fizik Arione, nope
- Selle Italia SLR T1, ok, but not great
- Selle Italia Gel Flow, nope
- ISM Adamo Racing, NO WAY, it tore me up, for a week I suffered with pain in places that I never thought I had, I threw it away
Tri Tip SL was suggested by the shop based on what did not work and thorough analysis why it did not work. It was concluded, that for my body and the way I sit and ride on the nose, the cutout was positioned to fit. It maybe worth a try if you know why other saddles did not work.
Thanks. Interesting to see the list of saddles you tried.
I like it. I bought another for my trainer (50mm). I have tried the Profile Design Tri Stryke and cervelo p3sl standard saddle.
dan
i was on the fizik arione tri (first edition - loved it) and replaced it with a specialized tritip 50mm when it wore out.
i really like the specialized also. reason i switched is my lbs didn’t have any arione’s in stock and offered to take back the specialized if i tried it and didn’t like it.
tried some other saddle in between those 2 (bontrager tt?) took it back. didn’t like it.
that’s what is nice about having a good lbs. in situations like finding a saddle that fits they let me try them out for a couple of days to see whether or not they work.
I just put the Tri-Tip on my race bike after testing it out a bit on my trainer bike. I like the way it puts the pressure back on my sit bones (like it should be) instead of crushing the life out of my taint. Before that, I was on the Arione Tri2 (I liked the length and flat profile for sliding fore/aft to micro-adjust position on the fly, but still too much pressure along the center/taint axis), and before that the SLR T1 (liked the soft nose, but too wide up front so I felt like I was riding with my knees pointed outward).
So far, my only objection to the Tri-Tip is the seams angling along the sides of the nose… I got the narrower 40mm option, which probably helps, but it still seems to rub the inner thigh of the shorts more than I’d like (haven’t done any long enough rides yet to see if it actually becomes a real chafing problem).
i’m surprised no one’s mentioned the SMP; since the cutout
goes all the way down to the nose, this design feature might
work for you. i just bought a second, another Strike Evolution.
I wonder what companies are now making cheater saddles (240mm long, not 270mm). Thats what I need. I am not a nose sitter. I use the Specialized Toupe 143 and its awesome, but if i could get a 240mm version I could push it up a bit more!! UCI legality of course.
i too rock the Tri Tip SL, 50mm wide. i went through Fizik, Selle, and a few others. the Tri Tip just fits…i believe it has a larger “flat” area on the top rather than making a softer dome-like top. the flat works better for me. not to mention my psuedo-chronic epedidimytis hasn’t bothered me much at all with the new saddle.
give it a shot!
I have one and like it. Tri Tip SL 50mm. I’ve been tempted to try a Selle Italia SLR T1. I’d like any feedback between the two.
Gotta plug the Cobb Cycles V-Flow Plus. It’s really good for riding aero.
I went from SLR T1 to Tri Tip SL 50mm. I like the Tri Tip better. T1 was ok, could tolerate it, but two things stood out, climbing on rolling hills could sometimes get very hot from friction (I do use good shorts and chamois butter), it was a lot of pressure on my urethra and groin area that was evident in long rides. The nose shape and size of both is similar, but Tri Tip as I said before has a cutout that does two things for me that T1 did not, less pressure in the soft tissue (I do nose ride entire time), more cooling from the cutout. A little data to compare to yourself, so that you can put this in perspective:
I am 155lbs, very flexible, large thighs, waist 29in. This should somewhat give you an idea of sitting pressure and possible friction points. I sit on forward part of the cutout.
I run a 13.5cm drop( saddle top to aerobar pad top), seat tilted down 1.5 degrees, which makes the nose of Tri Tip nearly flat.
I also managed at one point to land hard on T1 while loosing balance during some drills and did induce some epididimytis like symptoms. After two doctors and new saddle I do manage the occasional symptoms better.
How does one decide between the 40 and 50 mm saddle?
I have the Arione Tri2, and while I like the overall flatness, length, and shape, I get way too much taint pressure. Race weight ~152, 5’6", and ride with about 13-14cm of drop.
I am guessing that several factors will play in deciding. I think that the nose width is very important for comfort,as general wisdom in physics claims that the larger the surface the less pressure you are exerting per square inch. That being said, it depends on your anatomy how wide, so that it is not excessively rubbing your thighs on the inside. My waist is 29in, relatively narrow hips (should mean narrow to medium sit bones width), large thighs. I went with 50mm. I had your saddle, T1 and SL Tri Tip next to each other. Arione has a nose closer in size to 40mm SL Tri Tip, but oval nose vs flat on SL Tri Tip. SLR T1 has a nose about the same width as 50mm SL Tri Tip. Shop recommended 50mm and it was the wright one for me. There are machines to measure your sit bone width, but in my case is less relevant as I ride the nose entire time. My drop is about as your, 13.8cm, saddle nose down at 1.8 degrees.
I went from the SLR T1 to the Arione Tri2 to the Tri-Tip 40mm over the last 2+ seasons…
SLR T1 - nice soft nose if you’re riding way forward, but otherwise too wide in front when sitting in a more normal position; felt like I had to pedal w/ my knees sticking out to the side too much.
Arione Tri2 - loved the long, flat profile nose to tail, great for scooching your position fore/aft to micro-adjust as you go for variations in wind, slope, fatigue, etc, when you’re really trying to redline a TT; it doesn’t really force you into one ‘sweet spot’ like most saddles. But, still too much taint pressure on longer rides since it has kind of a “humped” cross-section.
Tri-Tip - Got the 40mm nose since the 50 seemed like I’d have the same thigh rub issue as the SLR T1. I like the cut-out for both taint relief and venting, as someone above said. Of the 3, this one seems to do the best job of focusing the pressure on my sit bones, where it should be. The one concern I have is the seams on the side of the nose; I can feel them rub while pedaling, but so far it hasn’t proven to be a real chafing problem; we’ll see as I work up to longer, sweatier rides later in the season…
If you’re a dedicated ‘nose-rider’, I think the SLR is the most forgiving (the Tri-Tip 50 might be equivalent). For hammering shorter, harder TTs, I felt the Arione has the best platform to dial in just the right micro-position on the fly. But overall, I’ve definitely been able to spend the most time with the least discomfort on the Tri-Tip.
Hey,
My new bike came with one, and I have used it on the trainer for a few months, and it was ok, nothing special.
Last few weeks I have been taking it outside, so longer rides, and more time in aero, and the more I ride it the more I like it. I don’t buy a whole lot of the research/sales behind the cutout, but I am surprised at how quickly I got used to it, and although most rides now are under 2 hours, it should get more comfy as I get broken in.
Then again, I seem to have an @ss made of steel, as I can pretty much ride any saddle once I spend some quality time getting used to it.
Martin