Tri Saddle vs. Road Saddle

Triathlon Forum
1

Hello… I have a Cervelo Soloist and currently riding it on the “road” setup, but I plan on flipping the seat post and riding with clip-ons for half the year. I am using a Selle Italia SLR XP road seat at the moment, but I have a feeling that it will be kind of uncomfortable when going aero.

My question is, are there saddles that are pretty comfortable for both a road and tri setup? I want to get a tri saddle, as comfort will be important for my upcoming ironman, but I also want it to be comfortable in a more slack road setup. I really do not wish to switch back and forth between saddles.

I was thinking about the Selle Italia SLR T1, or possibly a Fizik saddle to do double duty, so to speak. Any suggestions?

2

Plenty of people use the Adamo for both.

3

I tried the SLR and it was too harsh for me. I use the fizik Arione tri on my road bike. Love it. If you really like the SLR, I suspect you’ll find the Fizik too soft.

4

I am using a Selle Italia SLR XP road seat at the moment, but I have a feeling that it will be kind of uncomfortable when going aero.

I think you should try it before writing it off. FWIW I went from SLR carbon to SLR T1, then back to the SLR (standard)…just works for me, and my P2 does double duty in the off-season too. Plenty of people ride with minimalist saddles on their tri bikes.

Besides, a SLR T1 on a “road” setup would be an epic fashion faux pas…kinda like tri shorts at the pool :wink:

5

i have the selle italia slc, and it works really well when im sitting up or on the aero bars.

6

This is kind of dated but may be somewhat of a resource:

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/saddle06.shtml
.

7

I see the Arione a lot on both road & Tri bikes… One thing in particular about that saddle profile is it’s long and fairly flat, so it gives you a wide range of positioning on the fly just by scooching forward or aft whereas most saddles tend to have a more pronounced sweet spot in the middle of the “sag”

8

Thanks for all the replies… very helpful. When you say you see a lot of Arione saddles on both road & Tri bikes, do you mean the Tri2, or the standard Arione?

9

Thanks for that Tom… I was actually just reading that this morning and found it helpful in getting some ideas on a saddle.

10

I go Airone on the road bike and SLR T1 on the tri bike. Love them both, but if I had to choose just one to pull double duty I’d keep the SLR TI. I think it would do the job onthe road bike, but not sure I’d want my taint on the nose of the Airone for 4 or 5 hours. Of course you already know this, but this is definately one area where everyone is different so experimenting is the best solution. Unfortunately, it is also an expensive solution.

11

Thanks for all the replies… very helpful. When you say you see a lot of Arione saddles on both road & Tri bikes, do you mean the Tri2, or the standard Arione?

I lumped them both together, but at the same time, I have had both the Tri 2 and the SLR T1 and would say there is less of a difference going from the regular Arione to the Tri 2 than going to the SLR T1. I decided the nose of the SLR T1 was too wide, causing me to feel like I was ridign w/ my knees pointed out at 2:00 and 10:00 to avoid excess chafing. The Arione Tri is only slightly wider/softer in the nose than the regular Arione by comparison.

Edit to add: The REAL shizz on the SLR T1 was moving it to my MTB… love the soft nose for that when scooching way forward on a steep climb to keep the front wheel down, and the back end of it is still narrow enough when sliding off for a steep descent, AND, the fat nose doesn’t poke me in the ass and snag the seam/ridge on the shorts/chamois when sliding off & back on the saddle from the front. Only prob is I have the older one w/o the kevlar sides, so it’s just a matter of time before the corners get chewed although I haven’t been on it much lately. Anyone want to trade?

12

I have a Fizik Tri 2 Saddle that I use for both road and aero riding/racing, and it is a great combo! I’ve also heard that that ISM Adamo works well for both too…

13

road saddles have a pretty long pointy nose which is used to cause discomfort to your nuts for reasons which I do not understand.

tri saddles have really long pointy noses so that you can sit farther forward on that point and either have it in your junk, or butthole, or off to one side of your ass or the other.

all of these are extremely uncomfortable.

i really don’t get it, at all, lol

the adamo almost almost reasonable.

id like to try a normal saddle, with a short nose, pushed reaaally far forward…

14

I think this shows the difference and seems pretty comfortable too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkfgTPl-dHs

15

Saddle comfort is a very personal thing. At one time I had a big cardboard box in my basement filled with failed experiments which were eventually ebay’d. The only saddle that has ever worked for me is a Fizik Arione, but is still better for road than tri.