Thread: Saddle Question
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Old 06-25-13, 07:34 PM
  #23  
Carbonfiberboy 
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Originally Posted by Paul J
As a follow-up to a couple of thought and questions on this thread. I intentionally have the tandem set-up with a more upright position this, along with staying in the saddle more, is what I'm working through with the saddle issue. The Turbo is not helping and though more padded isn't anymore comfortable after 10 to 15 miles. This has really gotten me scratching my head as saddle time hasn't been a big issue for me in the past. I think back to the old days when we would do 50+ training rides without ever getting off the bike.

I haven't done a great job of verifying my saddle to pedal positioning which hit me on our ride last evening. So will work on that today. I didn't think Dennis Bushnell went very far afield with geometry but will be checking.

I really have been appreciating all the comments and personal experience. For some of you who have done a saddle measurement, how did you or the shop do that? I've read a bit about doing this over the past few days and wondered if the Specialized Shops have this as a feature? My LBS isn't a Secialized shop but I do know of one in the area that I could go to and see. Several folks have had good luck with a few of the Specialized saddles on this and other threads.
Specialized-carrying LBS will have an Ass-o-meter. You just sit on it, they read it. It happens that people fall in between sizes, and have to test ride both widths to see which one is better. My LBS has allowed us to test quite a number of saddles. Specialized are only available through LBS AFAIK.

We don't stand for as long as I would like, either, but it's enough.

Saddle to pedal distance varies a little with timing chain adjustments, though I don't usually bother moving my saddle.

Stokers without a suspension post will get hit harder on a tandem than on a single even if the captain calls the big ones. So maybe a little more padding would help in that case. My stoker has a telescoping one which she likes. It doesn't bounce, though it makes height adjustment more complicated. Captain has a cushier ride on a tandem so that shouldn't be an issue there.

Try rolling your pelvis forward to sit more on the anterior portion of your sit bones. Our used tandem came with a higher and closer bar position than I have on my singles. Over the years, as we've become more comfortable on the bike, I've gradually altered that until my bars are as low as the frame allows. They're now about the same as my singles.
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