Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - stupid saddle questions

Okay, bear with me here guys.

What's the appeal of a hard carbon saddle with absolutely no padding like this one?

http://www.bikesomewhere.com/images/big/fsa_kforceLiteSaddle.jpg

Is it just weight, or is it somehow more comfortable to ride a saddle with no padding?

AND, if an unpadded saddle is more comfortable for some people, why aren't there plastic saddles with no padding for poor people who can't afford carbon?

I've since switched over to a butchered Brooks, but I rode a carbon/ti Selle SLR for quite awhile. I found that it made me actually sit on my sit bones a lot more. There was some give to the carbon, and a little padding on the top. One thing I liked a lot better than some of the saddles that I'd tried with a lot more padding was how narrow it was. I used to get rubbed raw on the insides of my thighs because the nose was too wide...

Don't know if that helps or not...

Okay, bear with me here guys.

What's the appeal of a hard carbon saddle with absolutely no padding like this one?

http://www.bikesomewhere.com/images/big/fsa_kforceLiteSaddle.jpg

Is it just weight, or is it somehow more comfortable to ride a saddle with no padding?

They are for weight weenies who only ride in expensive bike shorts and less than 2 hours at time.


AND, if an unpadded saddle is more comfortable for some people, why aren't there plastic saddles with no padding for poor people who can't afford carbon?
Remember those plastic bmx saddles, or plastic cinelli unicanitors? You should be able to get them for like $5. Only good thing about those is that you never need to worry about scraping and ripping the cover off.

I don't know about that - I've been riding Selle Flites for the last year, and while they do have some (very little though) padding, I find that they are much more comfortable than any padded saddle I've ridden. They've also convinced me that the split rail/cutout saddle theory is total hogwash, at least for my male anatomy. And that's a clyde rider with plenty to rest on the saddle, and I don't buy "lite" stuff because I break it.

I think the only problem is that a plastic saddle can't be "broken in" - it's the right shape for you or it isn't. I've found that my saddle pain has nearly always been a fit problem (with the exception of a very squishy saddle that came stock on a bike, painful no matter what after about a half an hour) anyway - saddle too low, bars too close, etc.

Google around and you'll find Jobst Brandt and Sheldon Brown discussing saddle padding actually compressing your soft tissue more than a hard (plastic or leather) saddle.

I think the padded saddles aid to chaffing because they contact you more. I rode a 135gm slr on my mountain bike for a few months(got it used and broke the **** out of the carbon plate). It took a week or two to get used to but I loved that thing. I had considered taking the leather and foam off because the cover was so ****ed up, but I never did, I was worried that maybe that thin layer of padding was just so crazy badass that the carbon plate would then suck without it.