Road Cycling - saddle numbness

I got a selle italia flite gel four day ago and man does it suck. I did my first long ride on it today for about 4 hours and I am going to send it back. I have never had this much numbness from a saddle. I was looking at the Selle San Marco Aspide arrowhead for 99.99 is that a good saddle. What saddle do you use that does not give you numbness

I wouldn't drop 100 bucks on a saddle before I clamped it on my bike and rode it for at least an hour.

Saddles are a personal matter, what works for me might not work for you.

Hmmm. Personally I love my selle italia flite gel, hardly a gel seat but still very comfy. Is it properly asjusted? Pointed up or down at all? I've done several 100 mile-ish rides on it and I have never had too many problems or numbness. Well I guess everyone is different. My seat is also two years old maybe they made some changes?

BROOKS

I love my Sella Italia Flite Gel as well. I'm with tokus. Check the setup before you send it back. Also, you said that you did 4 hours on it...have you been doing four hour rides prior to this to get "yourself" all broken in? It always takes some time in the early season to get things used to the demands of a long ride.

Sometimes, when you change saddles, you need to re-position the saddle. The rails may be at a different height, or the layback may differ.
Its probably not wise to ride for 4 hours on a new saddle. you need to have a good setup for this length of time. You need some time to get used to any new saddle.
For saddles, you really should use a good LBS who will allow you to trial and swap models.

I also found the Flite Gel to be most uncomfortable. Tried several other saddles, including a couple with the cutout down the center, with limited success. Then I the Prolink Gel. Have been very happy with it. Only drawback is that it is heavier than some of the competition. But it is worth the extra weight.

I wouldnt get any gel saddle.Got to go for a penis friendly saddle.

Give your rear a few more rides to break into the new saddle.

Don't give up so easily.

What saddle do you use that does not give you numbness

If you are planning on doing serious long rides, you need a saddle made comfort. Get a Brooks.

http://www.wallbike.com/Products.html#Brooks

(try the Team Professional. Most comfortable road saddle made)

I found the selle itallia prolink gel to be the most gosh awful saddle I have ever ridden on - constant numbness. I looked at it and there is actually a rise or hump in the crotch. Yikes! They all look that way so it was not a design flaw.

Traded it back for a selle itallia transam. The cutout made such a difference. Did 80 miles the first day on it and was in heaven. Not to mention it was half the price!

:p

You may try adjusting the saddle differently until the numbing goes away. I had a similar experience while touring. My problem was more serious in that my dick went num and a cyst developed in a place I won’t mention. :( I rectified the problem by tilting the saddle forward a few degrees. It was happy peddling for the remainder of the tour and my dick made a full recovery! :)

Gordon p

Originally posted by pcsanity1

Traded it back for a selle itallia transam. The cutout made such a difference. Did 80 miles the first day on it and was in heaven. Not to mention it was half the price!

:p

Well, I would expect to pay less...that darn saddle has a hole in it! right through the middle! :D

I was wondering what that hole was for....:rolleyes:

mine gives me no problems, try adjusting it.

Try a Terry Ti Fly. The cutout helps a lot.
http://www.terrybicycles.com/Saddles/ImagesSAD/2123900P.gif

Originally posted by D*Alex
If you are planning on doing serious long rides, you need a saddle made comfort. Get a Brooks.

http://www.wallbike.com/Products.html#Brooks

(try the Team Professional. Most comfortable road saddle made)

D*Alex...you missed it again the B17 in honey with copper rivets is a much better ride:p

Seriously, for long rides and years in the saddle, call Bill Laine at WALLBIKE. And he has a 6 month "no question" warrenty.

what 1OldRoadie said.

Brooks B17 Champion or Honey Pro

At least they work for my Butt.

Marty

Thanks for the photo D*Alex,

Those freshly baked B17's look better than a stack of Crispy Creams.

the B17 in honey with copper rivets is a much better ride

I would have to disagree. I own a B17, a B17 narrow, a B66, a B72, and a Team Professional. The team pro is wider at the back, but narrower at the nose than the B17 standard, which fits my thick thighs and larger-than-average buttocks perfectly. The team pro also has flat rivets-much more comfortable than the B17 rivets that stick up.


Try a Terry Ti Fly. The cutout helps a lot

Sure doesn't help me. I tried one once (Georgina Terry lives locally, and her products get a lot of notice in the local cycling community), and absolutely hated it! Those edges of the cutout dug into my "nether regions", and the pressure from the remaining surface of saddle was greater than even the worst saddle I'd tried to that date! Frankly, all this cutout stuff is nothing more than hype. Terry makes some good bikes, but the science behind those cutout saddles is tenuous, at best.

Originally posted by D*Alex
The team pro is wider at the back, but narrower at the nose than the B17 standard. . . The team pro also has flat rivets-much more comfortable than the B17 rivets that stick up.
Hmmmn,

Didn't realize that Team Pro is wider than B17. I'll have to check
one out (need another saddle anyhow).
The rivets in my B17 don't bother me, as my butt is forward of
them.

thanks for the clarification
(I still like the look of the Honey Pro).

Marty

I've got a Specialized Body Geometry right now, and it freaking sucks. I was thinking about selling it, but I can't do that to anybody. I feel like I have to make my butt bigger to stay on it, or else I slide forward right onto the nose and that gives me numbness and feels like I'm getting a wedgie, but not in teh right place... plus it's ugly and heavy. I've got a Selle Italia trans-am, and it sucks too. The cutout feels like its trying to cut the boys right off. The only saddle I have that I really like is a GT peice of crap I found in the piles of junk at the shop. It's perfect, it goes with my butt just right. The only saddle that looks like it is a San Marco era-k, or a Fizi:k Pave. So I'm going to try them out.

Originally posted by D*Alex
I would have to disagree. I own a B17, a B17 narrow, a B66, a B72, and a Team Professional. The team pro is wider at the back, but narrower at the nose than the B17 standard, which fits my thick thighs and larger-than-average buttocks perfectly. The team pro also has flat rivets-much more comfortable than the B17 rivets that stick up.


SIZES:
B17 narrow 152x280
PRO 160x280
B17 170x280

The B17 is wider. Also the B17 Champion has the same large flattened rivets as the PRO's.

But anyway you slice it, a Brooks saddle will be more comfortable and last ten times longer than any other saddle on the market.

Just replaced my flite ti saddle with a fizik aliante, and the difference is huge. I made sure that my saddle height was the same relative to the ground and that the reach was the same as before. Only real variable was the amount of tilt, but I've been altering that on the flite for years now with little result. I'm much more comfy now than I ever was with the flite.