Touring - Broke my saddle 3 days before going on tour!

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Cave
02-05-07, 05:17 PM
I've been taking my touring bike off tarmac, lots of gravel/dirt roads and a few rougher tracks.

This has caused a few problems:
- Toe overlap at the front makes steering a little tricky
- Drops with STI levers means I need to be in the drops to get full braking power - which makes for *exciting* downhills sometimes... (hint: drop the seat height!)
- Rattling ++, mudguard attachments broke (hint: use cable ties, much more rugged)
And most recently - broken saddle.

I'm 92kg, riding a Cannondale T800 with a Fizzik Rondine saddle. The bit that broke is the rigid plastic on the bottom of the saddle.

Strange thing is, it is actually more comfortable now! I'm sure it will eventually fail now that it is not fully supported, but I guess I'll leave it on for the moment.

Any dissenting opinions? Should I ditch it now? I will eventually replace it with a Brooks, but not immediately before a 9-day tour.


tomn
02-05-07, 06:33 PM
I bought a Brooks Flyer, a B17 with springs, with the aged leather. It was comfortable right out of the box. I was willing to suffer, but never had to!

vik
02-05-07, 07:16 PM
If your tour is someplace where a replacement saddle won't be hard to procure go for it with your busted one. If you won't be able to replace it on tour the either bring a new one with with you in case or use the new one and switch back to the broken one if your butt complains.


Cave
02-06-07, 04:00 AM
I'm now considering bringing the broken one but riding with a new one, if I can get a B17 (or possibly a Flyer) tomorrow.

It is a supported tour, so I have backup in case of emergencies, but I'd prefer something decent for multi-day riding (otherwise I'd grab the saddle from my fixie).