Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - another an-atomica convert

Hey, not that they need any more advertising, but i rode the Selle An-Atomica today for the first time on my touring/commuting bike. I put it on my seatpost level front to back and went out the door for my longest ride of the winter (40 miles, 2000ft climbing) and never adjusted it once. It was dramatically more comfortable than my brooks (with 2200 miles and countless adjustments) which i do like, btw. Never felt any soreness... is that possible?? I cant speak for longer rides but so far i have stopped thinking about recumbents due to this level of comfort.
Hope this helps anyone else having saddle issues... too bad it costs 140 to try it out.

Hey, not that they need any more advertising, but i rode the Selle An-Atomica today for the first time on my touring/commuting bike. I put it on my seatpost level front to back and went out the door for my longest ride of the winter (40 miles, 2000ft climbing) and never adjusted it once. It was dramatically more comfortable than my brooks (with 2200 miles and countless adjustments) which i do like, btw. Never felt any soreness... is that possible?? I cant speak for longer rides but so far i have stopped thinking about recumbents due to this level of comfort.
Hope this helps anyone else having saddle issues... too bad it costs 140 to try it out.

+1

I got mine a few weeks ago and haven't look back. I've done a century on it and it's better than Brooks if you can believe.

Love mine so far.
Haven't had it on the road yet... only on the rollers. Its been too wintry here for a long ride. It will get a road test next week when I try for my Feb century.

I've got one on a Surly cross check.

It is great on long road rides, and even better off-road. Kind of springy ... like a suspension seat.

I've never owned a Brooks; this saddle rocks.

Dave

I ordered mine last weekend. It should arrive any day now. If it gets here today or tomorrow, I am tempted to put it on for the 70 mile ride I am scheduled to do this Saturday.

So, any suggestions on the initial set-up? As the first posted noted, he liked it level.

Any other comments about the setup on the Selle Anatomica?

mine felt great the first ride, as stated. now, not so much. I am selling mine and am in the boston area if you wanna try it...
I feel silly now as 40 miles is not really a large enough sample size... sigh...

sitbones felt great, soft bits in between; much less great, especially post ride.

for those that don't want to spend $140 and would be totally satisfied with a Brooks B17 champion flyer... you can pick one up today at Alfred E. Bike for $50. It's the daily special.

My Selle An-atomica arrived this afternoon. I just finished a 31 mile ride and overall I am pleased. No, it wasn't like I was sitting on the den sofa; but, it was an improvement over the Toupe Gel I just put 2,000 miles on and the Alias that I just tired for 100 miles.

I have a 70 mile planned for Saturday and will provide a report on the saddles performance after the ride.

I am optimistic this saddle may be the one. My biggest problems with sore sit bones usually appear in anything over 40 miles when I get over 2 hours in the saddle. So, we shall see.

Love mine so far.
Haven't had it on the road yet... only on the rollers. Its been too wintry here for a long ride. It will get a road test next week when I try for my Feb century.

Used it on my Feb century and I'm very pleased. No bruising of my inner thigh and sit bone area that was typical on my Brooks Swallow.

There's been some chatter over on the Randon list at Google Groups about these failing after riding in the rain (the waterproof ones) - they get stretched beyond adjustment - as well as some loosening / tension issues. I'm going to try and slip a locknut on mine and hope it helps keep it adjusted where I want it.

So far the manufacturer has replaced the failed saddles... I'm hoping its a materials defect and not a design flaw.

for those that don't want to spend $140 and would be totally satisfied with a Brooks B17 champion flyer... you can pick one up today at Alfred E. Bike for $50. It's the daily special.


I have been thinking of a Brooks all winter, though I have no problems with my Terry or any other saddle I have used I just thought it was about time to give Brooks a try once again. I thought I would give Alfred E. Bike the order. Thanks for the info.

Guys,

You shouldn't have to spend the money to test the saddle and then not be able to return the saddle if it doesn't work out with a reasonable test period. Go to you LBS. I would imagine most larger volume LBS would be willing to order the saddle and allow you to test ride it for a reasonable amount of time and return it if if doesn't work out. I am fortunate to live in Dallas where we have several large volume LBS and I am part of a large club. I just picked up my An-Atomica yesterday for my test ride. They were cool with ordering it and letting me test it and return if needed. Of course I told them that I would share the good news if I liked the saddle.

I am selling mine and am in the boston area if you wanna try it...
How much do you want for it?

I actually like mine a bit nose up but it actually fits my dimensions. It is very comfortable in a variety of positions. I try to protect my neck and shoulder by being more upright and it never hurts. For me that has been a big damn relief. I suffered on double century rides. Lately have done 5 200k rides with narry a problem.

I've now tested my Selle-Anatomica (new model with Second Skin leather) on a 200K, and it felt just fine (I wore it in over several hundred miles of short commutes). I'm not sure that I can claim that it felt better than my Specialized Avatar, though. I won't know that until a longer ride, like a 600K. After riding BMB on my Avatar, my butt was very sore!

My earlier model of Selle-Anatomica, which was a Brooks Pro with cutout, didn't work out for me. No fault of Selle-Anatomica: It's just the Brooks was too damn hard, even after a couple of thousand miles; or maybe the short rails meant that I never got it far enough back, with the result that I ended up sitting on the frame. Same experience with unmodified Champion Flyer.

The nose rivet of my Selle Anatomica came out, so it has to go back and get a new one installed. The rails seem like they're a bit concave, and I don't know if they were manufactured that way or if they're bending. We'll see how these saddles are for longevity.

Used it on my Feb century and I'm very pleased. No bruising of my inner thigh and sit bone area that was typical on my Brooks Swallow.

There's been some chatter over on the Randon list at Google Groups about these failing after riding in the rain (the waterproof ones) - they get stretched beyond adjustment - as well as some loosening / tension issues. I'm going to try and slip a locknut on mine and hope it helps keep it adjusted where I want it.

So far the manufacturer has replaced the failed saddles... I'm hoping its a materials defect and not a design flaw.

That slot may be a weak point. I find it odd that Brooks has not offered a slotted model that I can think of. Maybe they know something... At the Seattle Bike Expo a couple weeks ago, I met a guy who had his 17 sent to anatomica for the cut-out treatment. He loves it. I'm on the fence and watching, having had great results thus far from Brooks. It's the leather that sets Brooks/Ideale apart from all other saddles. If the cutout does not weaken the saddle, it's probably a great thing.

That slot may be a weak point. I find it odd that Brooks has not offered a slotted model that I can think of. Maybe they know something... At the Seattle Bike Expo a couple weeks ago, I met a guy who had his 17 sent to anatomica for the cut-out treatment. He loves it. I'm on the fence and watching, having had great results thus far from Brooks. It's the leather that sets Brooks/Ideale apart from all other saddles. If the cutout does not weaken the saddle, it's probably a great thing.

Selle-Anatomica will laminate a thin layer of leather to the bottom of the saddle to help offset any weakening that results from cutting the slot.

Selle-Anatomica will laminate a thin layer of leather to the bottom of the saddle to help offset any weakening that results from cutting the slot.

I would think that if an owner could avoid over conditioning, or riding it while drenched, it probably wouldn't even be needed.