Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Long distance saddle

Here is another vote for a Specialized Alias, or one of their similar higher-end saddles. Having the right width makes all the difference to the seat bones, and I don't like a wide nose on my saddle for distance.

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I am about to pony up for the Selle An-Atomica. Just wondering if any of you users have updates for us.

Thanks

I tried a Selle An-Atomica for about a 3 weeks and sent it back. The back felt too wide and rubbed my thighs. Even with padded shorts I could feel the cutout and it was not good. If I reduced tension it became a hammock causing the sides to flare out too much, more tension made the rear feel better but increased pressure on the cutout edges. I am now riding a Brooks Swift and that feels better but I only have 200 miles on so time will tell if it's a keeper.

Tim McTeague

Wow, this is an old thread. Since my previous post on this thread, I've worn out another Terry Fly. I have had to replace them about every 5000 miles. The foam they use in them gets soft. So a friend gave me a Specialized Avatar. I like it, too. A little harder on the sit bones than the Fly, but better for the junk. With the Avatar, I can ride rollers for an hour without having to stand to restore the circulation.

BTW, I can't believe people post to this thread after 40-50 miles on a saddle. We want to know how it was on your 400 or longer. Even 3 hours is nada. That's just the point where it starts to get interesting.

I'm working with a new B17 on my fixie which has a fair amount of handlebar drop. It's been difficult to get the tilt correct with this saddle. It's most comfortable on the sit bones with a slight tilt up, but very hard on the nether regions. Tilt down results in too much forward slide and the sit bones suffer as well as increased hand pressure. A level+ "touring style" handlebar drop, I think would be best with this saddle.

It is well-known that for handlebars set bars much lower than the seat, a Brooks Team Pro is the appropriate saddle, and that the B17 is for bar position from just below to above saddle height. From my experience, you won't find a good compromise with your set-up. I sold my Pro to a friend who rides with a lower-set handlebar bar, and he has been extremely happy with its comfort. I remain with B17s as my preference and wore in one I bought in London when I rode my fixie from northern France to the start of PBP this year.

I have a Specialized Avatar (155mm) that came stock on the bike. It has about 2500 kms on it or so, with 170 kms the longest day, and it's been extremely comfortable on all rides. However, it did start creaking about 1500 kms in, as others have mentioned. The creak comes from where the rails and plastic saddle top come together. Not sure if it's at the front or back, but a squirt of oil at both ends fixes it for a while. Going to try and make the fix more permanent (super glue, maybe), and if not I might consider an Alias or Toupe.

It is well-known that for handlebars set bars much lower than the seat, a Brooks Team Pro is the appropriate saddle, and that the B17 is for bar position from just below to above saddle height. From my experience, you won't find a good compromise with your set-up. I sold my Pro to a friend who rides with a lower-set handlebar bar, and he has been extremely happy with its comfort. I remain with B17s as my preference and wore in one I bought in London when I rode my fixie from northern France to the start of PBP this year.

What specifically is it about the Pro that makes it a better choice for a setup with a larger saddle to bar drop?

It's something to do with the nose of the saddle. I originally thought it was width. My problem is that a brooks saddle appropriate for 4.5" of drop is a little out of my budget...

I bought a Brooks Swift on ebay last month after having issues with a Specialized BG Avatar that came with my bike, a Roubaix. Years ago, I had ridden on a Brooks Pro that came with my Raleigh International. Wished I had it still when I had the saddle problems, but I bit the bullet and bought another Brooks. I got it slightly used for about $150. I've only ridden the Swift for about 200 miles so far, but it has been very comfortable. My bars are about 2 inches below my seat and I find that I need to have the saddle slightly nose down, about 1-2 degrees. A side benefit to this saddle is the springiness of it; it really absorbs shocks very well. I ride on some pretty rough pavement and it makes the ride much more comfortable. I found that the Swift was an immediate improvement over the Avatar and it just keeps getting better.

Regards,
Ted

Ive just bought a Titanico and after various rides of about 2-3 hours this is just pure comfort. The saddle has yet to be fully broken in but wow, it just cant get any better than this. However, with my last saddle which was a Fizik Arione Tri 2, I thought that was fine and I did plenty of centuries on it and rides up to 150miles without a problem. When I did the Tejas 500 this year my butt was in agony by the end hence the swap to the Selle Anatomica (after a lot of research). Once I do another long ride of 200+ miles, Ill post here to see how it feels but my guess is that it will be pure class.

Get a Brooks leather saddle -people who see it wont believe you, but they are perfecion!.

I rode my brevet series and did PBP on the Selle An-atomica. I did bend the rails on it, I weigh 205 lbs but they sent me a new one with no questions asked. The seat did start to sag to the point I was starting to sit on the rails during PBP. It is amazing how hard it is figure out how to turn one screw after 500 miles. After the adjustment the saddle was as good as new. This is the most comfortable saddle I have ridden, I have never been sore or chafed. They are costly but this is not the place to go cheapo! Befor the Selle An-atomica I rode Terry Fly and was not impressed becase after about 70 miles I would start shifting to get comfortable.

I have 5,887 miles on my Brooks B17 over the last 19 months......in October, did a short CC tour from Jacksonville to Cape Coral, Fl........402 miles in 4 days...
109 on day 1, 77 on day 2, 112 on day 3 and 104 on day 4

am 61, 6' and 198 lbs......

brooks swift....been riding it for about 15 or 16 months now and it is amazing! took awhile to get the height and tilt set(it will have to be lowered and tilted back from a "normal" set up..), but now i cant even think of riding anything else! i did try and go back to my turbomatic and ariones...that only lasted a couple of rides, just wasnt the same!!

OK, anybody use a Selle San Marco Rolls? I've seen good reviews elsewhere but little mention here.

For the record, the Terry Fly was OK if I got the tilt *just* right for the first 60-70 miles. Had a Turbo that I may try again but the season that I tried it, i was great for 40 or 60 miles, but after mile 75 I felt as if I were riding on the top tube. Recently tried to go back to the original Specialized BG but I think it was made by Satan. I can not fathom how I had rode several centuries on that 4 or 5 years ago. After 15 miles it cuts in to my thighs, pressure on the sit bones, etc. regardless of tilt.

Hi all,
I just thought it would be worth writing an update on how I have found the Selle Anatomica Titanico. I have now been using it for some time with my last ride of note being the 'Heart of the South 500' race in Alabama/Georgia. This race was 517 miles long with 30,000ft of vertical gain. I was in the saddle for 39 hours with the first 24hrs spent soaked in rain! Anyway, at the end of the race I did not have a single saddle sore, hot spot, bit of numbness or anything close to discomfort. This I found to be very impressive. What I did find odd was that the rain caused the leather to sag (thats not the odd bit) and thus without realizing it I was sat in a hammock for most of the ride and it was just pure comfort (the odd bit!).
Before this race I did the Sebring 24hr ride and covered 325 miles. The saddle was very comfy then, less a couple of sores caused by the edge of the leather. The saddle was under more tension longitudinally than during the HOTS500 which is what I think caused the sores.
I know that saddles are a very personal thing but for me this saddle rocks! Incidentally, one of the guys I raced with in the HOTS500, Andy Sweet, is a real advocate of the ISM Adamo. He commented on my saddle at the start and didn't think that it would be that comfortable. Looking at his blog, he felt sore at the end (although it doesn't state if this was in the butt area or not).
Yours aye,
Angus