Adjusting a Selle SMP...
06-21-07, 08:05 PM
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Adjusting a Selle SMP...
Has any one had experience with adjusting the tilt of a Selle SMP?
I have a SMP Pro and it feels like it is a good fit, I can get it dialed in exactly. It is either crushing my perineum or my prostate - there doesn't seem to be a middle ground. I have tried putting a level across the saddle and setting it dead level, but that doesn't seem to feel good. I seem to recall the saddle came with some set up instructions, but I cant seem to locate them now.... Any suggestions are appreciated as I think I have exhausted my saddle search and I am becoming frustrated. TIA.
I have a SMP Pro and it feels like it is a good fit, I can get it dialed in exactly. It is either crushing my perineum or my prostate - there doesn't seem to be a middle ground. I have tried putting a level across the saddle and setting it dead level, but that doesn't seem to feel good. I seem to recall the saddle came with some set up instructions, but I cant seem to locate them now.... Any suggestions are appreciated as I think I have exhausted my saddle search and I am becoming frustrated. TIA.
06-21-07, 10:39 PM
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This may help.....
Selle SMP saddle setup
I have been riding and racing for more than 20 years (5'10", 150lbs., reasonably fit). In the past couple years (getting into my late 30's) I've decided to try and quit suffering with poor saddle comfort. I've tried a Specialized Toupe', a Fizik Arione and a Selle Italia SLK.
All of these saddles have given me some perineal pressure but the overriding problem is soreness under my sit bones and particularly on the right side where I sometimes get very sore and a small "bump" under the skin. I have also experimented with saddle height and set back and put my cleats back (as suggested). I was fitted by a reasonably experienced coach with the help of a Fit Kit.
So after all the rambling... I've just switched to a Selle SMP Stratos saddle. With the big cut out, the perineal pressure is gone but the seat bone problem persists although not as bad. I set it up with the rails at a 5 degree up angle (as suggested) and slide forward too much. Do you have any suggestions for set up?
Marc
Steve Hogg replies:
If you have had persistent perineal issues, then either your seat is too far forward or too high. Perhaps both. We all tend to favour one side while riding a bike in the sense of dropping one hip and bearing more weight on the sit bone on that side. If the seat is even 3 mm too high, the tendency to do this is exacerbated and pain is often the result. If your seat has been set by formulaic methods (inseam measurement times a number) then this is even more likely.
I would drop your seat 3-5 mm and see how you get on. Recheck your cleat position as well. Cleats that are too far forward just add to on-seat instability.
The SMP Stratos should be a luxurious seat at your bodyweight. The SMPs can be used with a variety of angles relative to horizontal without ill effects to a much greater degree than most other seats. The key to SMPs is that you have to have your butt shoved up against the rise at the rear so that gluteal mass takes some of the weight. If you sit too far forward or if you have the seat nose down too far, they can be very uncomfortable in a bony kind of way.
If your bars are too low or too far away, that can force you to sit slightly forward on any seat when under reasonable load. Go through the archives, particularly the second half of '04 and see what you can find about positioning, the 'balance test' and passive pelvic stability.
https://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?...7/letters02-06
Selle SMP saddle setup
I have been riding and racing for more than 20 years (5'10", 150lbs., reasonably fit). In the past couple years (getting into my late 30's) I've decided to try and quit suffering with poor saddle comfort. I've tried a Specialized Toupe', a Fizik Arione and a Selle Italia SLK.
All of these saddles have given me some perineal pressure but the overriding problem is soreness under my sit bones and particularly on the right side where I sometimes get very sore and a small "bump" under the skin. I have also experimented with saddle height and set back and put my cleats back (as suggested). I was fitted by a reasonably experienced coach with the help of a Fit Kit.
So after all the rambling... I've just switched to a Selle SMP Stratos saddle. With the big cut out, the perineal pressure is gone but the seat bone problem persists although not as bad. I set it up with the rails at a 5 degree up angle (as suggested) and slide forward too much. Do you have any suggestions for set up?
Marc
Steve Hogg replies:
If you have had persistent perineal issues, then either your seat is too far forward or too high. Perhaps both. We all tend to favour one side while riding a bike in the sense of dropping one hip and bearing more weight on the sit bone on that side. If the seat is even 3 mm too high, the tendency to do this is exacerbated and pain is often the result. If your seat has been set by formulaic methods (inseam measurement times a number) then this is even more likely.
I would drop your seat 3-5 mm and see how you get on. Recheck your cleat position as well. Cleats that are too far forward just add to on-seat instability.
The SMP Stratos should be a luxurious seat at your bodyweight. The SMPs can be used with a variety of angles relative to horizontal without ill effects to a much greater degree than most other seats. The key to SMPs is that you have to have your butt shoved up against the rise at the rear so that gluteal mass takes some of the weight. If you sit too far forward or if you have the seat nose down too far, they can be very uncomfortable in a bony kind of way.
If your bars are too low or too far away, that can force you to sit slightly forward on any seat when under reasonable load. Go through the archives, particularly the second half of '04 and see what you can find about positioning, the 'balance test' and passive pelvic stability.
https://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?...7/letters02-06
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. “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”- Fredrick Nietzsche
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." - Immanuel Kant
06-24-07, 05:11 PM
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The recommended position is number 4 on the rails and dead flat. That is where is set mine and I have had zero problems. What I did find is that with this saddle I had let us say get use to arranging things a little differently then I did with my old saddle . The thing that I have found is that with this saddle it is comfortable , but you need to move to different parts of the saddle when you are in different situations. The nose for climbs the rear for flats and then the saddle is comfortable. The SMP takes a little getting use to but it is well worth it.
