CJ C

I am only 7 rides in since march 25th, last ride before that was november 5th (before knee injury). So i know that i need to break in my arse again. But the last two saddles are like some evil torture device even with bike shorts. The original saddle on my new bike is a Selle San Marco Ponza Power which got 5 rides and just bought a Nashbar GR2 that i put 2 rides on. Todays ride was the worst one ever and my arse is in pain plus got chafing for the first time ever!

now on my 80's steel i have a specialized BG fit saddle that i could ride 20 miles WITHOUT bike shorts. i cant switch it over as i need it to ride to work in dress clothes. though after today i think i will be swapping seats back and forth.

Now after dropping coin on a new (used) bike and a new saddle i am tapped out for a while. Wife said she and the kid will get me a Specialized saddle for fathers day. (awesome family huh?)

But the question is what the heck do i until then?
Do i toughen up?
do i just do short "all out" rides?
do i quit and eat a whole pizza?
do i double up on bike shorts?
do i put my extra beach cruiser seat on?

TrojanHorse

depending on the bike geometry, different saddles will work in different ways.

If the family is buying you a new saddle (nice!) make sure you buy it from a place that will let you demo a saddle and return it if you don't like it. Some specialized dealers have a demo program. Take advantage of it!

Axiom

As a rule of thumb you should just ride it out (no pun intended), however, I am having the same problem but I am giving it time. Even with biking shorts and constant 10-15 mile rides 5-6 times a week it's still sore.

Big Pete 1982

Did you try going to a LBS with the little ass-o-meter device that you sit on to measure your sit bones?

sstorkel

Return the Nashbar saddle for a refund. If your bike is relatively new, see if the shop you bought from will take the Selle San Marco back and give you some store credit towards a different saddle. Or sell the saddle on eBay or Craig's List. Use the money from the refund and sale to purchase the saddle you want.

The other alternative is to swap your good saddle back and forth from one bike to the other. If both bikes have the same seatpost diameter, you can swap the entire post back and forth, which might be a bit easier. You can make marks on the saddle rails or seatpost with a paint pen or Sharpie to help with positioning.

drmajor

Money is tight, but my Brooks 67 was well worth it. Found it for about $90 online. Bought the treatment "oil" too and followed instructions. I have 4 other saddles- none compare. Take the time to get it adjusted to you.

Pug

Have you tried chamois cream? That will at least help with the chafing. Is your saddle level?

mtvelo39

Try Chamois butter and get your SITS bones measured.

Seve

No idea what your new bike is, other than assuming it's a road bike?

That being said, I suspect that the width of the saddles you have chosen are for people of smaller frames?

Ponza - 273 x 129 mm
Nashbar - 297 x 139 mm

Unless you are expecting to be riding on the pedals the majority of the time, then look for a road bike saddle in the 150 mm wide range. Or another way to express it, is to get your Sitz bones measured to determine a proper saddle width.

socalrider

best bang for the buck clyde saddle is the Bontrager SSR - https://bontrager.com/model/08381

nice and firm and 155mm wide - perfect for most clydes.. just remember when you hear soft or comfort saddle - run away as fast as you can, those will be *ss hatchets.

CJ C

going specialized for that very reason

keep me updated on your finding, and toss me a few tips as you go

thats the goal for the new seat for fathers day, ass-o-meter and trial is the key

I bought the bike used so no LBS support for returns. (they guy i bought it from had it for 4 months and rode it 100 miles, it was like new)
great idea about swapping the saddle and post back and forth, sadly two different sizes by a big margin.


hear great things about the brooks, how does it handle rain? also out of vanity i need to get a white saddle (mind may change as arse sees fit)

CJ C

both saddle were level, if the chamois cream is under $10 i will try it.

ass-o-meter will be the way to go when funds comply

Its a Bianchi Via Nirone 7, the ponza came with the bike stock. surprised the would put such a narrow seat on it. didnt notice the specs but the nashbar from eyeballing it is the same width just flatter and a longer nose.

hmmmm very intriguing it states its a MTB saddle is there a difference from a road?

CJ C

I think i will put a countdown ticker on my work desktop, ticking down the time until fathers day.

socalrider

I bought one in a pinch when on a trip and had to borrow a bike that had a saddle that was killing me.. Rode it 100 miles in 2 days, no issues - used it on a road bike. Many shops stock it - found mine in a shop because price was an issue..

NWS Alpine

The evoke saddle is a good bontrager saddle. I came on my trek sawyer and didn't need to change it. For my CAAD10 I found the specialized Romin Evo Pro to be a taint saver. I demoed about 6 saddles before the Specialized ones. Glad the white version has minimal logos to clash with my cannondale

Street Pedaler

+1 on the Bonnie SSR. I have one on my Madone and love it. It was actually between this saddle and a $250 Johnny Cobb saddle which, while an excellent saddle, wasn't any more comfortable for me. Got the Bonnie for $25 brand new and haven't looked back. Another brand to look into is Cloud9. I've ridden their saddles on other bikes and like them a lot, too. Very affordable.

CJ C

any ideas on what to do before the $$$ comes in?
yes even coughing up $25+chicago taxes is rough for a week or two.

sstorkel

Buy with a credit card and pay it off later? It's the American Way...

If you can't spend money, the only other thing to do is continue to swap the comfortable saddle back and forth. This is much easier if you mark the saddle rails and seatposts so you can quickly put the saddle into the correct position on each bike. Marking with a "paint pen" is usually more durable than a Sharpie. Here's what you do:

1) Put the saddle on Bike #1 and adjust it to the correct tilt and position.
2) Use a paint pen to draw a ring around the saddle rails right in front of the clamp. Find some way to mark the clamp so that you can replicate the proper tilt.
3) Put the saddle on Bike #2 and adjust it to the correct tilt and position
4) Use a paint pen, preferably of a different color, to draw a ring around the saddle rails right behind the clamp. Find some way to mark the clamp so that you can replicate the proper tilt.

When you swap the saddle from bike to bike, you can use the marks you made on the saddle to quickly get the correct position in the clamp. And you can use the marks made on the clamp to quickly dial-in the correct tilt. You could probably do the same thing by taking measurements with a tape measure, but marking the rails has always been faster and more convenient to me.

Buck_O

Ugh, another saddle thread, and all the special koolaide kids come out of the woodwork.

For starters...there is NO SUCH THING as a "clyde saddle". Just because you have a big, or bigger, butt...does not mean you have wide sit bones. You can go TOO WIDE with a saddle, and cause chaffing on the upper thigh and buttock.

Secondly, a leather saddle, be it from Brooks or any other knock off manufacture, is NOT THE END ALL BE ALL of saddles. There are a large majority of people that these type of saddles will NEVER work for.

And finally, while the knowledge from your LBS can be helpful in narrowing down what kind of saddle may or may not work for you, at the end of the day, its your ass in the saddle, and you need to be comfortable, so do as much research for yourself as your hind quarter can suffer through, until you find the saddle that works for you.

For me, i went through 90% of the Selle line, the entire Fizik line, the entire WTB road line, and most of the Specialized BG road line. After all was said and done, i learned i prefered a saddle with less padding, a flat nose, a slight up kick in the rear, a tailbone relief notch, some lateral flex while peddling, and a relatively narrow saddle. All of that experimentation (in total about three months and 800 miles of test riding) i finally arrived at a Specialized Romin Expert saddle. Even though i personally came to that conclusion, the local Specialized dealer insisted that because i was a "bigger guy" i needed the 150mm wide saddle, and may even need to special order the 155mm if need be. After the first 100 miles on the saddle, i took it back for the 143, and have never looked back. Ive got well over a couple thousand miles on that saddle now, and couldnt be happier. But the simple fact of the matter is, it took time, and it took research. Like everything about road cycling, its all about learning the limitations of your body, and adjusting your equipment around your physical shortcomings to maximize overall performance. And that takes hard work, effort, and time. There is no magic bullet, there is no one size fits fat, and there is no way anyone can recommend what best for you...but you. So put down a deposit, and start riding the piss out of your bike to see whats best for your bum.

iforgotmename

Waterproof, leather , and comfy is selle an-atomica's claim.

It also comes in white and a clydesdale version but is pricey @ $189. If you want brown it is half the price.

I ordered a brown one Sunday to replace my b 17. Hopefully it is as great as they say.https://www.selleanatomica.com/store/

fietsbob

Shop take-offs can be a good deal so see what hand me downs pop up in the process.

saddle choice is pretty much be tween the sitzplatz on you, and the saddle ..
I can only say my assortment now includes 20 & 30 year old Brooks Pros
I've had since new,
and a Fizik Vitesse CP3 I got at sierra trading post on closeout
which had me get 2 from the Brompton dealer because they were not effected
by staying out in the rain while I was inside having pints.

fietsbob

may be replicated somewhat with a stack of paper
with a carbon paper sheet in the middle.
or a stack of sheets cut from a corrugated cardboard box.

See how far apart the sit bones in your hips are.
should leave a mark .

RaggaD

Someone told me there is a weight limit on the Romin of like 240 lbs. True, not true?

CJ C

I am just going to suck it up and ride out the pain until it goes away. Fathers day is not that far away. and my goal of a 100mile ride is not until mid September.

So i will give the Nashbar GR2 another chance if not i will roll with the stock saddle till june. if its too much i will just put my commuter saddle on it and ride the Bianchi to work.

sstorkel

While you might learn to accept a saddle that is initially uncomfortable, my experience suggests that a downright painful saddle will never become comfortable...