Dguy

As someone who gave up road bikes long ago, I have a question for roadies - do those ultra-skinny saddles really make a difference? I see so many roadies in the classic, off the saddle, just-sort of coasting to give their ass a break poses, that I wonder if it's really worth it? I just bought a new (non-road) bike. When I told the LBS owner the saddle felt kind of uncomfortable, he told me I should give it three months. BS! I went out and bought a slightly wider after market saddle, and didn't have a problem from day one. I know from experience how much a skinny saddle can hurt, the only thing I don't know is why riders put up with it?

khatfull

All depends on your ass and the saddle. I ride this for centuries and have 0 ass issues:



Skinny or wide has nothing to do with it...where your sitbones line up on a particular saddle, the degree of padding you like (I obviously like none), and the shape of the saddle around the taint have everything to do with saddle comfort.

pkpsu

To my knowledge, they don't....buying saddle that is too narrow for your sit bones will cause medical issues and extreme discomfort. If you are referring to the thinness of the saddle then that is a different story, saddles are a personal preference and as long as the weight it being carried through the sit bones a thin saddle can still be very comfortable.

Dguy

I agree a good fit is the most important factor when buying a seat, but the idea of "breaking in" a saddle is ridiculous to me, as is the idea of getting "used to" a saddle. Even one ride ruined because of saddle discomfort is one ride too many for me.

Uni-Vibe

I find that when you get in shape, the skinnies are much more comfortable than the big squooshy kind. Assuming that they fit.

rat fink

It's not the saddle you are "breaking in" (Brooks saddle excepted), it's your booty. ...and it's the truth. A good saddle will hurt a little bit until you have been acclimated. They say use should do short rides for the first 100 miles until you used to it. If a saddle is painful, especially after that period, then you probably need a different style.

CrimsonKarter21

Nope, we'v e been waiting for your response! We actually prefer to ride on rediculously expensive, lightweight saddles with no padding because we love wasting money and we LOVE ass pain.
You happen to be the first person to question this ever, and only people who ride fatt saddles fully understand what the roadie goes through.

Dguy

[QUOTE=CrimsonKarter21;10485468]Nope, we'v e been waiting for your response! We actually prefer to ride on rediculously expensive, lightweight saddles with no padding because we love wasting money and we LOVE ass pain.


Finally, an honest man!

substructure

I've been training and racing on this one.



No joke.

fly:yes/land:no

roflcopterz

Dguy

But if the saddle is comfortable the day you buy it, what are you gaining by using a saddle that is finally comfortable after a hundred miles of pain? A few grams of weight?

khatfull

When I first got the Controltech above my first three rides were 15, 30, and 103 miles. When I completed the 103 and was really unaware of anything having to do with the ass/saddle interface I knew I had found what worked for me.

To me saddles are like women...you know if it/she is the right one right from the start.

North of You

I ordered an Selle Italia Carbonio by mistake instead of the Gel Flow, and tried it on the trainer, and I lasted 3 days and have just returned it and ordered the regular, pillow soft Gel SLR. So for me, my bu!! just wasn't up to it. Weight be damned.

(Or maybe I should just drill holes in it to make it lighter )

Dguy

amen!

AngryScientist 

Dguy - i'll go ahead and assume that you dont ride very far at a time. the reason road bike saddles are designed the way they are is to support your body's weight on the sit bones, not your whole ass, like a chair.

wide, plush saddles are nice for trips to the liquor store or around the block a few times, but put in hours in the saddle at a time and the wide saddle will cause chafing, and cause critical blood flow paths to go numb. you're not the first to question this. its true.

pro cyclists as well as enthusiasts pick the saddles they do because they work for them, only a fool would pick a saddle JUST because it was light, but uncomfortable.

go ride a century and let us know how your banana seat is treating your taint.

grahny

"pillow soft" is anything but an accurate description of selle italia's gel saddles. They are hard as a rock.

IMO, gel saddles are terribly uncomfortable. If you desire padding, a decent foam is all you need over a shell. The shape of the saddle does the rest for comfort.

Dguy

Sorry, my banana seat has never given me any problems, just miles and miles of comfort.

knobster

This.. While that saddle might be comfortable now, in a short while it won't be if you're riding distances. Then you'll either have to change it to one with less padding or you'll be experiencing much more pain than if you would have went with the seat with less padding in the first place. I do have a non roadie bike that has a plush seat on it. I only ride that thing on the MUP though and no more than about 5-10 miles. Any longer and it gets very, very uncomfortable.

Dguy

I wouldn't call my saddle plush, but it is designed for a more upright riding position. I wouldn't buy a saddle optimized for the crouching position when 90% of my riding is more upright, yet it seems like the vast number of roadies I see do just that.

rat fink

Yes, but by that point you were already 'broken in' for cycling, were you not? I would venture to say that one acclimates to a new saddle faster once they have already been riding a bit more than someone who is just getting back into cycling. An example of this is when a roadie who doesn't ride during winter gets back on the bike and isn't as comfortable on their saddle or in the drops/aero position.

khatfull

Yes, of course you're correct. But I'll still stand by that it doesn't take long to figure out that you've got the wrong saddle. Something like this: 80% of saddles are completely wrong for you and you'll know it within 20 miles. Crap just doesn't line up. Period. Going through that remaining 20% and narrowing down to the one or two is the part that's tough, and expensive. I got lucky, the Controltech worked for me out of the gate.

Yaniel

my current saddle hurt like hell for the first 30 or so miles. now i wouldn't trade it for the world. 100 miles of pain is less than 2 days on the bike, i'll be happy to hurt for two days if i know I'll be happy with my saddle for thousands of miles after.

rat fink

I'll buy that for a dollar. I think I had my numbers off a little it's probably closer to 30mi. I would say that the plush saddles really show their true colors on longer rides.

Sheldon covers this topic thoroughly: https://sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

"Many saddle complaints are actually traceable to fatigue caused by starting out the season with a longer ride than you are ready for."

"This may seem frustrating, but it does take a while to re-accustom your derrière to cycling. Anybody in decent shape can hop on a bike and ride 15-20 miles, but you'll be a wreck afterwards if you haven't accustomed your body to cycling first."

That article is a must read for any cyclist who uses a bike which employs a saddle.

Ygduf

I put a hard-ass saddle on my commuter, which is a stiff aluminum bike, and run near max 110-120psi (at 185lbs) in the tires.

After riding that bike for a few weeks, on my bumpier commute route 2x/day 3-5/days week, my weekend road bike feels like a plush car ride.

khatfull

I run that Controltech saddle on my CAAD9 with GP4000s at 120PSI...when I ride my newly acquired C&V '88 steel bike with slightly padded saddle, yeah, plush doesn't begin to describe it