Seats n stuff
 

I know picking a saddle is mostly a trial and error thing, but I'd like some suggestions to try out first that you guys prefer.

After making my position more aggressive on my track (and road) bike, my position seems to be way more uncomfortable (hip angle different?) and need to hunt for a new seat. Any suggestions on where to start, with rental saddles, from you guys?

I would suggest eliminating any that don't have steel rails. Breaking rails is sorta common on the track. Usually happens in turn four at full speed when the rider pulling up hard on the pedals. I've seen riders of all sizes break them at DLV.

Also, the versions with steel rails are usually cheaper than those with carbon or Ti rails.

Some like long saddles (like the Arione) in order to move back and forth to activate different muscle groups for different pedal styles.

I suggest getting a butt-width test. Any Specialized dealer should have one. It's a tablet with sand. You sit on it then measure the distance between your sit bones. This is how I learned that the Arione was too narrow for me.

I'm currently running the Fizik Aliante on my track bike and Bontrager Paradigmon my road bike. It's truly going to be a try all you can thing. The Paradigm has been great on my road bike but I don't think I'd like it on my track bike as much. When I did they fitting for my road bike they had me sit on the sitbone measuring tool, as Carleton mentioned. Every little bit helps. Get what fits and what's comfortable.

I find the Specialized Romin an awesome sprinter saddle, I had it on my road bike but it was kind of unconfortable for long rides because I couldn't move around that much, then I changed to a Arione on the road bike (and it's awesome for the reason that Carleton mentioned) and fitted the Romin on the track bike and I loved it. It fits me so well and it holds me tight in place at speed on some of the horribly maintained local velodromes.

I like a selle italia flite, 'cause I can get forward and all proctological on it.

Right now I use a Specialized TTS. It's really shortnosed and soft - kind of weird, but it works, and I need it to comply with the saddle setback rule.

I got measured at the lbs for the Specialized seat. I now swear by them . The Specialized Toupe is my personal choice.

Solid advice- but may not tell the whole story.

Im a fan of the San Marco Regal. I like the wide back, fits my wide ass. Its pancake flat which allows me to move forward and back, and the nose shape allows me to get way out on the rivet- which was great before the UCI moved my TT position into the back seat...

what comes into play with this saddle, and some others- is clampable area. A 75deg seat post angle can put the seat post clamp too close to the bends in the front of the rails- rendering them way weakened.
I broke 3 steel railed Regals in one season on my Tiemeyer (on Thomson post)
I hesitantly switched, first to the ProLogo Scratch with solid Ti- no breaks- but i never liked the feel, then i switched to the Aluminum railed S.M. REGALe, which has a much more forward clampable area, also no saddle rail breaks..

now i have changed frames to one with a 74.5deg seat angle- this moved the clamp back relative to saddle position and allowed me to go back to my classic steel railed regal, clamped well inside the clampable area.. so far no breaks :thumb:

Specialized Romin Evo for me (have it on my road bike too) it is pretty well suited for an aggressive position. It is very similar to the Romin but with a thinner nose (the regular Romin was comfortable too but i found the nose rubbed my shorts slightly).


Specialized do a demo saddle programme (i think other brands do as well) so worth while getting measured and then trying a few and experimenting.

Sounds like I need to get my sitbones measured at some point in time.

I'd also look at the profile of a couple different saddles. I tend to like saddles with more of a trough or dip in the middle IE Aliante, Turbo, Scratch, etc. Saddles with a more flat profile like a Flite, SLR, Arione, etc aren't for me.

It's all marketing and stuff but a good starting point could be figuring out what "animal" you are according to Fizik and go from there.

I started on a Turbo which led me to the Aliante which led me to the Prologo Scratch.

As far as where to start, just scour CL and eBay and get some cheap used saddles and see what shapes you like. Off season is the perfect time for this.

Yeah; it's good to know your own ass and what types of saddles work for it in different situations.

For example, I've found out that flat saddles are great for me on the road, but are terror on track, cx, or commuter bikes. This goes both for saddles that have a flat top profile, as well as ones that are a flat shelf with an edge - like the Fizik Antares, Selle Italia SLR, or Specialized Toupe. Whatever it is about how I ride road bikes differently than other bikes, those saddles work on my road bike, but on the others, I need something with a skirt down the sides.

I REALLY like the Romin, but I've broken 2 of them and my 170lb teammate broke maybe 4 between his road bike and track bike.

They develop cracks in the plastic in the middle of the saddle where the saddle bows under weight.

This was in 2011 and 2012. Maybe they have improved it since then.

I would definitely recommend that people try it. The good thing is that a specialized dealer will (or at least should) replace it over the counter if it cracks on you. That's how my teammate and I went through so many of them.

I eventually went to the Fizik Aliante which has a similar curve. My current saddle is the Selle Italia Max Flite Gel Flow. I like it better than the Aliante. It's nice and comfy for use on bumpy track or grinding hard in the saddle. But, this is after LOTS of trial and error.

try out as many as you can - borrow from mates, and any demo models you can. One man's meat is another man's poison - saddles are such a specific personal thing, its hard for anyone to recommend you one, beyond from a basic quality perspective (imo)

Selle SMP is worth every penny.

I broke 3 romin's in a single season at around 175. They all got warrantied, but I decided having to show up to races with a spare saddle was ridiculous. Switched to the phenom and so far so good.

I just googled and apparently it's just just us:

http://forums.mtbr.com/specialized/s...-598119-2.html

http://fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/spe...dle_snap_2.jpg
http://fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/spe...dle_snap_1.jpg

This other thread is from 2011-2012. Again, maybe they have improved the design since then. It's a GREAT shape. They just need to beef up the supporting plastic underneath.

Then the guy writes...

http://fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/spe...10-05-2012.jpg

Sort of related:

Has anyone got a link to the youtube of the guys saddle failing and coming off during sprint qualification (I think at London Olympics)?

:)

JMR

Uria, if I remember right. Right here:

http://youtu.be/03OcyB4CA_U?t=7m7s

Same here.......

Eh, you softies should try a Kashimax!

They actually work for me, somehow.

Your butt must be made of iron.

Had a shop finally measure my sitbones. I have 155mm wide sitbones, no wonder the Arione wasn't really doing it for me.

They put me on a Romin Expert Evo. Not that bad of a price on a saddle. I'll check back in a few days with how it feels.

I hated the Kashimax! But I used to ride a similar shaped saddle, the San Marco Concor.

Both those saddles have a similar issue with the UCI/USAC interpretation of the definition of a "level saddle". Most people level the Kashimax and the Concor on the long nose section, leaving the rear as an up-slope. At recent National's and Worlds they were placing the level across the entire length of the saddle- which results in a slight rise of the nose section..
Its all good if that's how you ride the saddle... but can be a real issue if uou find yourself changing saddle position at bike check..



Totally Off Topic:
Whats up Baby Puke??? Missed you at E-Nats this year! Me and Dixie-Flyer were holding it down for the old men!!

That's the one... thanks!

That really could have ended uncomfortably for him!

JMR

On my road bike, I love my composit. On the track it was a nightmare. I move around too much and it just didn't suit me for the track. I'm trying out an ISM Adamo atm and it's a winner so far, but we're about to head into race season, so I'll see how it goes in longer term anger.

Hey Quinn,

Would love to have been there! Life in the way again, grad school, toddler, wife, you know the drill. Damn life... . Hope to do more racing next year.

I have mine leveled from front to back, so shouldn't be a UCI issue. I find it pretty comfortable, actually. Used to ride a Regal, but now it seems too wide all over. I even use the Kashima on a track bike I ride on the road, and I'm on it for quite a while sometimes.

[This next bit is not directed at you, Quinn] Crotchety old man alert: Honestly, sometimes I feel like people go too far with nit-picking how the bike fits. Your body is flexible and adaptable. When I was a young roadie, I agonized over bike fit-- seat, cleat position, saddle set-back, bar width-- you name it, I was obsessed about it. I always used Time pedals back then as I had a trick knee and was sure I needed "float".

Well when I started doing track **** in Jpn, they had a lot of rules about the bikes. You had to use old fashioned clips and straps at the club I started with. "What about my precious float?", I whimpered. Then somebody told me, "if you sit on the bike right, and pedal it right, your body will adapt and it will work". I was told how to sit on the bike and pedal right. You know what? It worked. And I have not had any knee issues. And yes, I do most of my track-specific training on a track bike on the road with fixed gear and strapped in. 80ish" gear mostly.

I see a lot of people constantly changing their set-up and buying new crap (including whole new bikes!) all the time. This may not work for everyone, but I kind of think you should just set it up close enough and forget it. Just ride the bike and train to get faster.

I have been thinking about trying an Adamo (mainly for Kilo), which version have you got Brawlo? There seems to be heaps of different ones on the website, but not sure how different they really are...

JMR

Originally I got a Racing II to put on my old track bike come fixie. It was good when thrashing out a sprint, but we've recently been doing 1hr plus paceline riding around our track and it was really uncomfortable. So I've moved that over to my track bike now. It's replacing a Selle Italia Trans Am Max that originally came on my first road bike. I recently got a 20% extra off coupon from PBK and so got a Road version to put on the fixed for less than a second hand one I was chasing on fleabay. So far it is really good for extended periods. Both saddles are really comfortable when forward and low down in the drops, the Road version is just a lot more comfortable when sitting up on the hoods. I can see why the tri guys like them.

I'm about to descend into the world of aero bars this season, so I will see how that goes. I am planning on using the fixie for our club road TT races to work out positioning for track TT stuff. It's going to be a real test of the relationship between myself and the ISM.

SMPs are STELLAR, unless you need to be UCI legal, I have yet to see a way to set them up per UCI 'level seat regs'. I loved mine, but had to switch for this last year.

Also, I moved to a Phenom, extra amazing.
By the end of the Coll Nats points race my Phenom was *literally killing me*, but I hadn't ever done a track race of that length before. When I have done roller sessions before with 45'-1h race-style efforts it gets uncomfortable, but never as bad it did in that race. So, I have some figuring-out to do before next season.