Like I said different strokes. But what I take is you discovered right away the SMP wasn’t for you? You didn’t have to get the oil from an unborn She Mountain goat and slather it on the saddle and then ride in the sun for no less than 500 days straight with body sweat forming the saddle into some magic cure before you decided it wasn’t for you? I know legitimate cyclists aren’t going to question you on why you decide not to ride a Brooks but the constant mantra Brooks zealots use is they have the special way to break in the saddle so it can fix whatever problem you are having with it. No other saddle group is like that. Not SMP riders anyway.

I got the one with a bit of padding not the CF. A very good friend of mine got the SMP CF saddle and he only lasted a week. The thing was about as light as petrified smoke but hard as a rock. I tried several different SMPs before I got the Glider but that is because I believe you have to try before you buy. But my problem wasn't with sit bones and the SMP solved the other problem. There was some other saddles that might have worked I agree and they all had a missing section where the perineum is affected. I had decided one prerequisite for any new saddle would be it can’t bother that area at all and cut out saddles became a main focus. I don’t jump in and sing the praises of the saddle like some do however. Just that is was the solution for me. Specialized has had a lot of success with some of their road saddles as well. And all were designed to address the concerns raised by perineum pressure.

Just as an unscientific observation Brooks isn’t very well represented in club rides in our area. I would think there has to be a reason. In my case it was the weight and speculative break in period.

What are saddle you riding now?


There is a great article in Bicycling for September. It is called "Saddle Problems Sloved." The guy tries just about every saddle you can imagine it says there is no perfect saddle for everyone. Not even Brooks.