uprightbent

When you get to the 3:00 minute part showing your pelvic structure sitting on a saddle, I find this to be a great illustration. I'm not interested in the saddle they're selling, just the damage that might be occuring without knowing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-wdfEcedq8

I love my road bikes, please don't reply saying a bent is the answer. I've been riding Brooks Imperial B17's cutouts, just to be safe. As many know, the cutout removes structure, so these things are sagging on me big time (I weigh only 178). My second has failed in about 2,000 miles. No rain issues-stored indoors. Now I'm thinking the hell with leather. Even considering the new rubber Brooks.

Is the general concensus to keep the weight on your sitbones thereby reducing perineum pressure? Do you believe in cut- outs? Maybe a firmer Brooks, without the Imperial cutout, stays stiff enough to not compress the wrong things. Specifically: How does one roll hips forward to spread the load onto he long parts of the sitbones while in the drops or hoods, without compressing the nerves and arteries?

In any case, I find these videos scary even though I know they're selling fear. How can one argue the almost certain compression that's happening near your junk, especially when you don't have to go numb to cause damage? I don't have any issues now, and thought the 50+ forum might have the most appropriate advice, just looking down the road to prevent damage.

Zinger

I do cutouts anymore.....yes, lol. Haven't seen the video but those saddles will beat you up after decades. My Selle Italia Turbo sits in the corner alone.

I did have to adjust the stretch of the Imperial some but that might be because I used too much Proofide at first.

I probably don't have more than 2000 miles on my Brooks though and it still holds up so far. I weigh about 200 lbs. I Found a Brooks Swallow for sale with cutouts that someone modifies and was considering it as a more streamlined option for an old racing frame build. I'm kind of leery of spending that much for something that might stretch too much though. If it didn't I figure that Brooks would have already offered a cutout Swallow seat.

And yes I think I like the wider seat so I can avoid "riding the rivet" as they say. The area in back is where I overdid the proofide anyway at first so maybe it didn't affect mine so badly. And that's why I was looking into a Swallow in the first place because it's a little wider in the back than one of their other more streamlined models.

Zinger

So I adjusted mine only once at a few months as per Brooks instructions. It was sagging some and I just rode it that way for awhile before adjusting it. I'm wondering how many times that you've adjusted yours before you ran out of adjustment ?

Oh btw,
I used 2 of their laces ever since the seat was new which you aren't supposed to do according to their instructions. You are supposed to wait until it's "broken in". I don't see any ill effects from that. It might be just a little bit bulged over the laces because I haven't changed any of that except tightening up the seat adjusting bolt once.

B. Carfree

As he moved his model into a proper riding position, he also moved it forward to the position one might use when putting the hammer down. When hammering, there is almost no pressure on the saddle at all; it's all on the pedals. If he would have rotated his model to a non-upright position and left the rear portion back where it belongs, as well as using a cutout saddle, he would have found that there was no risk to his speaker wire (nerves and arteries).

This is part of why folks try a lot of saddles to find the one that fits them and their riding style/position best. The width, rate of width change, cutout size and shape, horn length, and softness all bear on how well a saddle works for a given person. Folks who ride relatively short distances probably find a wider range of saddles acceptable, but if one is going to ride 15,000 miles per year, it pays to find one that works well.

rydabent

OTOH you could just ride a recumbent.

TiHabanero

Zinger, if your Turbo saddle needs a home, I have one for it. Besides my Brooks, the Turbo saddle is the only one that I find comfortable.

Zinger

Maybe I'd better save it for a spare TiHabanero. I've had a couple off offers to take it off my hands already but the older I get the less likely I am to part with stuff as something always comes up to where I need it but gave it up already. It was my favorite back in the day. I might even wind up using it on my '83.

bkaapcke

+1 on bents! bk

late

https://www.selleanatomica.com/

Rhodabike

SMP
https://www.sellesmp.com/smp4bike/

qcpmsame 

I've had no problems with break down of my Brooks saddles so far. I am looking at switching to an Imperial from my current Prologo Kappa as I miss the ride I get with Brooks leather. I've had Pro and a B17 with no break down. I'm heavier than you so I am wondering about the cut out in the Imperial and the structural difference. How much proofide or other leather treatment did you use? I never over treated mine as it can soften the leather too much and I avoided getting aggressive with the tension adjustment, also. Your mileage to the break down was pretty short from my experience with Brooks, I'd be interested to see some pictures if you wouldn't mind postings some. A disclaimer, I have not had any perineum pain or saddle sores to date, thankfully.

Bill

rdtompki

I spent about a year trying to find a saddle; my rear end had decided after several thousand good miles that a Selle Anatomica was no longer the ticket. This says nothing negative about SA saddles, simply that a physiological or fit change caused me to seek an alternative. I settled on an Adamo Century after trying numerous saddles, but as often stated in these sorts of threads the only recommendation I can make is that "it worked for me". The video is informative; bottom line is to pay attention to what you're feeling. Certain symptoms should be set aside with an HTFU.

John_V 

After hearing all the raves on different forums, I tried a Brooks B17 and couldn't stand it. It hurt more than the OEM saddle I was replacing. My Retul fitter strongly suggested an ISM Adamo Prologue saddle for the type of riding I do and the mileage I put on my bike. It was love at first sit and I never looked back. However, I have found that like any other saddle, it may not work for you, especially if you have wide sit bones.

John E

Bicycle saddles are definitely not a one-size-fits-all proposition. My two favorite saddles are a 40-year-old Brooks Pro with about 50K of my miles on it and a 20-year-old Brooks Team Pro with perhaps 10K miles on it.

ftwelder

Amen

volosong

+1000

Have the Lite 209 model on all my bikes. No more numbness...ever.

Zinger

That's darned tempting for $100. What I don't like is the length of the cutout all the way to the back and the lack of fastening at the bottom to keep it's shape. What interests me are the different thicknesses of the different models for different weight folks......But I haven't tried one yet.

The modified Brooks cutout "Swallow" that I previously mentioned turns out to be a modified Imperial at a second look. Some of the lace fasteners are kept and it looks like this on the bottom:


When I catch up with my bills this might be the one I try on the racing frame.

fietsbob

1) didnt need a vid to finally teach me anatomy.
Bend Forward at the lower lumbar, above the hips, just a bit so the Pelvis remains more upright ..

pretty straightforward thing, if you consider it, really ..

riding bikes for 50+of my 66 years.

Rhodabike

Apart from the fact that it restricts breathing, it's not a healthy position to put your spine in for long periods of time.

uprightbent

That's my main concern. The most efficient riding position, especially in the drops, with hips rotated, also seems to create the most forward perineum pressure on the "speaker wires" at the 3-minute mark in the video. One has to wonder the damage this can cause, regardless of how many children you've already had, or how much prowess you have downstairs today, especially since we won't always get tingling or numbness as a warning.

So this is how one ends up ordering a lightweight high racer bent? Then my knees might pay the price instead. Choices....

rekmeyata

That is all fear crap. I've been riding for over 40 years on all sorts of saddles and I haven't gotten anything damaged nerves or parts. Obviously if a saddle hurts while riding then you either have the wrong saddle or don't have the bike adjusted correctly, but pain means something ain't liking what your doing, and prolong pain will lead to injury. By the way, I'm not the only person I know that has ridden for as long as I have, there are people that I know and people here that have ridden for at least as long as I have, heck there was 100 year old man that has been riding since 1978 and set a record for the fastest 100 kilometer by anyone 100 and over...of course I bet he's the only person riding a bike at 100 in the world! But still that was impressive, and he rides a lot regularly; see: https://anthonycolpo.com/100-year-old...g-hour-record/

Rhodabike

That's impressive, but for every person who's been able to ride with no problems for years, I'll bet there are at least 5 who've never gotten comfortable on any saddle and/or have given up spending money on one saddle after another trying to find the answer. Otherwise, all of those people who embraced the 10-speed fad in the 70s would still be riding now and we see thousands of grey haired cyclists on the road.

fietsbob

It a matter of small changes .. its different if old and fat bellied ..

Location adjustment of bars moves up and closer .. than when 30 & 140

OldTryGuy

I enjoy reading the bantering when it comes to personal experiences by those better versed in bicycle riding than myself. Nothing beats experience; however, every body is different thus there is vanilla, chocolate, strawberry along with many other flavors.

I tried a $200.00 John Cobb saddle and took advantage of his return policy. The seat I have on my bikes now is simply a cheapo Nashbar. Guess what, most of the 112 miles last Saturday during the Ironman was bent over on my aerobars. Sure there was some discomfort, but when the artificial chamois is almost non-existent because the pants are tri-pants, it's part of the price one pays. My wife purchased a Sugoi Ironman kit for me after I finished and I must say the pants are like riding while seated in a Lazy Boy.

Speaker wires, nerves, blood vessels, shifting hips....whatever. Your riding style, intensity, weight, fitness, pant selection....all come into the equation as to saddle comfort.

Float your butt on what soothes the beast.

rekmeyata

I didn't say I was comfortable on any saddle, I had to go through saddles too, but I didn't keep riding them if the pain while continued for more than a month, if figured by then if it didn't stop hurting it was going to stop. If a person measures their sit bone distance between each other that will eliminate a huge percentage of hunting for the right saddle.