dmanthree

Yes. For me it's the Brooks B17 Imperial. Looks weird on my Madone, but I don't care.

tsappenfield

In answer to the question "What exactly is bothering you?", it seems that there is tremendous pressure at the poi.not where my right leg joins the crotch area, regardless of which of my three road bike saddles I use, I thought that maybe the saddle wasn't alligned properly along the long axis of the bike, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Whether the nose of the saddle is tilted up, down, or level, the pain eventually develops.
tsapp

Archwhorides 

I have the X (I'm 230#) and like it very much for any sort of road biking. After a short break-in it feels somewhat more like sitting in a supportive sling rather than "on" a saddle.

I have not ridden the NSX but have understood that it is intended to be sturdier for off-road/mountain-biking; it sure looks a lot like a B17, I wonder if it rides like one?

RoadLight

Hi tsapenfield,

When I decided to get into serious cycling at age 56, the biggest impediment was the seat. I liked the open road and wanted to return to it but there was no way I could handle the conventional saddle on my vintage 1985 Fuji road bike any more. So I tried a lot of different saddle styles but none of them worked for me.

That's when I started thinking outside of the box and looking at some of the weird-looking ergonomic saddles. I found one that worked for me. It is "The Seat" by Ergo. Here are a couple of links:

The Seat at Amazon
The Seat at Ergo (the manufacturer's website)

I chose the "classic" or original version and I train primarily for distance. So I spend a lot of hours in the saddle. My daily route is 35 miles (almost 2 hours per day). I rode over 3000 miles this year during Michigan's main road season, including 2 centuries. All of them on this saddle.


But this seat is not for everyone and it takes at least a week of frequent riding before you begin to feel comfortable on it. The biggest problem for many is the fact that there is no "nose" between your legs. This is good and bad. On the good side, there is zero pressure on your prostate and zero reduction in the blood flow through your crotch. On the bad side, you loose significant balance.

Why the loss of balance? Because a major way we balance on our bikes is by squeezing our legs together on the nose of the saddle. This saddle has no nose, so you can pretty much forget taking both hands off the handlebar at the same time---you'll need to keep at least one hand on at all times or you'll likely "auger in".

To make matters worse, I can't rest much weight on my wrists for such long rides so I started using aerobars a couple of years ago. With them, my upper body weight rests on my forearms/elbows instead of my wrists and I can ride for hours without discomfort. The aerobars also allowed me to raise the height of my handlebar to a more "old guy"-friendly height while still maintaining a fairly streamline profile. But, as most users of aerobars will tell you, they also reduce some of your balance. The combination of the aerobars and The Seat require the rider to have very good balance.

I adapted well and would never think of turning back. But I'm explaining this so you'll see that this seat can make riding a little more challenging in some respects. Yet I think the rewards are worth it.

Consider this: You'll hear lots of folks talk about "sit bones". In fact several posts in this thread already do. I mean no disrespect to them but I don't think they've thought about the anatomy of sitting. It isn't my purpose to give an anatomy lesson here but think about this: When you sit in a firm, level chair with a mostly straight back and you sit up straight with good posture, what part of your skeleton is directly supported by the seat of the chair? It is nowhere near the pressure points of a conventional bicycle saddle. The Seat is the closest to providing this support of any bicycle saddle that I've ever seen.

Back to your question: Yes, there really is a comfortable road bike saddle and this is it for me.

Kind regards, RoadLight

Six jours

The trouble is that many cyclists find that when they use a saddle wide enough to compress the glutes it causes cramps. That's one of the reasons why wide saddles are not in favor with any kind of "performance" cyclists. I use a very wide saddle (which compresses my glutes) on my cruising/relaxed day touring bike. It's fine as long as I don't exceed 15 MPH or so. If I work any harder than that, the butt cramps make it unpleasant.

RoadLight

Hi Six jours,

That's the first I've heard of that problem. I have never experienced it---not even a hint of it. My glutes never feel compressed in any way. Plus, my average speed on my daily 35 mile loop is faster than 15 mph.

I ride in western Michigan near "the lake" in rolling hills and track each of my workouts with gps via Endomondo Pro on my Galaxy Note II. I average just under 19 mph for the entire 35 miles and I do not stop. On downhill sprints I'll hit 35 mph and I'll slow to 10 mph on some of the uphill climbs. I used to stand for most climbs but this past year I worked very hard at pulling the pedals and am becoming more efficient now by staying in the saddle during a climb. (My gearing is a fairly common 11-26t on the rear and 50-34t on the front.)

Before accepting any such claims of glute-compression-induced cramps, I'd like to know the fitness level of the riders, how often they rode, what make and model seat they were using, and if their bikes were properly fit to them. A NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) 6-month study from 2008 (published in 2009) of "no-nose" bicycle seats that were tested by 100 police bicycle patrol officers did not report any such problems as far as I am aware. There is a brief summary video of the study results available at the U.S. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website here.

I'm not aware of any racers using The Seat and don't know if there is any data for use of a noseless seat for high-speed cycling. Most racers are young and probably don't yet have a need for a noseless seat. That's where I can only offer my anecdotal evidence. While I'm old (chasing 60), I am fairly fit. I'm also big (6'2", 210 lbs, 18% body fat). I used to leg-press 1000 lbs a few years ago before I resumed cycling.

I would never pretend that The Seat is the perfect solution for everyone with cycling seat problems. But I think its only disadvantage is a moderate decrease in balance---not adverse health effects like muscle cramping.

Kind regards, RoadLight

fietsbob

Yet another saddle thread started by someone who couldn't be bothered to look for the other multitudes of repetitions, this same thing was asked..

In my case? It has varied , different now than in the 80s.. then my favorite was a San Marco Concor Max. good luck finding any of those Now.

tsappenfield

So yesterday I pulled out the B-17 Brooks saddle I purchased last year and gave up on after one month of pain. I tilted the nose of the saddle up and it was a pretty comfortable 22 mile ride. Maybe that's the saddle for me after all.
Tsapp

BluesDawg

I'm going to try out the Brooks C17 Cambium on my next bike build coming up early in 2015. Would love to hear your thoughts on it, chipcom. Obviously you like or you wouldn't recommend it, but what about it makes it such a comfortable saddle?

John E

The single greatest truth in this thread is that what the source of one man's comfort will likely be the source of another man's agony.

Having said that, after my Veterans Day ride yesterday I can safely say there is nothing like a Brooks Pro on which I have personally put more than 40K miles. By now it is custom-shaped just for me.

The back story is germane to this thread, as well. When I worked at a Peugeot-Nishiki dealership in the early 1970s, the boss bought himself a PX-10, but decided after just a week that he hated the saddle, which he offered to me for $5. 40 years later it is showing its age, but still functions well and definitely looks right on my late 1950s Capo.

NOS88

Perhaps your saddle should NOT be aligned along the long axis of the bike. None of mine are. My anatomy is not symmetrical, and my body feels best when the saddle nose is slightly off center to the left side by 2 - 3mm.

browngw 

WTB Pure V. Came with my Salsa Vaya and I was prepared to hate it. Butt I don't! Ridden up to 100km at a time with no soreness.

SA_Brak

I bought a new saddle this year when my then stock saddle developed an abrasion while being transported. I based my purchase on recommendations and got the Selle Italia SLR Flow. I was horrified when in the first week my butt started to hurt every time I rode. I decided to stick it out and the discomfort eventually subsided and now I don't even notice the saddle. So I don't know if my butt got used to the saddle or the saddle was "broken in". So I stil believe it is a crap shoot when buying a saddle but stick to the major brands, read the reviews, and give the saddle some time before you decide if it is going to work for you or not.

kingfishr

almost any saddle + 28mm tires...

tsappenfield

Wow! It never occurred to me to not have the saddle alligned along the long axis of the bike. What a terrific idea. Once this brutal weather comes to an end, I'm going to give that a try.
Tsapp

Cyclosaurus

I have a C17 also (as well as two Selle Anatomicas and a B17). The C17 has a very nice amount of flex, similar to a broken-in leather saddle, right from the get-go. Also the rails are long and I've found this helps to dial in the perfect position.

qcpmsame 

I see what you did there.....

Bill

tcs

“Then there are saddles,” I went on—I wished to get this lesson home to him. “Can you think of any saddle ever advertised that you have not tried?”
He said: “It has been an idea of mine that the right saddle is to be found.”
I said: “You give up that idea; this is an imperfect world of joy and sorrow mingled. There may be a better land where bicycle saddles are made out of rainbow, stuffed with cloud; in this world the simplest thing is to get used to something hard. There was that saddle you bought in Birmingham; it was divided in the middle, and looked like a pair of kidneys.”
He said: “You mean that one constructed on anatomical principles.”
“Very likely,” I replied. “The box you bought it in had a picture on the cover, representing a sitting skeleton—or rather that part of a skeleton which does sit.”
He said: “It was quite correct; it showed you the true position of the—”
I said: “We will not go into details; the picture always seemed to me indelicate.”
He said: “Medically speaking, it was right.”
“Possibly,” I said, “for a man who rode in nothing but his bones. I only know that I tried it myself, and that to a man who wore flesh it was agony. Every time you went over a stone or a rut it nipped you; it was like riding on an irritable lobster. You rode that for a month.”
“I thought it only right to give it a fair trial,” he answered.
I said: “You gave your family a fair trial also; if you will allow me the use of slang. Your wife told me that never in the whole course of your married life had she known you so bad tempered, so un-Christian like, as you were that month. Then you remember that other saddle, the one with the spring under it.”
He said: “You mean ‘the Spiral.’”
I said: “I mean the one that jerked you up and down like a Jack-in-the-box; sometimes you came down again in the right place, and sometimes you didn’t. I am not referring to these matters merely to recall painful memories, but I want to impress you with the folly of trying experiments at your time of life.”

- from Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome, copyright 1900

linnefaulk

I am satisfied with my Serfas Rx.

ofgit

Who here has ridden a Cobb saddle and what do you think about it?

chipcom 

It reminds me of my Swift, only a little wider where it counts and with a better overall shape - which is why it seems to be more comfortable for me. Of all the Brooks saddles I have had, this one seems to be the best suited to a drop bar bike with the handlebars set at or below the saddle height. Also, the texture makes is a bit less slippery...and of course not having to worry about leaving it exposed to the rain is a big plus.

HAMMER MAN

Ron
I have been looking at the selle anatomica saddles and since they have a great deal on them at present I'm thinking of buying one.

Could you post a picture of your bikes with the saddles on them, and do you position them like a brooks with the nose up. I have read everything on their site and the reviews. However a lot of the reviews are negative with concerns to the stretching of the leather. Have youh had any issues with them what so ever?

Regards,

Gary

RonH

I started with the saddle pointed up slightly. After a few rides I lowered the angle but they're still tilted up ever so slightly.
The leather stretches during the break-in period. All you need is a 6mm allen wrench to pull the leather tight. After a few rides it doesn't really stretch very much. You may have to adjust (stretch) it very few months. I bought a bottle of Saddle Sauce for keeping the saddle in good shape. It gets warm in Florida and sometimes I get caught in the rain. The sauce is for reconditioning the leather.
I haven't had any problems or regrets about the saddles and have recommended to everyone looking for a comfortable saddle.
Hope it works for you.

Here are the pics. Sorry about the "strange" appearance of the bikes in front of the garage door.

HAMMER MAN

Awesome. Lol. No worries about the pictures as we aren't in the hot or not thread.
I already purchased the patent black about 10 minutes ago but my only other curiosity is how much do they weight?

Jinkster

Well?...I feel funny posting or suggesting anything here because I'm a new re-entry into the world of cycling...but maybe a re-rookie perspective might serve as a fresh perspective and as I read through the thread here I see where the OP is being asked about how he dealt with his previous six years here having been a registered member since 2008...in regards to his apparent onset of saddle pain...as a smile came upon my heart thinking...maybe.....just maybe....I might have the answer as follows.....and I believe this may become an issue for many of us as father time passes us by...and that thought is this...

"Aging & Weakening Legs"

I mean lets face it...try as we may?...at some point?...."The Climb"...will be over for us...and "ADAPTING" to our physical decline will become the order of the day...and I'm not trying to be mean here...I'm trying to be helpful in explaining that....

For me?...returning to cycling is quite the undertaking....I'm a 56 year old recovering addict with 4 1/2 years clean and sober who just quit smoking 2 1/2 months ago and a couple years ago discovered he had typeII diabetes who's 5' 6" frame carries 210lbs on what appears to be these days best described as "Chicken Legs"....legs that I'm desperately trying to save from the ravages of diabetic neuropathy and smoking related circulation issues...proof?...here I am 2 months ago after one of my first ride on my old giant ocr3...



and now onto "My Point":

I went through several saddles before dropping a $100 on a properly sized and fit romin evo...but even then?...the fine tuning of such took many rides...and through the course of that process?....(along with adapting a $40 angle adjustable stem)...my mission took the form of...

"A Balance Of Pain & Numbness"

as I adjusted this and tweaked that until both my hands and butt gave up the ghost at the same time and why was this necessary?...simple..."A Gross Lack Of Pedal Power"...the same pedal power that would've allowed me to snick it up into higher gear ratios and give more "Supportive Relief" to all that body weight that is otherwise resting on my butt and hands.

But there is a bright spot for me here...that being?...I don't have to tolerate all that tingling and numbness "Until I Get There" where my legs can become more supportive of my body weight...how you ask?....simple.....by asking myself...

"What the heck are you doing trying to ride such an aggressive ergo/aero type bike design?"

and admitting to myself that..."I'm not there yet!"...so if I want to experience butt issues?...all I have to do is grab my Giant OCR3 RB...swing a leg over...fold myself in 1/2...and then try to support the weight of my body for 10 miles....with the pedal power I don't have..."YET".

Then I bought an old inexpensive mountain bike where my body is in a less aggressive more upright position...where the weight of my body becomes more of an asset over the pedals rather than a deficit to my butt and hands and....holy cow...what a difference in comfort levels.

Now I know there's a whole lot of riders much older than I falling into the drops of a RB and rolling out centuries but guess what?...they didn't just start pedaling a few months ago...and what I'm saying here?....is I can see that working in reverse as well....where one fateful day (that patiently waits for us all)...climbing on an aggressive ergo RB is going to begin to present issues we never had problems with before.

Me?...I just bought another bike...a hybrid...in hopes that I'll be able to regain enough leg strength and pedal power too....one day climb aboard my Giant RB and pedal for miles upon miles in confident comfort and with any luck?...the decades will pass and I'll die on a cruiser!

But until then?...I'll keep reading "The Little Train That Could"