Saddle hardness--Selle Italia SLR, Flite, C2, SLK and San Marco Mantra, Ponza Power
 

Hello,

I am not asking about whether this or that saddle is good for me, but rather technical thing -- how hard is given saddle. Is it more like a sponge (the moment you touch it, your finger is few centimeters in it), like a tennis ball (it takes the effort to
press it), like a solid rubber ball (it bends just a few mm no matter what) or like a steel ball (only a Superman can bend it).

I am interested in those particular saddles:
* Selle Italia SLR XC Flow
* Selle Italia Flite XC Gel Flow
* Selle Italia C2 Gel Flow
* Selle Italia SLK Gel Flow
* San Marco Mantra
* San Marco Ponza Power Arrowhead

Currently I have Selle Royal Urban Viper saddle, I need something as firm as this saddle (more like a solid rubber ball), but more narrow and more flat (even when sitting in it).

And when I am talking about hardness let me wonder aloud -- is those ergonomic saddles (with hole in them) are not that ergonomic? I mean, average pressure is higher actually, because the body weight is constant, but if you "add" a hole to something, the surface decreases and thus some parts of your body are put in the air, but the rest of your body has to hold entire weight.
So in case of hole, the hardness of the material will be the same, but practical hardness will be lower (more weight per cm^1 --> more flex --> more change in geometry).

As you may noticed I initially picked the saddles with holes, but I am not that sure if it was right move (I am not looking for stiffness per se, but for saddle which is flat, I don't want any bends any more).

I hope my English is understandable ;-).

Thank you in advance for your help.

Kind regards,

On a computer? you ask essentially who bought all those saddles.

race saddles use denser foam than something made for the Just Riding Along type rider

perhaps you should just ride them each , your butt will tell you more than
words from a keyboard..

perhaps more traditional types? Rolls and Turbo, or a Tensioned leather Brooks Pro.
I have used those..

In theory, removing a portion of a saddle for a relief channel, or a cut-out, shouldn't result in more pressure on the remaining part of the saddle. The body weight is supported only by the areas where the two ischial tuberosities meet the saddle. Everything else should be more or less suspended over the cut-out. As I said, that's the theory, anyway.

@fietsbob

Thank you for your answer.

> On a computer?

What sentence do you refer to?

> you ask essentially who bought all those saddles.

No. Any of them. It is not comparison between saddles but comparison to well known (?) objects from non-bicycle world.

> perhaps you should just ride them each ,

It means "buy them all". I asked exactly for reason avoiding such move, some of them are pretty expensive (Mantra for example).

> your butt will tell you more than words from a keyboard..

Again, it is not a question of personal preference, but estimation of hardness. Nothing more, nothing less. When I press (with my fingers) any saddle I can tell "oh, this is soft as sponge". I don't have to test it with my bicycle to notice that.

> perhaps more traditional types? Rolls and Turbo, or a Tensioned leather Brooks Pro.

From my experience I need something narrower than 140 mm. I considered Brooks before, but it is no-go because those saddles are not waterproof. I need something much more robust.

@CraigB,

Thank you for your input, in such case I will stick to ergonomic ones (with hole in the middle). Once I will test any of them, I will know if such version works for me.

Mantra is quite firm. By your classification, I would put it in the "firm tennis ball" category. Ponza came stock on my bike and did not make too much of riding time, so I don't remember how firm it was.