rideBjj

Uh, I guess it's kind of matte finish. Looks just like you see here:

https://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/con...us_saddle.jpeg

Looks nice on my titanium bike. Even if it didn't, I wouldn't care given how comfortable it is.

Wheever

Thanks for that. I don't really like the texture, to be honest. Might end up being a deal killer.

Wheever

So how is the Romin working out? Did you have a chance to put any miles on it?

I've settled on the Selle Italia Max SLR Gel. Did a hard 40-mile ride over the weekend, and after some angle adjustment, got it to the point where it just disappeared under me. No Perenial pain, no numbness, no chafing. My butt came off the bike as fresh as it went on!

On sunday I put about 15 miles on the FIZIK Aliente VSX, and there was just no comparison. It was fine, and probably could work, but I think I'm starting to prefer a flat saddle that lets me slide around as I need to without the saddle-to-BB distance changing.

SELLE ITALIA FOR THE WIN! (Plus, the build quality on the Selle Italia saddles is just so much nicer than anything else I've seen so far except the SELLE SMPs.)

rbk_3

I put 30k Friday, 45k Saturday and 20k today. I have a little soft tissue discomfort but not nearly as bad as the Toupe. However, that was after 2 63k rides I was really hurting so I haven't had any rides long enough to compare to those.

I am getting my bike fitted on Wednesday, so I am hoping that might help. I think I am reaching to far which probably isn't helping.

I don't get why it never hurts when I am actually biking, just after the fact.

rbk_3

This is what I had on my old road bike that I sold and never had any issues. Never any pain. I ordered it again and if worst comes to worst, I will use it again.
I really wanted a more sporty looking black saddle, but what can you do.

I think because my sitbones are wide, and they sit on the highest point of that saddle, that it worked out.

Cycling Road Mountain bike Bicycle Comfortable Hollow Cushion Carbon Seat Saddle VADER VD 1213 340g wholesale bicycle parts-in Bicycle Saddle from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group


Edit- I think I am going to give the Power a shot.

CNC2204

Ive rode the Evo Romin about 8 months.

I have zero seat/hip pain/numbness.

I weigh 270.

I believe mine is a 148.

Wheever

Interesting saddle, actually. My problem with the Selle Italia MAX FLO SLR was that it had little divots under the sitbones that made the edges of the cutout stick UP into the tender bits. I was thinking that what it really needed was a set of raised knobs there instead, not unlike that saddle you linked to.

Might as well try the power. If you do, let us know how it goes.

bruce19

I don't know if any of this will be pertinent to the OP but I've been having issues with saddle fit as well. My sitz bones measure at 143. So, I have several 143 saddles. All are uncomfortable. BTW I've never heard that a saddle should be 10 mm wider than the sitz bones measurement. What I discovered over the past year was eye opening. First, the profile of the saddle when viewed from the rear is critical for me. Flat saddles do not work. What I need is a rounded saddle. I also am much more comfortable with a 130-135 width saddle. Unfortunately, it's been a trial and error sort of thing so I now have four saddles that are relatively new and unusable for me. Good ones too. A Specialized Avatar, two Paradigms and a Cobb. These days I am pretty comfortable with a San Marco Concor Racing saddle. But, even then I discovered that my saddle was a little low and when I raised it the saddle was even more comfortable. So, in short, it isn't always what it seems and fit to the bike is important.

rbk_3

The weather has been crummy here so I have only been able to get 20km on the power, but it feels good so far.
I think with the other 2 Specialized saddles I may have been sitting too far back on the saddle, and that may have been the problem. I think my ass may have been hanging over the back.

rbk_3

So after several rides with the power, I think I have finally found a winner! No pain so far.

Wheever

Excellent!

bleui

Romin or Power saddle?

rbk_3

Power, Romin didn't seem to work for me

nick779

All great info in this thread. Im kinda going through the same thing as you guys. The toupe sport my Allez came with is okay, but once I hit 10 miles my inner sit bones are sore. I would like to be able to roll my pelvis forward a hair as well for when I really tuck into the drops/ to straighten my back in general but I get really uncomfortable perinial pressure. From what Ive felt, the cutout just isnt big enough.

Im 6'2" 170lb - I get a width of about 137mm on my sitbones

Heres the list of saddles I will be trying out:

Fizik Aliante - Ordered
Selle SMP Extra - Ordered
Selle Max Flite Gel Flow - Next
Specialized Romin Evo Comp - Next - Would get fitted by Speccy dealer
Specialized Power Comp - Next - Ditto

I want something thats comfortable to ride for less than ~20 miles in like gym shorts, and over 20 with Cycling Shorts

So you didnt like the Selle SMP?

Wheever

We're about the same width, sit-bone-wise. (A discussion about my investigations and experiments HERE. Since we're of similar width and both need a BIG cutout, this info might be especially useful to you.) One of my particular issues is that Since I am on the smaller side and ride a 52, sliding saddles all the way forward can crowd the cockpit and hang up on my shorts, etc.

I LOVED my SMP Lite 209, the problem was that the part that was as wide as I needed it to be was too far back, and would have necessitated buying a zero-offset post to make it work, and as I said above, would have crowded the cockpit. I tried the SMP PRO but it had a strangely shaped cross-section, and the part you actually sit on was too narrow and hurt my sacrum. I thought about the SMP Extra, but it was just HUGE, and though I have wide sitbones, I'm only 5'9" and 155--it would have been wider than my butt! I think probably this is the saddle that will work for you. (If only SMP made the lite 209 with a little more depth to the wide part, or a more gradual taper, that would also be the perfect saddle for me.)

The Fizik Aliente VSX might also work for you. I liked the saddle, but the cutout wasn't wide enough through the mid section for me. If it had been, I would have chosen it.
The MAX FLITE couldn't work for me because the main width was 2" behind the MAX line on the rails; Same thing with the Romin, plus the cutout was too narrow, but I actually liked the saddle a lot; The Power was just strange, and the way the shell bent actually forced the edges of the cutout up into my perineum, and the nose was so narrow and sharp it was a bit like sitting on a knife.

You might want to try the Selle Italia MAX FLOW SLR and MAX GEL SLR (Or whatever they're calling them now.) The MAX GEL is the saddle I settled on, and it's great. Not perfect, but great. It's a little too flat from front to back. I like a little more flare to the rear to lean against on climbs or whatever. The gel padding is really nice--dense and compliant without being squishy or soft. You could totally ride in gym shorts for 20 miles or so. You might want to check it out.

The MAX FLOW SLR is a sexy saddle, being light and mostly carbon and leather, and did everything basically right except, for some stupid reason, there are indentations where your sit bones go, which means the edges of the cutout effectively stick UP into your perineum. Duh! I tried really hard to love it because it just looked so damned good on my Domane, but in the end I went with its sibling.

Hope this helps. Good luck and keep us posted!

nick779

Thanks for the detailed explanations! Ill be sure to add to the discussion for future use.

Edit, I saw you mentioning the SMP dynamic a few times, but a near $200 saddle is a tough nut to swallow.

Maconi

I'm actually on the MAN GEL right now (a bit bigger than the MAX GEL). It's alright but pretty flat like you said.

I'm surprised you're comfortable on some of those smaller saddles with 139 sitbones. Mine are only 125 but most saddles I've tried (Specialized, Fizik, Selle Italia, etc.) don't even have 125 usable for my sitbones (using a ruler, most 155 saddles put my 125 sitbones right on the edge of the saddle, and if it's round or semi-round forget it as you lose even more usable area).

I have an SMP Avant and Specialized Avatar on order. Hopefully between them and the MAN GEL I'll find a winner.

I will say that I also tried the 155 Specialized Power Expert and even though it seemed wide enough, it still hurt my sitbones. I might try to Pro (less padding) someday, or maybe the 168 (although I feel that'd be too wide).

Wheever

I had a similar experience trying to find usable width, but mostly on the fore-aft axis. That's when I started my explorations with photoshop trying to figure out why. I think the issue I uncovered with the widest part of the saddle being for far behind the MAX line on the saddle rails actually affects a lot of people but for some reason they don't put it together. (I've spoken to a number of people at various LBSs and they all seems astonished that they'd never noted the issue before, but see how it impacts fitting a saddle.)

The MAN didn't look promising to me because, A) the rails are in farther front of the widest part of the saddle than the MAX SLR/FLOW saddles, effectively moving it too far back for me and B) The cutout was neither as long nor as wide as the MAX SLR saddles. It looks more like a larger MAX FLITE.

My sitbones aren't 139, I'm specced for a 139 saddle, which mean they're probably more like 129. The MAX GEL Has plenty of width for me, and just enough of a slight dip amidships that if I cant my pelvis forward just a titch, I literally touch the saddle with nothing but my sitbones and inner thighs. It's a great saddle...just not perfect for me.

I'll be interested to hear what you think about the Avant. The Avant and the Extra both looked like they might work for me, but seemed so big they were overkill.

Keep us posted!

pdxtex

im more interested in why the original saddle worked out one week but made you sore the next. did you check to see if the saddle was still level after week two? if the clamp bolt came loose and it settled at an angle you didnt notice, that might explain the pernium issue. did your wrists feel ok? anyway, the romin is a good seat. once you get it dialed in, you wont even notice it...

dangerd

I love my Specialized Phenom Expert 142mm. Someone above mentioned it already. Check out this page:

The Best Bike Saddle | OutdoorGearLab

nick779

So I tried out the Fizik Aliante VSX and the Selle Extra.

You werent kidding about the Extra, it is one huge saddle. Its very squishy too, very soft gel IMO. The midsection was way too wide for me and it was uncomfortable after about 5 minutes, It looked very cheaply made as well.

The Fizik was nice, it basically felt like a more firm Toupe. Didnt really get anything off of it. It looked different from the picture though and different than that saddle on Fizik's website. So I dont know what Performance is up to, but I dont think its the same saddle. Its not marketed as a performance exclusive either.

Those are going into the return pile, I have a Selle Max Gel SLR on the way now. Hoping it might be a winner.
Funny how the saddle is $200 from Performance but ~$91 from Ribble. I may have to order it from there if I think its the one.

Wheever

well, to me dealing with Performance is worth the extra $69 or whatever I paid for the Selle on sale. I'll be interested in what you think of the MAX GEL SLR whatever it's called. I did another 40-miler yesterday and once again was very pleased with mine--still not perfect, of course, but damned good. Had no pain nor numbness nor abrasions after 2.5 hours in the saddle. I still wish it had a little curve to it, but it really is the best of the bunch. I'm still disappointed about the FIZIK Aliente VSX. It had great promise.

Keep us posted, Nick!

TriEngineer

Romin has more padding than Toupe. Sitbone width is mutually exclusive to perineum numbness. Numbness is due to padding, your chamois and lube/butter.

nick779

This is good to know, my main discomfort currently is my chamois feel like theyre digging into my crotch. Like when a perforated Fabric gets pressed into your skin for a long period of time and you like have to peel it off? Is that something Buttr would fix? Im using PI Attack shorts.

Either way I want to check out the romin.

Will do. I was really dissapointed with the Aliante VSX as well. Didnt expect it to be so hard, but I guess they expect everyone to wear cycling shorts. Cant imagine what their non padded regular saddles feel like.

Funny enough, I rode my longest ride so far, 32 miles with some hills that were scary (to me) on the Toupe, and the only discomfort I had was that from the chamois as described above, and a very mild sitbone pain after getting off the bike. I only really noticed it when I was making a some adjustments to my bars and hopped back on my bike for a second to test it out.

Saddle comfort is a weird thing.

Wheever

I didn't find the Aliente to be hard, I found it to be rather soft to perfect. It was the narrowness of the recessed area that was the problem. I really wanted it to work because the shape seemed like the perfect compromise.

That whole thing with the Version of the Aliente on Performance that was an "exclusive" and was cheaper, VS the other one is weird. The more expensive one looked like it was different material--slicker, it looked in the pictures--whereas the one I got was a almost rough matte finish. I wonder if the regular one was different. Which one did you get?