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Need a good commuter saddle!

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Need a good commuter saddle!

Old 09-20-05, 12:52 PM
  #1  
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Need a good commuter saddle!

The original equipment on my bike just isn't doing the job. It's like riding on hard plastic.... I was just curious what those of you who ride your fixies 20-30 miles a day are using?
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Old 09-20-05, 01:30 PM
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I'm betting on a Brooks..

I some random narrow/firm Selle Italia and it suits my butt just fine.. but I'm only riding about 15km per day for my commute.
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Old 09-20-05, 02:38 PM
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Selle Italia SLR. The most comfortable saddle I have ever owned. I've gone through about a dozen until I got an SLR used. It was odd because the first two days, I found the saddle to be so thin and uncomfortable and then after that it was like a light switched on -- it's the most comfortable saddle ever.

I've tried a few Brooks saddled and found them immediately comfortable and similar in feel to my SLR.

It seems odd to get a saddle that has minimal to no padding at all (SLR has barely any and the Brooks is just the leather) and yet both are stunningly comfortable. I've done two metric centuries and feel no numbness in the nether regions with the SLR. Compared to the Flite I used to have which felt like an ass hatchet (or rather like I was sitting on a broomstick/pole all day) or the Selle San Marco Aspide Arrowhead which also was surprisingly harsh.
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Old 09-20-05, 02:42 PM
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WTB. I like the speed v when i'm carrying a lot of stuff, or rocket v for just riding around.

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Old 09-20-05, 03:34 PM
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Selle Italia Turbo NOS.....best saddle ive ridden other than the XO and SLR
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Old 09-20-05, 03:35 PM
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Originally Posted by absntr
ass hatchet
Bwahahahaha ... oh that's gold. Which model of the SLR are you using, btw?
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Old 09-20-05, 03:39 PM
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Just the regular plain SLR. I've tried the XP and the Trans Am SLR - both have more padding and the cut-out but they don't feel like the same saddle at all.

The main thing here is to get a saddle that's relatively flat and without too much padding - you should try to get as much of your perineum and sit bones on the saddle as possible mimicking a real seat. Too much padding chafes and irritates this area so that's a no go.

You want a saddle that will get out of the way -- so you don't have to adjust yourself in the saddle.
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Old 09-20-05, 04:01 PM
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The Selle Italia SLR and the Selle San Marco Regal with Ti rails are two most comfortable saddles ever made. It must be saying something when most Selle San Marco Pros ride it and it is 200 grams heavier than most of Selle San Marco's high end saddles. And as for the SLR, I am not to fond of the looks but it is only 150 something grams and is very comfortable. I would go with the Regal and then the SLR.
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Old 09-20-05, 04:10 PM
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I am in love with my Specialized BG saddle.
Super cheap, sleek looking and absolutely the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden on that didn't have springs.

https://highgearcyclery.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=2995
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Old 09-20-05, 04:42 PM
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i ride a fizik arione and am extremely happy. its great for long rides and short and really quite nice. i also am a big fan of the slr. cant go wrong with either IMO . both have minimal padding and thin profile and are designed similar. the arione is longer though which can add a few interesting siting options. i have both saddles and am currently running the arione.
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Old 09-20-05, 05:56 PM
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Sella Italia Flite Trans Am hits me just right (40mi/day). your ass may vary
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Old 09-20-05, 07:13 PM
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hyperRevue i work at high gear, you a customer?
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Old 09-20-05, 07:17 PM
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Originally Posted by puchrider137
hyperRevue i work at high gear, you a customer?
Considering that he is in Wisconsin, I'd say no.
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Old 09-20-05, 07:42 PM
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You'd be correct BostonFixed.
But I did live in Boston the past 4 years, while going to school.
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Old 09-20-05, 07:43 PM
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Wait, nevermind.
No, I am not a customer. I just google image searched my saddle and that was the closest one I could find.
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Old 09-20-05, 07:45 PM
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I ride a brooks professional...but only because I got it from a $15 thrift store bike...if I hadn't I'd still most likely be riding this saddle I took off a peugeot uo-8, but that saddle was comfy too
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Old 09-20-05, 10:30 PM
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I like my Rolls and it's a funky brown pattern I haven't seen anywhere else. I picked it up at an Italian bike shop for 13 Euro. It was sitting on the back of the shelf all dusty. It's so freaking comfy.
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Old 09-21-05, 06:47 AM
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i ride a FSA SLK. took a while to get comfy but when i settled into being very comfortable on my bike--height and angle of bars and saddle, etc--i started wearing in the saddle, and, like absntr describes, it got comfy. ding!
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Old 09-21-05, 04:29 PM
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Thanks for all the input people! I had heard previously that the Selle Italia seats are great. How much did everyone get their recommended saddles for?
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Old 09-21-05, 05:33 PM
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DerekRI

No one heare can help you with this question I swear. Saddles are way too personal to trust anothers review. The best thing to do is find an LBS that will let you test ride saddles. I have such an LBS an I went through 6 saddles before I found lucky #7. The Terry Zero works for me. Having said that I got a B17 for my touring bike and it is working out great. The thing about the Brooks all leather saddles is that eventually they conform to your ass. If you have ever owned a nice pair of one piece leather hiking boots you will know what I mean. At first they are horrible and then one day they break in and you can 't live with out them. The new saddles with the plastic shells and or carbon don't break in so you have to find one that fits right away.
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Old 09-22-05, 07:18 AM
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Flite Trans Am. I do ~22 miles a day on it. (Granted, on a (hella) gear'd machine.)


I really can't stress enough the oft-mentioned phenomenon of three days of "wtf would anyone buy this thing evar" to "omsweetjesus" on day four.
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