Do roadbike saddles have to be instruments of torture ?

MungoMan · 06-05-2011 07:53PM #1

the saddle which came with my roadbike was unbearable, so I dumped it.

I got replacement in Halfords, its not too bad when Ive got the cycling shorts on, but without the shorts, its harsh. It wasnt expensive, it was a Salle Royale, a little bigger than a road bike should have, but not too big.

Is it possible to get a comfortable road bike saddle, something not out of the Spanish inquisition, is there such a thing ?

Speaking of Spain, I remember Sean Kelly having to quit the Tour of Spain from a winning position because of a saddle which didnt agree with him.

robertxxx · 06-05-2011 07:59PM

Iwannahurl · 06-05-2011 08:01PM

If God had intended you to cycle a road bike, s/he wouldn't have given you a pudendal nerve.

Wicklowrider · 06-05-2011 08:05PM

Your weight needs to be supported by your sit bones. You should measure the width from centre to centre of these bones to establish what width saddle you require. Sit on a doubled over towel placed on a flat surface (or in wet cement

) you will see two indents left in the towel. Measure centre to centre. Next, you need to decide what shape you like. Some like flat saddles, some hammock shaped, some round nosed etc. Don't buy saddles because someone else likes them - it'll cost you a small fortune unless you are very lucky. Buy second hand on ebay etc and you can resell if they don't suit.

Cookie_Monster · 06-05-2011 08:38PM

Something like this perhaps?

furiousox · 06-05-2011 08:41PM

I think CSS have prologo test saddles which you can take on trial.

ontheditch2 · 06-05-2011 08:49PM

2 days cycling, a modest 30km so far..

And i have some pain in my hole from it, literally of course.. Have padded shorts, but i suppose i'm just not used to it..

Hoping that its just the breaking in period and i will be ok in a week.

On another note, getting cramps in my stomach during the cycles too, imagine its just the positioning and not used to using those muscles..

ThisRegard · 06-05-2011 09:59PM

I find the opposite, my skinny road bike saddle is much more comfortable than my fatter saddle on my Trek flat bar.

dewindygap · 06-05-2011 10:26PM

Brooks, Brooks, Brooks

Iwannahurl · 06-05-2011 10:46PM

You could also try something like Shaolin "groin conditioning" (scroll down the page a bit for video). :eek:

Redjeep! · 06-05-2011 11:33PM

Spec Toupe Gel.

Have spent up to 8 hours on it some days, never been sore. The central hole is good to allow the blood to keep flowing.

unionman · 06-05-2011 11:43PM

Do roadbike saddles have to be instruments of torture ?

Yes.

petethedrummer · 07-05-2011 01:50AM

ontheditch2 wrote: »

Hoping that its just the breaking in period and i will be ok in a week.

Except for Brooks saddles, I'm a bit dubious of breaking in periods for saddles.

I think it should be fairly obvious straight away if a saddle is going to be comfortable or not. I've had 3 in the last few years and almost immediately 2 of them felt comfortable (they both feel pretty good in jeans with no cycling shorts on). The other one didn't and I never got accustomed to it, so I gave it to my brother, who also hated it. We're roughly the same build.

I suppose it depends on where the pain your experiencing is exactly. If its actually around your 'hole' as you say, I know that pain and would ditch the saddle immediately. If it's chaffing round the thighs, it could be your shorts to loose or your skin just not accustomed to cycling. If it's your gooch/barse it could be your saddle tilt or general bike position.

Could be a number of things really.

blorg · 07-05-2011 04:12AM

Brooks is not a catch all solution, like any saddle some get on with them, some do not. Also they are very heavy for a road bike.

el Bastardo · 07-05-2011 10:04AM

blorg wrote: »

Brooks is not a catch all solution, like any saddle some get on with them, some do not. Also they are very heavy for a road bike.

Went through a love-hate relationship with brooks over the past two years, but have to say, it's worked for me. What's a few hundred grammes matter if you're not racing? I know I'd rather have a slightly heavier road bike than a perma-sore arse.

DonalK1981 · 07-05-2011 10:29AM

I have a couple of saddles I'm selling as they didn't fit or suit me. You'd be welcome to take a look. The saddles are Selle Italia Trans AM and an Intake Ascent SL. Would love a carbon stem for them

smacl · 07-05-2011 02:17PM

+1 for the brooks. After reading a comment on another thread here comparing the brooks saddle to 'the couch at your local pub, and a sure sign that you've given up', I felt obliged to try one. Went for one of these and even though its only had 100k so far, I'm already loving it. Started with the Kellys saddle that came with the bike, moved to a Selle Italia Gel flow after that, before moving to the brooks. Time will tell but hopefully, the Brooks is here to stay.

If anyone wants to have a loan of the Selle Italia or Kellys, PM me. There doing nothing at the moment, so your more than welcome.

chakattack · 07-05-2011 05:59PM

smacl wrote: »

+1 for the brooks. After reading a comment on another thread here comparing the brooks saddle to 'the couch at your local pub, and a sure sign that you've given up', I felt obliged to try one. Went for one of these and even though its only had 100k so far, I'm already loving it. Started with the Kellys saddle that came with the bike, moved to a Selle Italia Gel flow after that, before moving to the brooks. Time will tell but hopefully, the Brooks is here to stay.

If anyone wants to have a loan of the Selle Italia or Kellys, PM me. There doing nothing at the moment, so your more than welcome.

I wouldn't mind taking you up on that. What Selle Italia model is it? I bought an SLR gel flow last night but would like to try a flite.

markdrayton · 07-05-2011 07:06PM

If you haven't been riding much you might just need to use it more. As others have pointed out, once you're used to them racier saddles are more comfortable than more padded ones. I've spent more hours than I can imagine sat on one of these:

Decent (and clean!) shorts help prevent rubbing and irritation too.

smacl · 08-05-2011 09:22AM

chakattack wrote: »

I wouldn't mind taking you up on that. What Selle Italia model is it? I bought an SLR gel flow last night but would like to try a flite.

It's the Max flite gel flow (black version), bought mainly to see if the gap would relieve pressure and provide more comfort on the longer days out. Not bad, but not exactly what I was after.

I'm based in Ballyboden if you want to drop out and borrow it for a while, you're welcome. Drop me a PM.

MungoMan · 08-05-2011 09:52AM

petethedrummer wrote: »

I've had 3 in the last few years and almost immediately 2 of them felt comfortable (they both feel pretty good in jeans with no cycling shorts on).

Any links or pics of the 2 which you found comfortable ?

blorg · 08-05-2011 10:13AM

If you want to put a Brooks on a road bike, the Swift or the Swallow are probably best for the position. I have a Swallow on my race bike and a Swift on my second road bike and my tourer. I think I would lean towards the Swift as it is cheaper and more durable- the Swallow has a bad tendency to sag, which gets worse the heavier the rider.

Brooks are expensive though and for every person that loves them there us another that hates them. To an extent road bike saddles will become more comfortable as your fitness/flexibility improves and you get more used to the position.

thebouldwhacker · 08-05-2011 10:38AM

In my personal view saddles are like shoes, not all will fit you. I have gone through a fair share of them and this is what I have learned:

If the pain is only on your sit bones the chances are its just a matter of wearing your ass into the saddle. However it is worth doing as above and establish the correct width you should ride on. The saddle I have on my road bike is adequate but it took me about 400km before I was happy riding it which was ridiculous cos its not a particularly 'good' saddle but I liked it at the time. Some day when I get the craving I'll change it.

If the pain is anywhere else the chances are the saddle is set up wrong. If you feel pain or two much pressure coming off the nose or front of the saddle then it may be pointed up too much.

If you find your being pushed or are sliding forwards its pointing down too much.

If you have a pain in your coccyx then you maybe sitting too far forward, this can also cause the so eloquently put 'pain in the hole' as your position is on the narrow section of the saddle thus putting pressure on your coccyx from the back and your 'hole' resting on the centre of the saddle.

As with anything new, if you are new to cycling there will be a learning curve regarding the saddle position, I am always moving my road bike saddle position, as the year goes on I think my back becomes more flexible, my legs want to be extended further so I don't think there is a correct position, rather a zone which is right for you. When I get a new bike I set the saddle as flat as I can, set the height so I have a slight bend in my knee's move the saddle to the middle position on the rails (forward/back) and take it from there.

If pain is constant chances are it needs to be moved or changed

polariz · 08-05-2011 11:49AM

My 3yr old foam padded saddle is starting to give me trouble lately so I was going to replace it with a gel padded version or something similar. I've noticed that all my shorts show signs of rubbing/wear on the inside of one leg at the back. Now I guess this is somewhat down to my riding style (or lack there of) but might it also indicate the saddle I've been using is too wide? It's 143cm so I could go for a 130cm width.

Cheers..

dewindygap · 08-05-2011 02:03PM

Slightly off-topic, after reading Blorgs mentioning of the Brooks Swift, I went to Evan's website to check it out and noticed the same saddle I bought there (B17 Special) has jumped a whopping 21€ in price in 12 months.

smacl · 08-05-2011 02:37PM

dewindygap wrote: »

Slightly off-topic, after reading Blorgs mentioning of the Brooks Swift, I went to Evan's website to check it out and noticed the same saddle I bought there (B17 Special) has jumped a whopping 21€ in price in 12 months.

Seems to be a large price variation between vendors, I found Bike24 to have the best price for the brooks, when compared to a number of others such as Wiggle, CRC etc... You can save a few bob by checking prices on a number of sites with each purchase, rather than just sticking to a favourite.

TinyExplosions · 08-05-2011 03:29PM

blorg wrote: »

If you want to put a Brooks on a road bike, the Swift or the Swallow are probably best for the position. I have a Swallow on my race bike and a Swift on my second road bike and my tourer. I think I would lean towards the Swift as it is cheaper and more durable- the Swallow has a bad tendency to sag, which gets worse the heavier the rider.

I can vouch for the sagging swallow syndrome, as I've nearly fucked mine irreparably thanks to being a fat bastard, though that's very interesting to know that the swift behave better... I may have to look at one of them

Do roadbike saddles have to be instruments of torture ?

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