Seat opinions - Cobb Tenace
 

I recently did a fitting. Some minor things were noticed and adjusted and after some riding to get adjusted I'm sure those will be nice improvements. Although I have no real comfort issues other than maybe numb nuts after 4+ hours with my current seat I tried a few and currently have the Cobb Tenace as a loaner. My average ride is about 35 miles and 3x a week most of the year on mixed terrain and not aggressive, maybe 15-16 mph, I also average a few 75+ a month and usually gravel at 13-14 range. That seat is a little expensive and I wonder if anyone has a similar lower priced clones I might consider. It is what it is and after riding if I really notice a difference and it works out to be a benefit, maybe that is a small price to pay for comfort considering the amount of seat time I pile up. I have about a 1.5 inch saddle to bar drop and relaxed.

never heard of them , looked it up

another saddle process of elimination thread.. go try more saddles ..






...

I can't disagree with the sentiment of "go try more saddles". For me, their description would be a problem, as I usually find that thick padded saddles are worse for me on long rides of 50 plus miles.

If you are seeking other recommendations, then Selle Italia is one brand that I've been real happy with overall. They have a wide range of price levels. Also a wide range of design and materials, so your results might vary.

Choose wisely and inexpensively til you know.

It's actually not thick relatively speaking, it's just not really hard. I've done multiday gravel on thin "hard" seats to and it was fine and had some that were too padded and not fine. I tried a few saddles during the actual fitting but even for that short time they did not feel right. Unfortunately I've had this loaner for 2 weeks and I haven't bee able to ride yet so....
I'd hate to pay $200 for this seat when their might be an equal seat somewhere else. Of course I can't try them all...

Seems like a lot of money for a somewhat unusual saddle. OTOH if one has unusual anatomy . . .

I'm a big fan of the Selle Italia line, the MAN for males, the DIVA for females. I've found decent prices for them on ebay.

This is your crotch. Sounds like the Cobb is a good fit for you. They would drive me nuts as I am an old ex-racer who thrives on saddles where i can slide forward and back and use every inch of it. Selle Italias were that saddle until I changed. I went thorough a few years of the "dark ages" then discovered the Specialized Body Geometry Comp with its full length groove. I could ride again! Now all my good bikes sport Terry Flys (probably made by Selle Italia) with a cutout and a lesser groove.

But like others said, this is your journey. Consider calling a few shops up and asking if they have loaner policies or good return policies. A shop here in Portland has a "library". ~25 saddles. Pay $25 for a library card and take out any saddle for a week. You can do this as many times as you want once you have the card. Find "that" seat. They sell you a boxed one and refund your $25.

Ben

False alarm.. It didn't work out. I thought it might because on the trainer it felt good. Out on the actual road it was very different. After only 5 minutes it was obvious this was not it and I turned around.

I've been fighting the saddle wars lately. Everyone is different when it comes to saddles, but here are my suggestions.

Get your sit bones measured. My sit bones are 130mm and I've been on saddles anywhere from 145mm to 155mm.

Find out what kind of shape of saddle you like. Flat, curved, short-nosed, long-nosed, big center channel, no center channel.

I went through 8 saddles until I found the Specialized Power saddle. I rode it for 2 1/2 years and I was comfortable on it. The only problem with the Power saddle is that it is a one-position saddle. This became a problem when I moved indoors and started Zwifting. I tried the Power Arc, no good. I tried the Pro Stealth and it was comfortable, but I had problem chaffing because the nose is really wide. I then went nuclear and tried the Selle Anatomica H2. Beautiful leather saddle, but I found out you have to position it 3% nose up in order to not slip forward. I felt like I was sitting on the horn with the nose that high. Sadly, I returned the H2 saddle. I went back to the Pro Stealth, but unfortunately, I started experiencing saddle soars.

I started looking for saddle options. I considered the Ergon Sr Pro, but I found the Selle Italia SRL Max Gel Flow at REI on sale. (It's still on sale btw). It is a beautiful saddle. It's a flat shape, handmade microfiber cover that looks like leather. It has a huge cut-out, and it allegedly has shock absorbers on the rails to aid in a smooth ride. It's still early, but I've been on four long rides and It's been comfortable...(I have my fingers crossed)

Good luck.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ad2c458634.jpg

Finding a saddle that’s a good fit can be intimidating and expense to be sure. If you’d like to check out clone knockoffs of expensive brand name saddles try a search on Amazon. I took a chance and actually am pleasantly surprised by the EC90 I picked up under $30. I’ve only been using it for a week, so I don’t know how it will hold up over time, but after 160 miles, so far so good.

I do not recommend this as THE way to go, rather it is an option to consider.

Best of luck!

Merry Sales / 'Soma' is another source of Asian copies of expensive Euro saddles ...

such as the Selle Italia (Taibo) 'Turbo'.