Originally Posted by
CarGuy
If it's OK with the OP I will post here for now to keep the information in one place. If not I can start another thread.
I am a 63 y.o. male and I have returned to cycling after a long 25 year absence. Since my return in November 2018 I have logged 4,000 kms in 2019 and 8,000 kms in 2020.
I thought I had found a decent saddle and I was able to ride somewhat comfortably for a max of 1 hour and 20 minutes of free riding mostly in Zwift. Recently, I decided to try the 6wk Beginner FTP Builder workout schedule in Zwift to improve my abilities. This is where I ran into difficulties and after 2 weeks of numbness and discomfort I'm ready to quit the workouts unless I can find a saddle that enables me to ride much more comfortably. The workouts are between 45 minutes and 1 hour and 20 minutes. Also they are low power 100 watts to 140 watts for foundation building, with tempo intervals between 140 and 165 watts and occasional 10 sec 300 watt peak intervals. The cadence also varies at each interval from 70 rpm to 100+ rpm depending on the workout goals. When free riding I can rest my backside by altering my riding position but because the workouts have specific rpm and power output goals to maintain at each interval it requires both concentration and a steady riding position to earn a pass at each interval. This forces me to maintain the same riding position for the duration of the workout - which is numbing and painful. My question is which of the recommended seats in this thread best fits the riding requirements of such workouts? The Spiderflex seems promising as does the SMP/ISM, but I wonder if they permit higher rpm riding or even a more forward saddle position.
For reference here are my cycling characteristics
Sex: male
Age: 63 years
Height: 5'6"/168cm
Weight: 240lbs/108.9kg
Bike: vintage steel road bike with tubulars (aggressive crit geometry) - 53/42 and 11-28 cassette
Bars: drop style
Bike fit: no, I have a repeatable set of measurements that give me a comfortable riding position
Riding environment: bike on smart trainer mostly, weekend outdoor rides in non-winter conditions
Riding position: on tops or hoods, never in the drops
FTP: 188 watts (according to Zwift)
Riding style: grinder (80-85rpm) and I tend to push tall gears
Riding preference: flat lander with short 0.5 to 1km 4%-5% climbs - I like speed and I get very impatient with slow-long climbs (when I manage an average of 33-34km/h on Zwift during 1+ hours it's a good ride)
Riding range: 22-28 mile/35-45km per session
Carguy, Since I got on the the short nosed Prologo Dimension CPC 143mm some feeling started to return and the tingling reduced gradually everyday; now I'm running the Adamo Island Reef saddle (by ISM) for the last 3 rides and haven't experienced any discomfort yet. The feeling hasn't returned totally and the tingling hasn't stopped completely but as mentioned it is getting better every day.
I chose the reef over the ISM PR3.0 based on my chat with ISM who recommended it over the PR for my body type. It's only a 100 bucks on their website. They claim it's not just the noseless design but the design of the front 2 arms that does the trick. I am riding with a little bit of a tilt but do experience some discomfort in my arms, I'm still in the process of tweaking the height, setback and tilt. I think it should take another couple of weeks to get it spot on, I am very hopeful about the outcome.