fietsbob

Stuff plastic bags underneath or just ride with a plastic bag over it ...

Wattsup

Yes, that's what I'll do, once I know for sure the saddle will be comfortable. I am hopeful, as the ratio of good to bad experience in this thread is at least 20:1.

DrIsotope

I use Covermate Stretch-to-Fit Food covers from the WalMart, a couple bucks for a variety pack. The largest size perfectly fits an SA saddle. I have one stashed on the bike at all times, just in case.

Also an option, those disposable showercaps you can nick from hotels.

Wattsup

Good advice Doc. Thank you.

CodyDog

Well it's between the Selle Anatomica and the Brooks B17 Narrow. Have a Brooks B67 on a cruiser fat back and love it but attracted to to lack of break in needed on the SA.

My hesitation is the need for constant adjustment in regard to keep proper tightness on the leather. Does the adjustment ever settle in or are you constantly adjusting? How long will this saddle go before you run out of available adjustment thread?

DrIsotope

I haven't touched the bolt on my H2 in probably 6 months. I have about 5 threads showing in front of the clamp, meaning probably 80% of the bolt remains. I think it has around 10k miles on it?

Disclaimer, I apparently "ride light," so I don't put a lot of abuse on the saddle.

CodyDog

Doc: Thanks for the feedback. I went ahead and placed an order for the X2.

Ogsarg

I bought an X2 and was told it would come pre-tensioned. It didn't. There was no tension on the leather at all. An email to Selle said to tension it to get about 1/2" of sag, which is not easy to measure. For a few rides, I carried an allen wrench and fiddled with different tensions. Once I got it where it felt good, I have not had to touch it since. That was probably about 2000 miles ago, maybe more.

CodyDog

Thanks Ogsarg. looking forward to receiving it.

Wattsup

So I received my H2 today and fitted it onto the bike. It came properly tensioned, with the 1/4 in gap, as described in the instructions. I haven't ridden it yet, but just sitting on it I can feel the difference. It most definitely feels like your butt is in a hammock! It's night and day compared to the first time I sat on my SQLab saddle. Can't wait to get try it for 30 miles or so tomorrow!

CodyDog

I received my X2 yesterday. There was no tension on the adjustment bolt. I snugged it up a bit. I have a 1/2" gap at the most narrow part of the measurement.

My question is, will the gap decrease to the recommended 1/4" dimension if I put more tension on the the saddle? I did tighten it up bit but the gap did not decrease in size. Perhaps I need to break it in first?

adam445445

Get it bought, they look good

Trocadile

Tightening the leather will increase the gap (generally). If you have a 1/2" gap you should probably ease off a bit. Riding on the saddle will also decrease the gap as the leather stretches.

Wattsup

As Troc said, putting more tension (loosening the nose bolt) is supposed to increase the gap. I recommend that you sit on the saddle a bit and see if the gap lessens on its own. Although my saddle came with the gap measuring at 1/4", just my sitting on it to adjust the fit decreased it a few millimeters, so I tightened i up a bit to increase the gap back to the 1/4". I imagine your 1/2" is just due to normal variation as to how these leather tops come out of the mold

I'm doing a 30 miles ride later today, and i can't wait to see how the saddle fare!

Sojodave

I was at the Selle Atomica factory and one of the guys that worked there warned me not to tighten it unless the saddle with nobody on it is less than 1/4" or a 6mm hex head couldn't slide through the narrowest part. He said that once you tighten the saddle, you can't loosen it because leather isn't elastic. Experiment with the tilt. The guy at their factory told me 2cm up, but I had to keep adjusting the nose up until I didn't slide. I ended up with 2 to 3% nose up.

Wattsup

So I rode only 20 miles today, mostly gravel. As soon as I got on the bike and started riding, I could feel a big difference from my other recent saddles. The SA saddle is more compliant. It definitely isolates your butt from some of the irregularities of the road. So...my sit bones were feeling great...a nice change from my recent rides on the SQlabs saddle. It wasn't all rosy though. I felt something with the new SA saddle that I haven't felt in the past: perineum pressure. So the sitbones felt great, but there was an uncomfortable perineum pressure. I'm thinking the saddle may need adjustment. I had the sense that I was sliding forward a bit, a sense that the sweet spot of the saddle was slightly behind where my butt was wanting to rest. So before the next test ride I'll raise the nose a very slight bit. Does that seem paradoxical, to raise the nose to eliminate pressure from the nose on my perineum? I also think I have some fit issues. The seat could stand to be raised a half inch, and I think I need to move it rearward a slight amount. Problem is that I'm using a zero setback post and I'm already close to the front limit of the saddle's rails.

DrIsotope

Yeah my SA saddles were definitely not "set it and forget it." I tinkered with the fore/aft and nose angle on mine for several months before getting it where it was most comfortable.

Saddle height may be too low for you, if you're measuring the top of the saddle "unloaded." When you sit down, it drops a fair amount. At least mine does.

Sojodave

Keep raising the nose until you stop sliding. You may need to lower the saddle slightly.

Wattsup

I was hoping to get the saddle dialed in before the expiration of the 30 day return period, but as you have found, it may take longer. I'm optimistic that it will work out.

Road Fan

I would call Selle AnAtomica on this one. It seems strange to me. Could probably be narrowed enough by more tightening, but I would not want to be the cause of using up the screw when you might not need to. They might decide they overcut the gap and give you a new saddle top.

Road Fan

Not really paradoxical. The rear part of the saddle is wide enough to handle your sitbones. If you slide forward (kinda "fall off the platform") you'll be on the narrow part of the saddle, which causes perineal pressure. So raise the nose a bit at a time until you are set on the wide part of the hanging leather. If your bones feel the cantle plate you are sitting too far back. Then use whatever method you use to re-assess your leg extension, you might need to raise the saddle. Nose going up means butt is going down, so you might want to raise the saddle to adjust. This could also affect your knee position, but maybe just see how it feels after you get this much adjustment finished. Nothing wrong with changing to a setback seatpost, however!

If you slide the saddle back, you should probably again think about leg extension and adjust saddle height. I usually need to reduce saddle height as the saddle is adjusted back.

Road Fan

This sounds correct - I think I advised it backwards recently. Sorry about that!

Wattsup

So here's a question. When Selle says to raise the nose 1/8 - 1/4" up from level, what is considered level? I can run a spirit level from the top of the nose to the highpoint in the back. Is that considered "level?" If so, even with the nose raised 1/4", the rear section of the saddle, the part where SA had made the pair of sit bone marks, that section is not level...that section is sloping down towards the front. If my sit bones are to rest on a section of the saddle that tilts forward, then I'd certainly expect to slide forward.

So the question is, what is considered a "level" saddle?

DrIsotope

Level as in... level. Parallel to level ground. With the SA saddles, it's easier to go by the rails, as the tops aren't flat.

I make no measurements on mine at all until the saddle is where it feels best. Then I measure the distance from the tip of the saddle to the stem, and the tip of the saddle to the top tube. The actual "distance above level" is arbitrary. Some folks will end up with the nose way up, some will end up with it raised only slightly. Your pelvis will determine the proper angle, not a spirit level.

Road Fan

My answer is, you are correct that it is not easy to see what "level" is for an SA saddle. But, it doesn't matter, because here's what's practical: if you get on the saddle and you find yourself sliding forward, raise the nose of the saddle. If you raise it too much you'll feel perineal pressure or perhaps testicular pressure, so you should then lower it down half the amount you just raised it.. SA instructions are essentially to ease the nose of the saddle up a small amount at a time until you are able to sit on the wide part without sliding forward. What you need to do is the same whether you fall off a nose-up saddle, a nose-down saddle, or an actually level saddle. If you don't have a two-bolt micro-adjusting seatpost, you should invest in one.

If you have a level that will fit on the rear flat portion of the saddle where the two little sit-bone dimples are, you can actually set the flat portion level and see if that does what it should. But it still doesn't matter because the adjustment is in relative terms, not absolute terms.

You should still be aware of the potential need to adjust height or setback in conjunction with raising or lowering nose.