flanso 

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/sc...ewanted=1&_r=1

MichaelW

So a noseless saddle is better than a bad saddle.

Doohickie

"My dog has no nose."


"How does he smell?"


"Awful!!!"

reducedfatoreo

I'm curious as to why that article didn't mention the cutaway saddles that are becoming very popular. Has a nose for steering that would satisfy all those resistant to change that the author is complaining about, plus cutouts to reduce pressure on the perineum.

Has anyone heard of studies testing whether or not noseless saddles really do reduce maneuverability or not? I've heard some scary stories about noseless saddle crashes, but they're all anecdotal...

BlazingPedals

I don't think they are accused of making the bike exactly un-maneuverable. But they definitely detract from the rider's ability to ride no-handed. Which seems to be important to some cyclists. It seems like there's an article every year or two, promoting someone else's 'great new idea.' Through it all, not a single article mentions recumbents, though; not even in passing. Which makes me believe the article is more of an ad posing as news, rather than an actual news tidbit.

Ediblestarfish

I don't know if those people have the saddle adjusted properly to begin with; you shouldn't be sitting on your crotch.

A noseless saddle just makes it less possible to have it adjusted wrong.

Doug5150

Cut-out and forked (twin-nose) saddles have been around for about 100 years; vintage catalog pages from that era show them.

I don't believe the maneuverability argument much--seeing as many trials bicyclists do what they do on bicycles that have no saddle at all.

...Now if you were talking comparing unicycles with ultimate wheels, well yea.

I've heard that too, and have no clue what they're talking about..... On a 25 mile ride, how far do they really ride no-handed? 50 feet? 100 feet, maybe?

The detail I've seen claimed is that you need to ride no-handed to eat on a bike--but I'm not certain of that, if the bike is set up properly, with a handlebar-mount bag (for an average Joe on a rec ride, and not for someone pretending to be riding the TdF). Also because of the saddle position on a conventional bicycle--with the saddle nearly right over the cranks and the aero drag from sitting totally upright--your riding efficiency drops very low when riding no-handed anyway.

Yea, there was probably some bicycle shop ads in the print version that day. ;>)

In my experience (as a recumbent owner) people LOVE the way the recumbent feels to ride, but they hate the idea of being stared at even more.

There is also now the RANS crank-forward bikes, which look fairly normal but offer much better comfort than a 'normal' bike,,,, but are not cheap.

JusticeZero

That and the Electra cruisers that are all over the place down here..