tyrion

I recently got a Selle Anatomica H2 and am not blown away with it. It's not a comfortable as I remember my old (perfectly broken in) B17 (stolen 6 months ago).

I only have about 100 miles on it, so maybe it will break in and/or maybe I'll find a better adjustment setting, but it seems cramped compared to what I remember about the old B17.

(It's always an adjustment for me going from a traditional flat saddle to something like a B17 because with a flat saddle I can move fore-aft a bit, and a hammock saddle locks me into one spot - so maybe I just haven't re-adjusted to the hammock style yet.)

Anyone have any similar experience?

TiHabanero

My experience going from a flat saddle to a hammock saddle mimics yours. Have not tried a Sella Anatomica, but suspect they take some break-in.

Flip Flop Rider

just asking. if your old saddle was perfect why not just replace it instead of experimenting with SA?

tyrion

SA gets such rave reviews, just thought I'd try it. If I can't get it to work out I'll sell it and get the ol' reliable.

kcblair

Yep, same here. Three of my bikes sport X1's and 1 has a SA Traditional . KB

bakerjw

I loved my SA. But... They had a habit of rails bending and I couldn't trust them for long distance bike packing.
I do love my Rivets though

Wildwood 

B17 is too wide for me.
I like many split rail, narrow, more modern saddles as - for the easy fore/aft position.

But on my C&V it is suspended leather saddles almost exclusively.

I really like my SA, the Gyes is OK, too - but the cutout is shorter than SA's.
Brooks Pro & B15 (thinner leather than my previous B17s) works.
Ideale works.
Wrights works.
Belt works.
Palace works.
Even the Troxel still works with skirts tied.


But then I'm ambidextrous - can ride either left nutted or right nutted.

one4smoke

Absolutely love my H1. Kinda like to try a Brooks one day, but so far I have no reason to.

Sojodave

I had a Selle Anatomica h2 and I could not get comfortable on it. I called them and they said to keep tilting the front of the saddle until you stop slipping on the back. I got to 3% tilted up and said no mas. I'm not sure if Brooks saddles have the same challenge.

t_e_r_r_y

i haven't put a ton of miles on my x1 yet, and it's my first hammock style saddle, but i'm loving it so far. i also have new in box b17 sitting on a shelf that i'm planning to throw on ebay, but this thread makes me think i should just hang onto it, just in case

DrIsotope

Trying to copy your old saddle setup won't work with SA. Start from scratch-- and the nose will likely end up higher than you would expect. It probably took me 2 months to get my SA just right... and then I never had to touch it again. Over 20,000 miles now.

diphthong

in the market for a saddle after breaking a rail on my selle italia this week. borrowed the other exact saddle off the beater bike for the main one for now.
revisited the selle anatomica site and reacquainted myself with their products. i like the looks of their saddles but don't have enuff patience/dedication
these days to mess around with "dialing it in" when i can just plug and play. as much as i'd like to support a local san diego county company,
i'll probably purchase another selle italia at half the price this time and reevaluate in 1.5 years when that saddle is done.

frogmorton

After trying different saddles, the SA H2 is the single best cycling purchase I have made. Before, riding beyond 30 miles was a torture test. Now I can ride all day.

canklecat

I rode a friend's bike with SA saddle around the block and had the same impression -- the hammock fit would lock me into one position. While it was comfortable, the ride was too short to judge.

For my road bikes I prefer the typical long, narrow, firm saddles because I scoot around a lot to suit the terrain and how hard or easily I want to pedal. Not sure I could adapt to a single position saddle.

79pmooney

I'm another who uses the entire saddle depending on the circumstances. Did it when I raced and have been doing it ever since. Had a leather Fuji saddle years ago that was a workable copy of a Brooks. Sitting on the rivets got really old and pushing all the way back wasn't much better. When that bike got stolen that seat leaving was a blessing.

I rode Selle Italias for decades until my body changed. Now it's the very similar Terry Fly; virtually the same seat but with a needed (and for me, well done) cutout.

Ben

Wildwood 

I agree with liking more modern long narrow firm saddles - center groove or split rail for me.

If the suspended leather saddle gives only 1 position then I would tighten the bolt. They clearly don't offer the movement one gets from long narrow modern, but mine allow me to rotate hips for a lower position and the cutout is beneficial. I can also push back on the rear if riding without my full weight on the saddle as in 'seated climbs' or long hard steady cruising. B17 with the thick leather was too wide for me. I never owned a Brooks with cutout (Imperial?).

tcs

2019's tensioned leather saddle manufacturers:

Berthoud - France
Brooks - UK
Gyes (Cardiff, Dia Compe, Fyxation, Lekker, Origin8, Papillionaire, Shinola, Spa, Torelli, Velo Orange, Zimbale, etc.) - Taiwan
Ideale - France
Lepper - Netherlands
Nasiruddin (Persons) - India
Rivet - AFAIK manufactured in Taiwan by Gyes but to their own proprietary designs
Sella Italia - Italy
Selle Anatomica - USA
Selle Monte Grappa - Italy
Tabor - Portugal

diphthong

just dropped $70.02 on two (two!) matching selle italia saddles with this particular model being very comfy (up to 141 miles) in the recent past.
not feeling particularly flush with two weeks of vaca coming up and planning on hitting new mexico, utah and central/northern california. that
saved $50-$80 will buy a hotel night or 3-4 nights of campsites. undercarriage has been pretty happy with the selle italia experience for the price.
will still consider selle anatomica next saddle purchase if the financial timing is improved. figuring it'll be sooner rather than later as my two fave
selle italia models are seemingly discontinued and it's only a matter of time before all the subsidiary websites move through existing discounted stock.
has anyone ever bought 5-6 saddles at a time to hoard because they found a sweet spot?

tyrion

Brooks B17 is the same way. It is an issue, but eventually I got used to the constraint.

edit: and now that I think about it, because of that fore-aft constraint, getting the position dialed in is more critical than with a flat saddle.

tyrion

After further riding and analyzing, I think I might not have enough setback. So I'll be trying a setback seatpost and see how it feels.

Road Fan

The Brooksies do have the potential for you to slide forward, as well. I’ve seen the same thing with Specialized Toupe, as well. Usually I think there are two strategies to address this.

Both should start with checking the slot gap. S-A tells us to adjust the nose screw so the minimum slot gap is 6 mm. I use the flats across a 6 mm hex wrench as a gauge for this. If the gap is too wide, loosen. It it’s too narrow, tighten. This adjusts the resilience and suppleness of the saddle, and the sag as viewed from the side.

Then the first idea is to tilt up the saddle nose, on the hypothesis that you are sliding forward because you are sliding down the slope. So raising the nose aims to adjust the slope where your sitbones go (where the little dimples are) to be closer to level.

The second idea is to take the hypotheses that your body wants to be more forward. In this case slide the saddle forward a few millimeters at a time, then when your sitbones are supported, ride and see if you need any nose lift. You might not need any.

tyrion

I loosened the tension a hair and that improved it. Or maybe I'm just getting used to it.

tyrion

EUREKA! Got a seatpost with more set-back, some fiddling with tension (actually tightened it back up a bit) and it's much better. This is going to work. No regrets for getting this saddle at this point.

Road Fan

Great news, Tyrion!