What's your favorite type saddle?
04-26-17, 11:52 AM
#26
Full Member
Brooks C17 carved is my seat these days. Have tried the B17 in the past, prefer a saddle with a cutout. Had a first generation Selle Anatomica, the one that was a modified Brooks Professional, that was probably the best I had, it eventually stretched over 80,000k til it became uncomfortable. Also had a current model Anatomica that lasted all of 5000k before there was no more adjustment and the seat broke at the adjustment point. Near the end I could get all of 50k before needing readjustment. Very good concept, extremely poor materials, needless to say, won't be buying another.
The C17 seems to be going well, although I bent the rails in a crash, and after a new set was purchased and fitted, some of the saddle tension seemed to be lost.
The C17 seems to be going well, although I bent the rails in a crash, and after a new set was purchased and fitted, some of the saddle tension seemed to be lost.
04-26-17, 04:55 PM
#27
Clark W. Griswold
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 14,080
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26
Liked 4,275 Times
in
2,854 Posts
Brooks Cambium C17 Carved. I have two and probably will be going for a third soon for a new bike being built! Most comfortable saddle my buns and taintal area have experienced : )
04-26-17, 07:24 PM
#28
Senior Member
I love my Brooks Waterford with the cut out in the middle. Not really crazy about it in the rain though. I have heard that they have come out with a saddle now that has a rubber coating on it but I haven't seen one yet.
Zman
Zman
04-26-17, 08:57 PM
#29
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,150
Bikes: 2013 Surly Disc Trucker, 2004 Novara Randonee , old fixie , etc
Likes: 0
Liked 49 Times
in
43 Posts
I honestly like the concept of this saddle. It really does eliminate numbness pretty much completely. I got one amidst saddle woes on my last tour and rode a couple thousand km's with it. However I just couldn't make it work. As per SQ-Lab's own words, I suspect it is too soft as after 50km, like clockwork my bum would start killing me. Absolutely nothing before that, the first 50km's was always a breeze but immediately when we hit 50, a dull pain would start at the sitbones. I may give it a revisit on my MTB but I think I need another type of saddle concept on my tourer as I've found that to be balanced on a road bike I need to lean forwards quite a bit using my Ischial Rami as support. Since SQ-Lab is based almost completely on the Ischial tuberosities I can't get balanced with one.
Also setting the saddle height by feel is actually quite challenging with the saddle having the side to side sway. You don't feel the hip movement as one would with a rigid saddle so one easily ends up with a too high a saddle. One more reason to bring a tape measurer on the next tour.
Also setting the saddle height by feel is actually quite challenging with the saddle having the side to side sway. You don't feel the hip movement as one would with a rigid saddle so one easily ends up with a too high a saddle. One more reason to bring a tape measurer on the next tour.
BTW Eddy Merckx was notorious for adjusting saddle height while racing, I saw a video clip where he borrowed a ruler from the team car to check it while riding, heh.
04-26-17, 09:11 PM
#30
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 71
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Was actually looking to go pick up this saddle this weekend. How long have you owned it for? Any downsides?
04-26-17, 09:28 PM
#31
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 165
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
This baby is the best saddle I've ever used. Perfect firmness. I always had issues with chaffing and sores between my thighs from rubbing against the long nose on most saddles, with this stubby design my thighs don't rub. I'm also a huge fan of the center hole - no more sore perineum or tingling nuts after 4+ hours. Plus, don't have to stand up in order to pass gas. 
04-26-17, 10:10 PM
#32
Senior Member
As for the A.R.S. Standard, it fits well for riding positions where the handlebar is about level with the seat. I am doubtful about more aggressive positions because of it's size (comes out a little bit wider in the front). There are two gel pads for your seat bones. If your seat bones hit them on the spot, you'll love it. Mine do. You will have to play with the saddle's horizontal angle adjustment very carefully to find the spot in which you are stable. Other saddles are easier to adjust, but it's worth it. I have never ridden a Brooks, but from all saddles I know, the ARS Standard is the best I have ever sat on.
04-27-17, 08:51 PM
#34
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,150
Bikes: 2013 Surly Disc Trucker, 2004 Novara Randonee , old fixie , etc
Likes: 0
Liked 49 Times
in
43 Posts
This baby is the best saddle I've ever used. Perfect firmness. I always had issues with chaffing and sores between my thighs from rubbing against the long nose on most saddles, with this stubby design my thighs don't rub. I'm also a huge fan of the center hole - no more sore perineum or tingling nuts after 4+ hours. Plus, don't have to stand up in order to pass gas.
04-27-17, 09:27 PM
#35
cyclotourist
This baby is the best saddle I've ever used. Perfect firmness. I always had issues with chaffing and sores between my thighs from rubbing against the long nose on most saddles, with this stubby design my thighs don't rub. I'm also a huge fan of the center hole - no more sore perineum or tingling nuts after 4+ hours. Plus, don't have to stand up in order to pass gas.
has all the buzzwords, must be good,
04-29-17, 08:36 PM
#36
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,150
Bikes: 2013 Surly Disc Trucker, 2004 Novara Randonee , old fixie , etc
Likes: 0
Liked 49 Times
in
43 Posts
BTW I've been researching suspension seatposts & found that they all require about 10-13 cm or more height so none will fit on my Surly Disc Trucker with the horizontal top tube. Specialized CG-R looks like it would work but happened to read that top part has some rubber coating that can't be inserted into the seat tube. So there's a plus for sloping top tubes besides the obvious stand-over/mounting benefit.
05-02-17, 12:52 AM
#39
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,150
Bikes: 2013 Surly Disc Trucker, 2004 Novara Randonee , old fixie , etc
Likes: 0
Liked 49 Times
in
43 Posts
My SQ Labs 610 Active is about 350 g compared to similarly-priced 540 g Brooks B17 MTB-oriented 611 Active carbon has similar design but somewhat lighter padding--225 g.
05-02-17, 02:57 AM
#40
Senior Member
While saddle weight should never be a deciding matter in any case, I'd wager it is even less of a consideration in a touring sense. Phil Gaimon, who's currently doing the "worst retirement ever" youtube channel is riding one of the lightest high performance road bikes on the globe and the saddle he's slapped on is a heavy ISM. And it'd be completely fine if he was riding a brooks since the butt is the most important contact point one has with a bike and thus comfort is the most important consideration with damage prevention. Especially in touring where one is on the bike for hours upon hours a week, where the riding is arguably going to be lower effort than in most other types of cycling and therefore one 'sits' more and causes stress to one's bottom more than in other types of riding.
And more on topic: Im currently trying out the ISM PL 1.1 and I'm more and more certain that the only reason why a traditional bike seat looks like it does is just that, tradition. Because it makes absolutely no anatomical sense. Bike seats of old were like the brooks seats of today so you have the wide back portion to support the sit bones and the front portion to keep the leather taut. The front portion is minimized so that it is not in the way of the thighs and it also does nothing to support anything since it's too thin for the pelvic bone structure. It's a bad idea to sit on the nose of a leather saddle and also any nosed saddle for that matter.
Modern seats mimic that shape. But there is absolutely no reason for the saddle to have a nose! you don't sit on it, it only acts as a wedge that presses against the completely wrong tissues if you lean forward with one.
But I also don't think a completely noseless saddle works since you actually do need to have support for you pubic rami if you do lean forwards. This is where a lot of weird looking seats do things right, ie. selle smp, ISM, specialized power, Cobb, tri saddles in general etc. You have the wider rear portion for the ischial tuberosities and also the front triangle with a hollow middle for the pubic rami. The hollowed out section removes all pressure from the perineum where you'd never want any pressure in any case. The end result is you only sit on bone and actually have more surface area to sit on than with a traditional saddle.
I think the issues I had with a traditional form saddle was that I have pretty ok hamstring flexibility but poor back flexibility. So if I wanted to have any kind of reach on my bikes, I had to lean forward which in turn caused numbness because of the above reasons. I could not sit like the pro's do with their pelvis sitting relatively upright and them leaning forward at the lower back (which actually looks very unhealthy and painful if I'm honest). But having tried a few of these weird saddles and currently riding the ISM I can actually lean forward without numbness and my pelvis feels stable for the first time in years. Thus all of my hand issues have been solved at the same time.
And more on topic: Im currently trying out the ISM PL 1.1 and I'm more and more certain that the only reason why a traditional bike seat looks like it does is just that, tradition. Because it makes absolutely no anatomical sense. Bike seats of old were like the brooks seats of today so you have the wide back portion to support the sit bones and the front portion to keep the leather taut. The front portion is minimized so that it is not in the way of the thighs and it also does nothing to support anything since it's too thin for the pelvic bone structure. It's a bad idea to sit on the nose of a leather saddle and also any nosed saddle for that matter.
Modern seats mimic that shape. But there is absolutely no reason for the saddle to have a nose! you don't sit on it, it only acts as a wedge that presses against the completely wrong tissues if you lean forward with one.
But I also don't think a completely noseless saddle works since you actually do need to have support for you pubic rami if you do lean forwards. This is where a lot of weird looking seats do things right, ie. selle smp, ISM, specialized power, Cobb, tri saddles in general etc. You have the wider rear portion for the ischial tuberosities and also the front triangle with a hollow middle for the pubic rami. The hollowed out section removes all pressure from the perineum where you'd never want any pressure in any case. The end result is you only sit on bone and actually have more surface area to sit on than with a traditional saddle.
I think the issues I had with a traditional form saddle was that I have pretty ok hamstring flexibility but poor back flexibility. So if I wanted to have any kind of reach on my bikes, I had to lean forward which in turn caused numbness because of the above reasons. I could not sit like the pro's do with their pelvis sitting relatively upright and them leaning forward at the lower back (which actually looks very unhealthy and painful if I'm honest). But having tried a few of these weird saddles and currently riding the ISM I can actually lean forward without numbness and my pelvis feels stable for the first time in years. Thus all of my hand issues have been solved at the same time.
