Downshift

Ever notice that when someone asks a question about saddle comfort, the Brooks disciples come out.
Should tell you something.

SDRider

It tells me that they're fanatics.

Sir Lunch-a-lot

Is it just me, or is the saddle market dominated by those horrific gel-padded seats? And whats up with some of these new spring suspension seats? Those springs have so much give that, coupled with gel padding, there is very little support for your sit bones. I just got a new bike with one of them seats and took it for a 15Km run. That was my first complaint. I'm sure with those springs both sides of the saddle were flexing immensly with each stroke. The old style springs with only a bit of give... that's the way to do spring suspension if you're going to have it, and even then, I sometimes think that's a bit much.

veneer

so far, i've been riding on arione, forte slx, and now trying the terry fly (buzzoff). out of those three, so far i still like the arione. but i'm tempted to try the Forté T1 Tri Saddle. I would try the Selle SMP Strike Pro Saddle because of the design.. but cost hella bank. anyone tried it yet?

recursive

I find this interesting, because bad weather is when I personally usually find the most benefit in cycling specific clothing. I don't ride as much as you, but I commute all winter in Madison WI 10 miles each way. Sometimese it's below zero. Sometimes it's 35 and raining. When it's cold, I rather like insulated tights and my softshell jacket.

On the other hand, today it was 60s and sunny. I wore boxer briefs, basketball shorts and a tshirt.

When it's wet or damp, I also find bike shorts to compare more favorably. Anyway, go with what works I guess.

zabba

Went to the LBS - tried a few and settled on the Fizik Aliante Carbon. No problems anymore!

I agree with the notion that it is a saddle not a seat! Be precise with the positioning of the saddle in all 3 planes. A few degrees can make alot of difference to comfort.

NomadVW 

I've been riding my Arione for about a month now. It has a whole different geometry than the Specialized Avatar 155 that came with the Roubaix. I thought I could hop on with the same location/tilt and boy was I wrong. Now that I've moved it much further forward, and gotten the tilt down (only got that part about two weeks ago), I can ride with alllllmost no numbness but no chafing at all.

bassplayinbiker

Use some good ole' fashioned Pace line's Chamois Butt'r that gets the job done for me, especially on long hot days.

patentcad

Hang in there. I ride 10K miles per year. No seat issues. The golden rules of seat comfort are:

1.) It's your bike shorts. Specifically the quality of the INSERT in those shorts that provides seat comfort. Be sure your shorts don't SUCK. Many of the shorts weenies wear do.

2.) It's your position. Experiement with the seat angle and position on the seatpost. Get that equation right and your seat pain may just disappear.

3.) It's your body weight. The lighter you get, the less weight on your sit bones, the less likely you will be to have any issues with seat comfort.

One of my saddles is a relatively minimalist Specialized Toupe (155 grams or so). People look at it and think it's not comfortable. I regularly ride 3-5 hours on it without a problem. Racer friends of mine have even more skimy saddles. It's generally NOT how cushy the saddle is. See 1.),2.) and 3.) above.

Eyeseeu

I switched to the performance E3 and have had no pain since:


Check out their info in it:
Performance E3 Form Saddle

veneer

u know.. i too have found tilting the arione downward and moving forward will ease the numbness on the boys. however, in doing so... i find my shoulders very tense and my arms very sore from shifting all the weight forward. do you have that similar problem?

NomadVW 

Hmm.. I meant "got the tilt down" more like "got the tilt correct." I actually started with the tilt down a little more than usual because I'd read a number of others had the same thing. I've slowly brought it back up so that the "level" portion of the nost (not the inclined wings on the back) is basically level. I'm not noticing any more/less shoulder pain. In fact, I would probably say I'm feeling less overall. Yesterday was an exception because I fought a tremendous headwind for a good portion of the day.

patentcad

Specialized saddles (only avail at your LBS, NOT via mail order) are GREAT. Try an Alias saddle. My Alias 143 is the most comfy saddle I've ever ridden. My lighter Specialized Toupe (only 155 grams or so) is also very comfortable.

Trekke

I too use a Specialized 143. However, feel lots of sit bone pain and some numbness on rides over 30 miles. I have ordered an E3 (On sale for $45) Form. I'll see where that takes me.

mingsta

Maybe, maybe not. Depends on what underwear, I should think. Course cotton with a big fat seam along the crotch is gonna do bad things down there! Can't imagine that a thong would be much fun to ride in either

53-11_alltheway

LOL, First it was needing to hire people to adjust your seat for you and now you can't ride without ultra specific clothing.

I'm guessing the next big thing in marketing will be bike shorts fitters

53-11_alltheway

LOL, you are forgetting what forum you are in though.

roadwarrior

Who needs bike shorts?

charl

Oh yeah? Well I do my centuries in a wet bathing suit. Beat that!

silversmith

Your number 2 would be my number 1.

I'd add another one: accumulated riding time. I don't know if its from tighter muscle, less weight (less flab) on the butt, or what, but putting in the miles seems to help.

The minimalistic seats I find comfortable today would have puckered my nether reaches in fear a few years ago.

Reynolds 

See my signature.

pedex

Mileage cures alot of problems, wish more people would try it and find that out. Seems like most people hop on a racebike and ride for 2 minutes and find out it hurts then start looking for an easy chair to sit on. They want exercise but look for the easiest least resistance to pedal then wonder why they are'nt getting in good shape and cant lose that last 10-20lbs. There's no free lunch, riding is a very simple and brutal sport.

pedex

Actually its just some saddle time and being in good shape. Most guys that do what I do for a living are skinny and in excellent shape, there's very little to chafe and we've learned how to pick the right saddle and get it adjusted properly. You dont spend 60 miles a day hauling pkgs on your back and not learn how to be comfortable. You wont see any fat messengers either, at least not ones that do it for a living for very long. Im prettymuch about the average size of most of the messengers here, 5'11" and 158lbs, 30" waist, 34" inseam. Not a single messenger here, guy or gal, wears cycling clothing cept for clipless shoes or gloves. We have no problems.

veneer

ah.. level is what i've found to be the most comfortable position for me as well. but i often find myself standing up off the seat so i could get some more blood flows.

BryanW

I had the same problems with my Alias 143. In fact, the problems seemed to keep getting worse. Then i switched to the Toupe 143 and the first ride I thought it was fantastic. But again, the more I use it, the worse the sit-bone pain seems to get. I'll keep with it, though, because it has completely solved the numbness issue, and no other saddle I've ever tried has managed that.