Saddle comfort

if you are looking for something to keep you comfy for a 3+ hour ride then get yourself a recumbent.
I have ridden for 7 hours straight and never had numb nuts.

"Niv" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I guess this has been asked many times before, but I'll ask again anyway: Anyone tried a body fit
saddle or one of those cutaway Trek jobs? Do they really work at being very comfy & not giving
numb privates? I'm looking for something to keep me comfy for 3+ hour rides. Or any other
recommendations? TIA, Niv.

Niv said:

I guess this has been asked many times before, but I'll ask again anyway: Anyone tried a body fit
saddle or one of those cutaway Trek jobs?

I've tried the Specialized Body Geometry Comfort and Terry Liberator.

Quoted message said:

Do they really work at being very comfy

I found the Specialized grossly uncomfortable (but some people like it), Terry is better but not
without faults.

Quoted message said:

& not giving numb privates? I'm looking for something to keep me comfy for 3+ hour rides. Or any
other recommendations?

You need to make sure not too much pressure goes on the perenium area. Experiment with saddle
positioing (angle, fore & aft, up & down) but also handlebar stem position. If necessary, try a
shorter stem (one with less forward extension) so more of the weight rests on sit bones. And try all
the various types of saddles. Saddle recommendations from others are useless, I'm afraid.

~PB

Niv said:

I'm looking for something to keep me comfy for 3+ hour rides. Or any other recommendations?

3 hours is Not Long At All in terms of ride length, so as long as you avoid silly squashy saddles
which cut off the blood to your nearest & dearest you should be OK with anything.

First and best is clearly to "end narrow saddle misery with new improved Recumbo" but I'm kind of
thinking that you're not planning on spending much over a grand to sort this three-hour problem ;-)

So, things which are known to work well for day rides of reasonable length: Brooks B17, Selle San
marco Rolls (give your bum a treat) and the like; in other words, good quality leather saddles.

To be honest I've never tried any of the hole-in-the-middle saddles because a Brooks always worked
well for me and then I joined the Dark Side and discovered that any upright saddle is only playing
at comfort anyway :-)

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. chapmancentral.comchapmancentral.comOpen ↗ (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
NOTE: BT Openworld have now blocked port 25 (without notice), so old mail addresses may no longer
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I can seeeeeeeee.......................the "dark side" is calling!!

Regards 'Bent rider

"Niv" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I guess this has been asked many times before, but I'll ask again anyway: Anyone tried a body fit
saddle or one of those cutaway Trek jobs? Do they really work at being very comfy & not giving
numb privates? I'm looking for something to keep me comfy for 3+ hour rides. Or any other
recommendations? TIA, Niv.

Niv said:

I guess this has been asked many times before, but I'll ask again anyway: Anyone tried a body fit
saddle or one of those cutaway Trek jobs? Do they really work at being very comfy & not giving
numb privates? I'm looking for something to keep me comfy for 3+ hour rides. Or any other
recommendations?

I have two Specialised (anyone for British English spelling?) Body Geometry saddles. One I bought
from the bargain tray in Evans cycles - presumably because someone else disliked it so much on a
new bike they got it replaced at Evans. That one (BG sport, I think) was geometrically speaking
at a tangent to comfort. The other one is a different model which was a swap for a more
comfortable saddle in a deal I don't think I did very well on. One is on my shopping bike, along
with a gel cover. The other one is on a different bike which I also only use for short periods of
time. There is a reason for this. They are a PITA for me. Anyone want to swap for something of a
dissimilar ilk?.

The most comfortable saddle I have now is an early design Wilderness Trail Bikes SST <insert letters
here> saddle made prior to the hangup about love channels etc. I don't know if their latest ones are
as good, or even available, but they have been comfortable from day one, especially the ones with
the "comfort zone" logo.

The most bizarre saddle I have is one I have not yet ventured out for very long on, but looks
surprisingly promising. I made it myself out of a skateboard and a camping mat. Its the seat on my
homemade recumbent! (Cue sounds of flashing light sabres).

YMMV

Jim Price

The Viscount 'Bodyfit' Race saddle has a very similar shape to my favourite saddle which is a
Viscount VRT. I can easily ride for 3 hours on the VRT but then again I'm light and I've used it for
several years. I don't think I will ever buy a saddle without a central channel of some sort. Today
I bought a Bodyfit BFCR1 (Gel Race) saddle (£14.99) at the 'Cycle Promotions' one day sale so I may
be able to give you my impressions of its qualities in a few days time. Gearshift.co.uk have a
saddle loan scheme where you borrow 6 saddles for 10 days for a fee of £15. If you buy a saddle from
them you get £10 off.

However your weight, the shape of your body and your riding position will all have an influence on
the best type of saddle for you. Some people don't like saddles with the central channel. Good luck!

Niv said:

I guess this has been asked many times before, but I'll ask again anyway: Anyone tried a body fit
saddle or one of those cutaway Trek jobs? Do they really work at being very comfy & not giving
numb privates?

Best way to choose is find a good bike shop that lets you try a few out, and will take one back if
you don't get on after a week or so. And having found such a place, try several out...

I use Brooks saddles (B-17 on the MTB, Brooks Brompton on the, err, Brompton and a B66 on my old
upright tourer. They're at least as comfortable as anything else I've tried, though if you're into
saving microgrammes don't even think about it, especially the sprung ones!

A friend has a "Body Geometry" on her MTB. I borrowed it for 5 miles once and found it agonising,
though to be fair it was the ladies' one. She wasn't convinced herself, mind you, and recently
borrowed my Brompton to zip home from the movies to collect her glasses before the show began and on
her return was very complimentary about the comfort of the saddle. She's currently got the B17 from
my MTB on test to see if it'll be a Brooks that earns the BG one its well deserved place in the bin
(but it *is* a personal thing: some people like them, which is why trying different ones is a
Cunning Plan). My flatmate has a Terry racing saddle, and though that's also a ladies' model I found
it fairly comfy on a quick try.

Of course, those folk pointing out that changing saddles is rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic
compared to getting a recumbent are quite right. Though a good saddle is much kinder on one's [censored]
and inner thighs than a bad one, a good 'bent will take your weight all the way along your back as
well as your sit bones and remove all the pressure from your arms and dismiss the possibility of
chafing. The B66 on my old upright tourer is the most comfortable saddle I've ever used, but it's
still an order of magnitude less luxury than the armchair on the Streetmachine when you take into
account back, neck and arm comfort as well as the backside. Another pal is in training for a 200
miler coming up in a couple of weeks and putting a lot of miles in. Though her bike is most roadies'
wet dream (carbon framed Look and Campy bits) she was saying yesterday that if she does something
like this again she'll probably get a recumbent to make life easier on her back.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden]
dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

Mrs Larrington currently has a Specialised, having tried a Terry, but as a Lady, here needs are
somewhat different from mine. FWIW I found that both "nipped like an irritable lobster", but the
Specialised starts to do so sooner, but then I'm the wrong shaped Down There for both of 'em.

I like Brooks, me.

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
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Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
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Quoted message said:

trying different ones is a Cunning Plan). My flatmate has a Terry racing saddle, and though that's
also a ladies' model I found it fairly comfy on a quick try.

I have become addicted to my liberator copy. I get no problems with numbness and find it comfortable
all day all week on a hybrid. My lightweight audax has the brooks team pro on it and this is
probably better for head down position with feet closer together, but I am often aware ,after a lot
of miles on it ,of some trauma to the urethra causing soreness that does not happen with the
liberator. I was initially attracted to deep soft saddles but now agree they are dreadful for
causing numbness and deep sore lumps due to prolonged oxygen deprivation TerryJ