saddle problem

Try lowering the nose of the saddle a little, and try moving it forward 10mm at a time. Next, the handlebar stem, it may be better turned over to bring the bars up a little.

I put a straight edge over my saddle and bars, the sit bones pads, saddle nose and flat part of the bars are all on a straight (almost horizontal) line. 🙂

many people seem to like the Specialized Body Geometry saddles, although I didn't

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqSection.jsp?sid=05EquipSaddlesMultiuse

I like the look of these:
http://www.sellesmp.com/download/foto_rgb/carbon_top.jpg
http://www.sellesmp.com/en/download.htm

bikerboy59 said:

I have been fighting wth the numb feeling us guys get for quit some time now and have went through 4 different saddles. I was proffessionaly fit at a bike shop and the nerve pain from the sit bones is gone but the numbing is stil there. I thougt that I would just get used to it but it is interfering with life. I am married.Went to the doctor and he suggested a different saddle. any ideas on a good saddle to use. I need to keep on training for the ms150 which comies up in aug and I want to be ready to rock and roll by them pain free.

How long are you sitting there? How soon does the problem start and how long does it last once you get off the bike?

Yes #3, the Selle SMP Strike saddles are great.

The science behind them seems sound and they look well enough too.

They do a budget one and some pricier variants.

Cheers

gclark8 said:

Try lowering the nose of the saddle a little, and try moving it forward 10mm at a time. Next, the handlebar stem, it may be better turned over to bring the bars up a little.

I put a straight edge over my saddle and bars, the sit bones pads, saddle nose and flat part of the bars are all on a straight (almost horizontal) line. 🙂

All of the above has been done except turning the stem upsidedown. We have been moving a bit at a time adn trying things then trying different saddles.
The saddle I am using now is a selle italia gel flow flite. I have went from the terry fly to the fizik arione and all either caused me pain in the nerve from the sit bones or numbness.

I agree with the advice above that tipping the nose down a bit helps, even a bit below horizontal. You should also search this board for several recent threads that followed an article in the New York Times on the issue of numbness and impotence. I have found the E3 saddle (gel version) from Performance to be significantly better than my previous saddles, getting more pressure on the sit bones and less on the perineum. (It is discussed in two of those threads). A more brute-force solution to pressure from the saddle nose is to eliminate the nose, a design called The Seat. No personal experience with it, but if I have further difficulties, I will try it. Question is whether it gives adequate security to your riding position. Anyone try it?

Chero

bikerboy59 said:

All of the above has been done except turning the stem upsidedown. We have been moving a bit at a time adn trying things then trying different saddles.
The saddle I am using now is a selle italia gel flow flite. I have went from the terry fly to the fizik arione and all either caused me pain in the nerve from the sit bones or numbness.

Good recommendations about adjusting your position on the bike. Believe saddle width is an important issue too. A saddle needs to be wide enough to support your sitzbones, and firm enough to hold your weight without allowing your soft parts to sink in and bear the weight. Terry Fly and Arione are fine saddles; I use the Arione and like it a lot. But if they are too skinny for your bones, they're not for you.

My theory is that many of the italian racing saddles we all lover are designed guys who are 5'6" and weight 150 lbs. If you're much bigger than this, I'd get fitted for the Specialized, in correct width, or try a Brooks B17 Standard, which is 2-3 cm wider than the italian saddles I've got (Arione, SSM Era Pro and Aspide).

Don't mess with any saddles without a nose, since they will not allow you to maintain safe contact with the bike in turns and on bumpy roads. Sitting on a bar stool may be fine for a stationary trainer, but not on a moving bike.

I am in the 216 lbs area for weight. how do you get personally fitted for a seat??

The last time I was in for a seat adjustment we had to move the nose back up just a touch because I was sliding down and having to scoot back which was putting a bunch of pressure on my hands.

You need to know how wide your sit bones are. Sit on some carbon paper to get an imprint, then measure. Your saddle needs to be at least 2 cm wider on each side.

Avoid saddles with too much padding, especially in the nose. Cut-outs help some, not others.

Lower the saddle is possible and raise the handlebars to get you more upright, less bent over.

Change positions often while riding; drops, hoods, bars, even no-hands. Stand up and pedal ocassionally, too.

Another thing to consider is your cleat position on your shoes.

bikerboy59 said:

I am in the 216 lbs area for weight. how do you get personally fitted for a seat??

The last time I was in for a seat adjustment we had to move the nose back up just a touch because I was sliding down and having to scoot back which was putting a bunch of pressure on my hands.

Get a protractor similar to <a href="http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=72">this</href> to accurately determine the tilt of the saddle. I have been using this and it's amazing how a -2deg tilt can make all the difference!

😕 sit bones are 4 1/2 inches apart which is 11cm... Now I know that distance what do I do with it????

bikerboy59 said:

I am in the 216 lbs area for weight. how do you get personally fitted for a seat??

The last time I was in for a seat adjustment we had to move the nose back up just a touch because I was sliding down and having to scoot back which was putting a bunch of pressure on my hands.

At this point you were close with the seat, NOW turn the stem over. 😎

Have a look at this bike, shorter top tube, longer steerer tube, larger tyres, seat/bars level, http://www.feltbicycles.com/felt2006/05SPEED/srd92.php it may be a better style of bike for you.

For 11 cm sitbones you'd need a 150 mm(110mm + 2 x 20mm) saddle; the Specialized Alias comes in a 155mm width. Same for the Specialized Avatar, which is $25 cheaper.

Selle Italia makes an Onda which is 166mm wide. Then they drop to 140mm or less.

bbattle said:

For 11 cm sitbones you'd need a 150 mm(110mm + 2 x 20mm) saddle; the Specialized Alias comes in a 155mm width. Same for the Specialized Avatar, which is $25 cheaper.

Selle Italia makes an Onda which is 166mm wide. Then they drop to 140mm or less.

Thank you for this information. I am looking at the specialized alias.
I am also looking at the Selle SMP type also. they look like they would do the job but are a bit on the pricey side but you also get what you pay for.
The bike I own is a Trek 2200

For 11cm sit bones you would need a 143 in the Specialized saddles. The 155 is a friggin monster, and would be way too wide in the center section. From the problems you are experiencing, I would definitely stay away from heavily padded saddles. Your sit bones will sink into them and shove padding up into your perinial region and cause MAJOR problems. And they're not always the kind of problems that will be accompanied by a lot of pain, so don't think that you can start figuring it all out after it starts to hurt. Remember, there is NO level of perineal discomfort that is ACCEPTABLE. Heavily padded saddles should be against the law. I recommend the Brooks B-17. Your sit bones sit comfortably on the leather, and hold your perineal tubing off the seat, the way God intended. There's a reason why those seats have been around forever. The Specialized saddles are pretty good as well. I don't agree at all with pointing the nose of a saddle down, all that will do is make your weight slide forward onto your perinea and cause more problems, plus it's hell on your arms and shoulders. The saddle should be basically level, at least the part where you sit. Don't try to use a level, because almost all seats are curved to some extent. Just do it by eye and take short rides around the block. When it's right, it'll feel right, and your weight will stay put and not want to shift forward or back.

bikerboy59 said:

Thank you for this information. I am looking at the specialized alias.
I am also looking at the Selle SMP type also. they look like they would do the job but are a bit on the pricey side but you also get what you pay for.
The bike I own is a Trek 2200

The Alias is an excellent choice. Go with the 143. It might feel hard at first, but sit bones can take anything after awhile.

Dr.Hairybiker said:

The Alias is an excellent choice. Go with the 143. It might feel hard at first, but sit bones can take anything after awhile.

Just checked my three italian saddles....ERA, Aspide and Arione. They run 125-130mm. By comparison, my 1974 Brooks B17 narrow is around 145 mm. Don't know what my sitzbone width is, but I seem to have maybe 1 cm max on either side when I on the saddle. Based on these measurements, 143mm would seem plenty wide.

Agree conditioning is needed to achieve some degree of comfort on any saddle. Until you've got a few thousand miles of riding in, any of these saddles is going to feel hard. I do a few centuries each season, and towards the end it seems there is always a bit of saddle discomfort. Short stops, or just pedaling out of the saddle frequently really helps to relieve the pressure.

One more comment on bike fit. Believe guys with a 36 inch waist or more may have problems with pressure from the gut if the drop from the seat to the bars more than an inch or two. A big drop may be more aero, and make the bike look racy, but it's not for everyone.

Thanks tons for all of your help guys at least now I have a direction in which to go.😄

bikerboy59 said:

I have been fighting wth the numb feeling us guys get for quit some time now and have went through 4 different saddles. I was proffessionaly fit at a bike shop and the nerve pain from the sit bones is gone but the numbing is stil there. I thougt that I would just get used to it but it is interfering with life. I am married.Went to the doctor and he suggested a different saddle. any ideas on a good saddle to use. I need to keep on training for the ms150 which comies up in aug and I want to be ready to rock and roll by them pain free.

Sorry for the obvious, but a few questions about the rider before buying new equipment.

1. How long are you riding for each session? Road surface rough?

2. Are you spending too much time with your hands on the lever hoods or on the tops of the bars? If so why? Are your hamstrings not flexible enough and riding on the drops seems difficult? Can you touch your fingers on the ground while standing? Palms perhaps?

3. Do you feel your body weight is distributed evenly between the your legs, arms and butt? By this I mean that your mass is distributed through the three points of the triangle evenly (Both legs equal one point) and not mostly through your butt (ergo question #2).

4. Assuming they fitted you up correctly (Seat post height), is your cadence so high as to cause you to rock your hips? This also places more weight through the butt instead of loading up the legs. Cadence 90-120?

Cheers