Split Saddles

Bob Gir. said:

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to experiment
at $50 bucks a pop so would appreciate any advice

find a LBS that will let you test saddles for a week or so
and let you return minus a small restock fee. All you have
to do is ask. 😄

I personally find the split ones uncomfortable, but others
rave about them. Saddle fit is really personal.

I perfer a hard leather saddle like a Brooks because since
you don't sink into it, the saddle doesn't come up and
squish your danglies.

:P

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 15:24:39 GMT, "Bob Gir." <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

A long time fairly serious biker, 100 miles a week, I have
always
wondered about those split saddles and if they work or not
to relieve
the numbness in the crotch area. I have tried adjusting my
saddles
numerous times over the years and have never fully
succeeded in ridding
myself totally of the "crotch numbness syndrome". Standing
up in the
saddle every ten or fifteen minutes seems to be the only
sure cure.

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to experiment
at $50 bucks a pop so would appreciate any advice,
suggestions for effective brands of models that folks
would care to make.

Many thanks, bob

I've never had bad problems with numbness, but I'd get
it maybe half of my rides. I've been having good luck
with the Koobi saddles. Au Enduro and its earlier
version, the Silver.

koobi.comkoobi.comOpen ↗

They do offer a 30 day test period if you buy from them.

maxo said:

find a LBS that will let you test saddles for a week or so
and let you return minus a small restock fee. All you have
to do is ask. 😄

hahaha.. better yet find one that will give you free
seats. just ask.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dan Daniel said:

Bob Gir. said:

A long time fairly serious biker, 100 miles a week, I
have always
wondered about those split saddles and if they work or
not to relieve
the numbness in the crotch area. I have tried adjusting
my saddles
numerous times over the years and have never fully
succeeded in ridding
myself totally of the "crotch numbness syndrome".
Standing up in the
saddle every ten or fifteen minutes seems to be the only
sure cure.

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to
experiment at $50 bucks a pop so would appreciate any
advice, suggestions for effective brands of models
that folks would care to make.

Many thanks, bob

I've never had bad problems with numbness, but I'd get
it maybe half of my rides. I've been having good luck
with the Koobi saddles. Au Enduro and its earlier
version, the Silver.

koobi.comkoobi.comOpen ↗

They do offer a 30 day test period if you buy from them.

Thanks, Dan, I'll check them out. bob

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

Quoted message said:

maxo said:

find a LBS that will let you test saddles for a week or
so and let you return minus a small restock fee. All you
have to do is ask. 😄

hahaha.. better yet find one that will give you free
seats. just ask.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

Don't laugh so fast. Maybe not free, but my LBS will let a
customer trial a seat for 10% of the retail price. That's a
pretty good deal.

Ride on whatever you fit on, Don

maxo said:

Bob Gir. said:

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to
experiment at $50 bucks a pop so would appreciate any
advice

find a LBS that will let you test saddles for a week or so
and let you return minus a small restock fee. All you have
to do is ask. 😄

I personally find the split ones uncomfortable, but others
rave about them. Saddle fit is really personal.

I perfer a hard leather saddle like a Brooks because since
you don't sink into it, the saddle doesn't come up and
squish your danglies.

:P

Sometimes I think that this is why the Koobi saddles have
worked for
me. The top of the saddle is very flat so I don't sink in a
way that puts pressure in the middle. Maybe the split is
doing nothing and the fit for me results from other
parts of its shape.

I couldn't get the Brooks B17 to work for me. Saddles are
very personal this way.

27 Jun 2004 16:47:57 GMT,
<[email hidden]>, David Reuteler

Quoted message said:

maxo said:

find a LBS that will let you test saddles for a week or
so and let you return minus a small restock fee. All you
have to do is ask. 😄

hahaha.. better yet find one that will give you free seats.
just ask.

The LBS where I've bought Brooks saddles lets you exchange
any saddle within a week as long as it's not damaged.
There's no restocking fee. They've just opened their third
store so that policy hasn't hurt their business.
--
zk

In article <gunni-
[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

A long time fairly serious biker, 100 miles a week, I
have always wondered about those split saddles and if
they work or not to relieve the numbness in the crotch
area. I have tried adjusting my saddles

YES!

Quoted message said:

numerous times over the years and have never fully
succeeded in ridding myself totally of the "crotch
numbness syndrome". Standing up in the saddle every ten or
fifteen minutes seems to be the only sure cure.

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to
experiment at $50 bucks a pop so would appreciate any
advice, suggestions for effective brands of models that
folks would care to make.

I'm on my 6th different saddle, a Koobi Au Enduro, trying to
find the one which I don't need to think about, and it seems
to be the best so far, though I only have a few miles on it.

I've tried the following:

The oem Fuji saddle. Probably nice if you're a lightweight
and won't sink into the padding. My daughter really likes it
on the old 10-speed I had set up as a beater bike, which she
claimed as her own after one ride.

An older version of the Specialized Body Geometry wide
model. It was great when sitting up, but when down on the
drops or aerobars, it put pressure where it shouldn't be,
causing numbness. Rode this one a lot when I was getting
back into cycling, but when I starting riding faster and
entering races, it became less nice than it was as a
touring saddle.

A newer Specialized BG-2 Sport. No numbness, but for some
reason, it gave me sore sit bones. Never quite figured out
why, but finally gave up on it after quite a few miles and
adjustments.

A Trek Women's saddle (don't recall the exact model).
It was pretty good, but just a bit too soft, and short
front-to-back.

A Koobi Xenon. A very firm (they rate it an 8 out of 10 on
their firmness scale), wide, flat saddle. Would probably be
great for someone who rides a lot, but it seemed unlikely
that I would get used to it when I only ride a few hours per
week. I may keep it around as a race saddle, since it has Ti
rails and is pretty light.

A Koobi Au Enduro. Same shape as the Xenon, but with just a
bit thicker and softer padding. Only one ride on it so far,
but it felt REALLY good. I'll know a lot more next weekend
after a 70-miler.

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in
the newsgroups if possible).

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

Quoted message said:

A long time fairly serious biker, 100 miles a week, I have
always wondered about those split saddles and if they work
or not to relieve the numbness in the crotch area. I have
tried adjusting my saddles numerous times over the years
and have never fully succeeded in ridding myself totally
of the "crotch numbness syndrome". Standing up in the
saddle every ten or fifteen minutes seems to be the only
sure cure.

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to
experiment at $50 bucks a pop so would appreciate any
advice, suggestions for effective brands of models that
folks would care to make.

Many thanks, bob

I have a Koobi on our tandem and get along well with it,
although my main ride has a Brooks, which I find a bit more
comfortable. If numbness is your problem, a Koobi might be
the best bet. I believe that if you buy through their
website, they have a 30 day demo ride program. Smokey

Zoot Katz <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

27 Jun 2004 16:47:57 GMT,
<[email hidden]>, David
Reuteler <[email hidden]> wrote:

The LBS where I've bought Brooks saddles lets you exchange
any saddle within a week as long as it's not damaged.

And that store is?

Tue, 29 Jun 2004 00:32:36 GMT,
<[email hidden]>,

Mike Latondresse mikelat@no_spamshaw.ca said:

Quoted message said:

The LBS where I've bought Brooks saddles lets you
exchange any saddle within a week as long as it's not
damaged.

And that store is?

Bike Doctor on Broadway
--
zk

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to experiment
at $50 bucks a pop so would appreciate any advice,
suggestions for effective brands of models that folks
would care to make.

AVOID Koobi
AVOID Koobi Enduro Au
then now and in the future
the best advice you can get here is this: test a variety and see what works for you
worth some extra money and time and patience!

no bitterness, no pretends, this is just a reflection over a couple of mistakes i made recently and a piece of good advice that might help you to avoid this far from marvellous product

I have owned this saddle for several months now which is pretty much how long it has been taking me to readjust to this saddle. i am not sure how anyone can see it as a comfortable mid range mileage saddle of a good value.

I have bought this saddle, following a lengthy research and various recommendations of people i considered experts in their field including fellow cyclists and triathletes.
to my great surprise and dismay what arrived was far from the superior light-weight split nose saddle i was convinced i had bought.
perhaps the most obvious are the bizarre sides near the sit bones area made of black textile - allegedly kevlar?tha is hard to believe as they are not durable as expected !? (the black part on the side - the photo on the internet does not provide a detail - for a good reason i guess) most ridiculous - why would I want the sides of my saddle made of significantly less durable material than the rest. to save a couple of grams? i can only hope now that i will remember not to lean my bike against a wall or anything ever again to avoid damage of these fragile ‘patches’. Having examined this thoroughly i can see clearly now how the stitches are unevenly tightened as if someone was trying to stitch it on the hard support part. i can definitely feel the seams border lines after about twenty minutes. takes some getting used to and thus I do not consider it a sleek design at all.

I am not expecting this saddle to last more than one season. the stitching is already showing a sign of strain and wear.

just one more thing -
I have stuff shipped from the US to the UK regularly and it seems a very common practice of the senders/internet sellers to declare much lower value of the items shipped on the label/declaration sticker than is the actual price of the items - it often prevents customs from snooping around and damaging parcels which are then inadequatly re-taped, it saves customers a lot on import duty and tax, which is ok with most of us.
i am not quite sure what koobi was thinking declaring higher price of the saddle on the label than what i actually paid as this resulted in Customs demanding a hefty import duty, without them even opening the package as the label was so carefully filled out!

talk to koobi first and see if you can make them see some sense, if you have a chance of trying your new saddle out (rare in shops these days)- go for it. no review or advice compares to a first hand experience, or should i say first bum experience...

I ride a WTB Speed saddle. I don't even remember where I bought it, but it is comfortable. Another good saddle is the women's saddle made by Terry. I don't care if it's for women or not. Heck, I'm the one, who has to sit on it for all those long rides. It better be comfortable. The most uncomfortable saddle I ever tried was the very expensive Selle Italia saddle.