Saddle Tech & School

[Spafsack]

Hi guys, i know there are plenty threads regarding 'advise on saddles' but i am really 'gatvol' excuse the pun. I would like advise / opinions / schooling please. I am a relatively fit gent, 84kg, 1.86m tall, i would say i have a normal sized ass    I have always entered 28km races, the last few have been 40km, and by 30km my ass is numb. Speaking to a few mates and bike shops owners, they all say 'more time in the saddle', but i am training 80km per week. I have a feeling it is my stock saddle that came on my silverback superspeed.

 

I know nothing about saddle width, long nose, short nose, even though have have googled, it would be amazing to get first hand experience from you guys, guys who have changed from stock and what did you change to or what can you advise. Why do cut outs make a difference, do i need a long nose or is that old school tech.

 

Why are some saddles noes's so long, is this for climbing? I have never noticed that i shift that much forward on steep or long climbs, surely the new tech saddles which are shorter are fine for climbing. The races or riding i do is long gravel, downhill, climbing, not hectic technical, but i do have a dropper which i love and need.

 

I also dont mind testing, in fact, my son's bike has the elcheepo power saddle, i am going to fit that and test next week and see how that feels. I dont mind spending lets say a grand on a good saddle but it must just relieve the sit bone numbness after around the 30km mark.

 

My current silverback stock sbc saddle looks weird, long nose, 145mm wide, feels kind of soft ish, its all i know, so i have no idea if it is actually bad. Has anyone else with silverbacks had this and changed and if so how was the change?

 

I also like the look, design, features of the Farr saddles, or as allot of you said, go get yourself tested, which i dont mind doing. I am spending enough time on the saddle, i really want to enjoy the whole ride. I also suspect that toe numbness might have something to do with this saddle. I think my bike set up is correct, more race orientated not slack trail kind, would like your opinions please. 

 

Thanx gents.

[Firozfx]

It's simple, go get a saddle fit.

 

My first spez had the long nose spez phenom, and it just took t.i.t.s to get used to it.

 

I now ride the short nose spez power and ridefarr saddles. They do the same thing. I ride short tech trails and long distance up to The Munga races. There is a crossover where the saddle doesn't matter anymore. Like 15 hours.

 

The only time I find I sit forward is when hammering on a flat stretch and leaning forward on the bars.

 

The shorter saddles are recommended imo.

[ChrisF]

Time in the saddle ... that only counts for the first few rides. In fact, the more you ride the more important it becomes to get a good saddle AND a good setup.

 

The saddle width is step one ... couple of ways to check your "sit bone width", and thus the correct saddle width. For me that is 142mm.

 

But even with the correct width some saddle simply are not comfortable.

 

The cut out, the slope of the saddle, etc all impact on that one that fits your butt.

 

 

As my miles climbed I struggled to find that one saddle.... during a follow up bike fit session Irma fitted various saddles to my bike..... doing a true blind study was interesting !! The range of saddles extended from Spez to Ryder saddles (at no time did I know what was fitted, my feedback was purely on "feel"). Turns out a Ryder, nose down by 1 degree WORKS for me.

 

When I sold that bike I kept the saddle. I decided to give the saddle on the Giant a fair chance .... it took 3 or 4 rides to get used to it, but I am very happy with it now.

 

 

So what are your options ?

 

Determine the correct width.

 

Experiment until you find the one that works for you ... for the price of the second saddle it may well be most cost effective to go for a bikefit, with soomebody that can assist with different saddles ...

 

 

Bit of a shlep, but really improves the ride when you get that right saddle

[Me rida my bicycle]

I changed saddle after saddle but after I properly set up my bike I have never had a issue again with numbness. Bike set up is as important as your contract points.

[MORNE]

Riding position also makes a difference. More racey xc/roadie...you can go narrower. More upright trail/touring...you can go wider. It’s all a juggle of where you sitbones make contact with the saddle in relation to how far forward you are bent over at the hips. When my mtb is in xc configuration, as in more stretched out with a bigger drop from saddle to bars, i like a 143 power saddle on it to get comfy. My road bike has a 140mm saddle on it too..for similar reasons regarding riding position. In trail,touring mode my riding position on my mtb is alot more upright, as in bars and saddle about level..or bar just above saddle..with a 60mm stem rather than a 90. A wider saddle feels good then. I tried it initially with my wifes 155mm power saddle and it felt good. Then got me a brooks c17 recently (circa 170mm) and it feels perfect sitting on it thst upright.

Edited October 25, 2020 by morneS555

[Hairy]

Hi guys, i know there are plenty threads regarding 'advise on saddles' but i am really 'gatvol' excuse the pun. I would like advise / opinions / schooling please. I am a relatively fit gent, 84kg, 1.86m tall, i would say i have a normal sized ass    I have always entered 28km races, the last few have been 40km, and by 30km my ass is numb. Speaking to a few mates and bike shops owners, they all say 'more time in the saddle', but i am training 80km per week. I have a feeling it is my stock saddle that came on my silverback superspeed.

 

I know nothing about saddle width, long nose, short nose, even though have have googled, it would be amazing to get first hand experience from you guys, guys who have changed from stock and what did you change to or what can you advise. Why do cut outs make a difference, do i need a long nose or is that old school tech.

 

Why are some saddles noes's so long, is this for climbing? I have never noticed that i shift that much forward on steep or long climbs, surely the new tech saddles which are shorter are fine for climbing. The races or riding i do is long gravel, downhill, climbing, not hectic technical, but i do have a dropper which i love and need.

 

I also dont mind testing, in fact, my son's bike has the elcheepo power saddle, i am going to fit that and test next week and see how that feels. I dont mind spending lets say a grand on a good saddle but it must just relieve the sit bone numbness after around the 30km mark.

 

My current silverback stock sbc saddle looks weird, long nose, 145mm wide, feels kind of soft ish, its all i know, so i have no idea if it is actually bad. Has anyone else with silverbacks had this and changed and if so how was the change?

 

I also like the look, design, features of the Farr saddles, or as allot of you said, go get yourself tested, which i dont mind doing. I am spending enough time on the saddle, i really want to enjoy the whole ride. I also suspect that toe numbness might have something to do with this saddle. I think my bike set up is correct, more race orientated not slack trail kind, would like your opinions please. 

 

Thanx gents.

My personal experience is that most saddles work well for me, but any saddle that is soft / thick foamed tends to cause hot spots and some serious discomfort.

 

I really enjoy ripping off the Spaz brand, but their saddles are really very good ... see if you can demo one.

[porqui]

I discovered yesterday how important saddle position is.

Changed to a dropper post and forgot to measure saddle angle and position.

Was perfectly comfortable before and had major issues after (fixed now)

I would venture to say that with many uncomfortable saddles it is actually the position and not the saddle.

The slightest difference in angle and distance from the stem affects comfort. Also your saddle height.

[Andreas_187]

I struggled for 3 years. Saddle was too high. End of story

[Pieter1]

I recently got myself this Farr saddle. I’ll edit the post later with the model name. Any way I have not done any long rides on it thus far but so far so good. I’m getting less but zits, not sure if it is the saddle or what tho.

I find the short nose much more comfy than the long one I had. My bits feel less squashed, also the flat profile maybe helps to relieve some pressure there. It is wide enough so I sit lekker on it.

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2020 by Pieter1

[Kranswurm]

Sella Italia SLR or Fizik Arione on the road and Fizik Gobi XM on the MTB .Tried the Spaz Romin and that also is a fine saddle

[thebob]

Make sure saddle height is correct. A few mm can make a massive difference in comfort. Get your sit bones measured and see if that matches your current saddle. If not, time to try one that does. I've personally found the SQ Lab saddles are great. They put the pressure on your sit bones, zero pressure on your perineum or other bits

[dasilvarsa]

Article about saddle Width

https://www.sq-lab.com/en/ergonomics/sqlab-measurement-concepts/sit-bone-measurement/

 

I wonder How Many MTB'ers are Riding "Too Narrow" Saddles ! ?

Edited October 25, 2020 by dasilvarsa

[Spafsack]

Hi guys, sorry for only responding now. I started to sort out damp in my garage, ended up painting the entire thing, 2 days later, 6 hours a day, feels like i have done a 50km mtb race. Feels as if i have done cross fit or something for 2 days straight. Anyways.....While i took a break from painting, i tried the cheepo copy, on my sons bike. O my word, after 5 minutes it felt like i was sitting on steel. It is wider, around 150mm, compared to my stock sbc saddle, which is around 140mm, but i complete different feel.

 

I guess i will have to get sit bones measured, i can try at home but i dont have cardboard etc..So to try and reply to the advice given.

 

Short versus long nose - it seems short is newer tech and perhaps the way forward [excuse the pun]

Cut out - well, i tried my sons, but you cant tell by 5 minutes, maybe the cut out makes a difference to pressure points, well, reading above, it does, so i guess that is a must.

 

I will double check sadle height, but i think i am fine, set up as well. Maybe i am just itching [another pun] for a new saddle, maybe long rides above 40km do stuff your ass up, but i am planning to do 70km soon, there is no way i will make it with the but pain i have starting from 30km into a 40km ride / race.

 

I dont think the power saddle copy for R300 can be that great, as that is what is on my sons bike and it felt horrible. I really hope to test as much as i can. The problem is, whatever i get must get me to at least 50km in a ride or race before i start becoming really eina. Will report back finding. Thanx again for all the comments. 

[Spafsack]

Okay, so find a nice piece of cardboard in the garage, chucked it on a flat chair, sat back straight up, pulled my weight down on the arm rests, and saw the 2 x impressions, quit cool. I did this twice as it seems my ass is small. Both times i measured between the centre of each impression 105mm, max 110mm. Google bike saddle fit people say take this measurement and add 20mm, so i get to 130mm. This is some ways confirms why sitting on the wider saddle earlier today [150mm wide] felt horrible. This also confirms why my current 'thin saddle' is fine but i still need to figure out, or get a saddle that lasts the distance.

 

So i guess i am in for a saddle width of 130mm, 135mm, does this sound normal. 

[CAAD4]

Do they still make 134mm Gobi's? Might be right for you.

[Spafsack]

My current saddle I measured end to end was 145mm, but my sit bone area I recon is around 135mm. So perhaps I am a normal oke. I guess that's why most saddle widths are around 142mm. The Gobi sounds like an idea, tnx.