What saddle for hard tail

[jamis1]

I need help. I will be doing the Epic on a hard tail and currently I have a Sella Italia titanium flight racing saddle  that is perfect for one day marathon events but I am not so sure about 8 days in the saddle. I would appreciate any advice on what saddle to go for.    <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[Racer X]

Selle Italia SLR. Next question?

Some guys swear by the Fizik Gobi hey, its pretty comfy and fairly light. The new Tundra, by Fizik, is also due out soon, may be worth the wait.

 

Another trick you can do is to take a few saddles along with you. If you rotate them on, say.... a bi daily basis you will be sitting on diferrent parts of your butt.

 

Hope that sorta helps.

 

 

[jamis1]

Tanx Racer X

I would imagine changing your saddle (obviously one you are used to)would have the same effect as using different stile riding bibs.

Will I have enough space to take a spare saddle?  

 

[David #7]

Just use the SLR with good shorts, assos, vermarc or the like and remember the chamios creme and zambuc for saddle sores.

[jamis1]

I don?t know the SLR but will definitely check it out.

[Dicky DQ]

Fizik Gobi no questions.

[Dicky DQ]

Done 2 on a Gobi with a Hardtail and no complaints. However i am thinking of using the Areone this time around.

[jamis1]

I have the Arione on my road bike and that is fantastic just a bit worried that it might be too hard for MTB and 8 days

[Johan Bornman]

Asking a group of people what saddle is right for you is like asking Revenend Moon to choose a wife for you. Only you can know what saddle is right for you. If your present saddle doesn't hurt after a long day in the saddle, that's the one you should take.  Any recommendations are purely based on what worked for the person or what he prefers because he has one.

 

 

You'll be training plenty days in succession and by the time you get to the Epic your arse will be well seasoned and long before you would have started to pick up the warning signals.

 

Further, there are saddle sores and then there are saddle sores.  

The types I've come across are:

 

1) Ischemic pressure sores. These are the same as bed sores and come from dead tissue. Little knoblets of tissue gets squeezed to death between your iliac bones and the saddle's shell, blood stops flowing there and the tissue dies and rots from  the inside forming a puss nodule. These are best lanced, kept clean and left alone.

 

2) Chafing. This is a friction sore from rubbing on your skin. The wound is different - open on top and seldom perfectly round in shape. If you leave this wound to heal it forms a scab. This also happens in the rain on long rides. Your front wheel washes grit over you and when you take a leak, some of the grit escapes into your chamois. It then grinds you down in no time. Again, the symptoms is a typical abrasion.

 

3) Ingrown hairs that grow a ponytail underneath your skin. The chafing cuts the hair off short, it grows back under the skin and forms a hard globule. This takes a long time to develop and will happen to you during training, if at all.

 

4) Infections. The pressure and combination of moist soft tissue allows germs to penetrate your skin and cause infections. These are usually low-lying little pimples. These are prevented with anti-bacterial concontions like Tea Tree Oil and whatever grandma prescribes.

 

There may be more, but that's all I've identified on my rides.

 

If you look at the causes of the above, you'll see that a saddle only causes some of them. Before replacing your saddle, find out which ones you get. Let your girlfriend have a good look and diagnose them for you. Abrasive wounds can be prevented by using creams, whereas the others I think your body can get used to and build up some sort of defenses in the form of harder skin.

 

In my view, the shorts have little to do with it. If a short has a reasonably chamois that fits nicely, then it is good enough. Thicker chamois dont' make for better padding as most people believe and Assos would have your believe with your wallet.

 

If you don't believe me, test a thick and thin chamois by pinching it between the nails. You won't be able to distinguis the difference in thickness between your left hand with the thin chamois and the right hand with the thick chamois. On the road it is the same. Contrarary to your standard 9 teacher's believe, your brain is not in your arse and it doesn't think or care about the price of your shorts.

 

I rode the Epic on the cheapest shorts I could find - Howzit Economy. No problems other than that of the sandy variety, but I soon learnt to detour my plumbing when taking a leak.  The saddle my cheapo bike came out with ten years ago is the saddle that supported me throughout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Johan Bornman2008-10-04 07:37:12

[mrmed]

A very soft one with springs!!!!!!

Actually I like the Fizik Arione. Use them on both my road bike and MTB bike.

[Racer X]

Tanx Racer X

I would imagine changing your saddle (obviously one you are used to)would have the same effect as using different stile riding bibs.

Will I have enough space to take a spare saddle?  

Different bibs....yeah I reckon so hey, you could certainly give it a try.

 

Spare saddles are not very big hey, I'd be surprised if you could not tuck one in somewhere.

 

http://images.buzzillions.com/images_products/03/35/mens_selle_italia_slr_saddle_men_reviews_929204_300.jpg

 

Here's the link for the SLR

[1kTT]

I did about half of this years epic training on an SLR + hardtail.  It started hurting a bit + the saddle padding (which wasnt very thick to start with) compressed so it felt like I was sitting on the bare carbon shell.  Changed to a Gobi and never looked back.

 

I highly recommend taking 2 different brands of bib shorts and rotating them.  It gives any sore areas a chance to recover.

 

[swift]

Done 2 Epics (ok, 1 and a half due to injury) on a Hard tail and a Fizik Gobi... so these are really good.

 

 

 

Have a look at Specialized though, bacuase they take into account not all saddles are 'one size fit all' plus they make some really decent saddles...