in message , Red
') wrote:

I ride a fairly basic racing bike and like it (and can't afford a new
one anyway); my saddle height is fine and I know the drill about 10
degree bend in the leg when at its lowest pedalling position; the
angle of the saddle is not changeable. So, to go right back to basics,
where does ideally everything go in the saddle? Where exactly should
the "veg" go? On the saddle or over the edge? Any pics to demonstrate?
As long as they stop short of gay porn. Sitting down has never seemed
a problem before, but it can't harm to check I'm not doing something
fundamental wrong.

I gather that a new saddle will help. Any advice as to models before I
go shopping? Am on a tight budget.

The basic question is 'how soft is your saddle?' If it's at all soft,
your sit bones (ischeal tuberosities) will sink into it, transferring
weight onto soft tissue, and that's what does the damage.

So:

* You /don't/ need a gel saddle (indeed, that's probably what's doing
you in)
* You /don't/ need a saddle with a hole in (unless of the female gender)
* You /don't/ need a saddle with a groove down the middle

You need a plain, hard, saddle that's the right width across the skirt
for /your/ sit bones. I use two different saddles on my bikes: the
Brooks Professional, an old favourite because I find it extremely
comfortable:

URL:http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/race.shtml

and the Selle Italia SLR (the plain SLR, not the 'XP' or the 'GelFlow',
both of which completely defeat the purpose) which isn't quite as
comfortable as the Brooks but is adequately comfortable and much
lighter:

URL:http://www.parker-international.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/1323/

What these two have in common is that they're both pretty flat and both
pretty hard. And that (IMO) is what makes them comfortable.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Hobbit ringleader gives Sauron One in the Eye.