Women's vs. men's saddles

No, you're right. That's the point. Maybe women wore skirts while riding in
the 1920's, but today? No.

Whatever the original reasoning, and I certainly never wear a skirt when
cycling - I really do find a female specific saddle much more comfortable than
a male specific one. I've got three bikes and each has a different female
saddle on (2 x different Terry's and 1 Raleigh) and these are comfortable for
me, whereas when I ride a bike that has a male specific saddle, I *am* in
agony.

Cheers, helen s



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Whatever the original reasoning, and I certainly never wear a skirt when
cycling - I really do find a female specific saddle much more comfortable
than a male specific one. I've got three bikes and each has a different
female saddle on (2 x different Terry's and 1 Raleigh) and these are
comfortable for me, whereas when I ride a bike that has a male specific
saddle, I *am* in agony.

Cheers, helen s

I suspect that what you are comfortable on is a saddle that has
measurements that fit your "sit bones" and it has nothing to do whether it
is called a "female specific" or "male specific" saddle. If the saddle is
too narrow in the rear, your "sit bones" are not supported as they should be
and the soft tissues bear the weight instead. There are several "male
specific" saddles that I have seen which are as wide or wider than "female
specific" ones. Look at the Terry line, for example: (in inches)

Women's Men's
Butterfly 10.3 X 6.1 Fly 10.9 X 5.5
Liberator X 9.8 X 6.5 Liberator Y 10.4 X 6.6
Damselfly 10.5 X 5.1 Zero 10.9 X 5.5

By looking at the chart, you can see that the Men's Liberator Y is wider in
the rear than all 3 of the "female specific" saddles I have listed. On the
other hand, the Damselfly is narrower in the rear than any of the "male
specific" saddles . The rear measurements are what matters due to the
females' wider pelvis. In these examples of the Terry line, I would say if
you find a Liberator Y on sale, get it because it is wider than the
Liberator X and only about 1/2" longer. And, if the Liberator or the
Butterfly models fit you, stay away from the Damselfly even if it is called
"female specific."

Pat in TX ( and I do hope the chart looks like a chart when posted!)

"Pat" wrote in message ...

I can't remember the last time I saw a woman/girl wearing a skirt while
riding a bike. Once in a while I see a roller-blader in a skirt, but not
on a bike. It's all shorts or sweats for both sexes. I do stick to a
rail
trail, so maybe by sample set is biased.

No, you're right. That's the point. Maybe women wore skirts while riding
in
the 1920's, but today? No.

I sometimes ride wearing a little flippy skirt. It's a black tennis skirt I
bought on clearance at Sports Authority. It forms a sort of "modesty panel"
when I'm riding some place -- like to the library, say -- and I think just
running around in black spandex shorts off the bike might be a little too
much. I got it because I like the bike skorts that Terry makes
(http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=9318), but I don't like the
high price for them. But the skirt is no longer than the hem of my shorts,
and it isn't like it interferes with my cycling in any way. It's just a tad
warmer than no skirt at all.


Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

nopcbs wrote:

"I need a new saddle as the "C9" saddle that I bought
at one of the local shops a couple of years ago is wearing
out (the lycra is wearing through - I ride almost 20 miles
a day in good weather). I don't want another lycra saddle
for this reason..."

If that's all that's wrong with it, make a new cover out of the good
part of an old pair of bike shorts. No sewing required, just cut out a
hunk big enough to go around the saddle and fasten the bottom together
with dental floss or string or thread or yarn fed through a needle of
some sort. If even that is beyond you and you have lots of lycra, hold
it together with staples or safety pins.

Dental floss is useful stuff. I used it to sew an air cleaner for my
son's motorcycle a few years ago...

--
Cheers,
Bev
*******************************************
"I've learned that you can keep puking long
after you think you're finished." -- SL

Pat wrote:

It has been explained that the longer nose of the saddle would snag in the
ladies' skirts.....

Har. More likely to snag in teen-age boys' pants waistbands!

--
Cheers,
Bev
*******************************************
"I've learned that you can keep puking long
after you think you're finished." -- SL

Pat wrote:

It has been explained that the longer nose of the saddle would snag in
the ladies' skirts.....


Har. More likely to snag in teen-age boys' pants waistbands!

--
Cheers,
Bev


Couple of things wrong with your assessment: teen-age boys who wear sagging
pants do not think it is cool to ride a 'grown-up' bike ( my son once told
me "Didn't you know cars have been invented?"). If you see one riding a
bike, they are riding a tiny BMX thing that is so small they couldn't sit on
the saddle if they wanted to. I got a big kick out of one of those kids last
summer. He was strolling casually across the divided highway when the light
at the end of the block turned green and cars began to turn toward him. He
started to run to get to the grassy median, and when he ran, his pants fell
down around his ankles right there in the middle of the northbound lane.
So, he bends over and is grasping his waistband with one hand and trying to
hustle to the median at the same time. Then, he had to fix his clothes
while standing in the median with cars whizzing by. That made my day!

Pat in TX

Dental floss is useful stuff. I used it to sew an air cleaner for my
son's motorcycle a few years ago...

--
Cheers,
Bev


Was it mint fresh? ;p

Pat in TX

"The Real Bev" wrote in message


[...]

Dental floss is useful stuff. I used it to sew an air cleaner for my
son's motorcycle a few years ago...

That is *so* Martha Stewart.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

Pat wrote:

Pat wrote:

It has been explained that the longer nose of the saddle would snag in
the ladies' skirts.....

Har. More likely to snag in teen-age boys' pants waistbands!

Couple of things wrong with your assessment: teen-age boys who wear sagging
pants do not think it is cool to ride a 'grown-up' bike ( my son once told
me "Didn't you know cars have been invented?"). If you see one riding a
bike, they are riding a tiny BMX thing that is so small they couldn't sit on
the saddle if they wanted to.

And pedaling really fast and still not keeping up. We should be glad
they're getting at least that much exercise.

I got a big kick out of one of those kids last
summer. He was strolling casually across the divided highway when the light
at the end of the block turned green and cars began to turn toward him. He
started to run to get to the grassy median, and when he ran, his pants fell
down around his ankles right there in the middle of the northbound lane.
So, he bends over and is grasping his waistband with one hand and trying to
hustle to the median at the same time. Then, he had to fix his clothes
while standing in the median with cars whizzing by. That made my day!

Excellent! I saw a kid the other day whose pants were apparently
hanging BELOW his butt. Hard to believe, but that's what it looked
like. So I got to wondering -- is it possible that they wear women's
garter belts? It would be very practical and certainly unobtrusive as
long as they're wearing those extra-long monster t-shirts.

--
Cheers,
Bev
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"It doesn't get any easier - you just go faster."
-- Greg Lemond

GRL wrote:
:: You bring up an interesting point. In general "men's" saddles appear
:: longer and thinner (in back) than "women's". One may assume that the
:: width in back is different because of the much discussed pelvic
:: width difference (on average).
::
:: But why the length difference? As a male I know darned well that I
:: am not about to slide forward onto the saddle's nose and risk
:: crushing "the twins" who would quickly register a note of protest.
:: Since the ladies lack these "hangers on", one would think that if a
:: long nosed saddle is appropriate for anyone, it's more appropriate
:: for them. And yet they get the shorter saddles.

Sliding forward on the saddles puts my "twins" in less jeopardy, not more.
In fact, my twins are not at risk in any position (front to rear on saddle).

::
:: - GRL
::
:: "It's good to want things."
::
:: Steve Barr (philosopher, poet, humorist,
:: chemist, Visual Basic programmer)
:: "Jacques Moser" wrote in
:: message news ::: On Fri, 21 May 2004 20:08:58 +0000, jobst.brand wrote:
:::
::::
:::: I'm not sure whose saddle you tried but the original womens
:::: saddles for athletic women were designed by Avocet because the
:::: boss's wife was both a rider and MD who was aware that many
:::: women's pelvises were wider than men's. That is, the
:::: protuberances (sit bones) are more widely spaced such that they
:::: rested on the outer edge of the wide part of men's saddles. The
:::: wider saddle accommodated that but not all manufacturers who made
:::: these saddles understood the need and dimensions. They have a
:::: useful function for women in general.
:::
::: I tried my wife's own saddle (made for Veloplus - www.veloplus.ch),
::: and also, at the shop, a Brooks and a Selle Italia. I don't think
::: these last 2 saddles were necessarily too wide, but they felt
::: definitely too short.
:::
::::
:::: Jacques, so where in CH are you riding?
:::
::: Neuchâtel
:::
::::
:::: Jobst Brandt
::::