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Saddle review
I have found saddle reviews posted onto this group very useful.
Thought I might add my own. Bike setup: basic ATB which I have customised. 48-38-28 chainset with megarange, Zoom adjustable headset for a lower riding position. Schwalbe Marathon tyres. Viscount VT2 = Firm, good support, but I found it too wide. Selle Italia FLX = Suprisingly uncomfortable. Nice flat shape and useful cutout but too squidgy and chafes after about 1 hour. Brooks B17 = I like the concept, but -- I find it too slippery and I dislike the big dip in the middle. Makes me feel I am falling over the handlebars unless I tilt the saddle back a lot and then...ouch! Terry Liberator = Leather cover. Excellent saddle in most respects, good design, can sit on it for hours without any discomfort. Good for pootling around but bouncy and hard to balance properly on. Selle Italia Nixe = Couldn't find a review of this anywhere on the Net. Too narrow for me but probably a good performance saddle for someone of average build. Destined for Ebay. Selle Italia Trans Am ProLink = I think the one I bought is a Max Flite. Good technical design: flexes a lot while riding and provides good support. Anatomical design raises your Crown Jewels above the saddle. However, the back of the saddle is raised and digs into my backside. I think you have to have the handlebars low (or saddle tileted down) to avoid this problem. Selle Italia Max Flite = looks to be the best fit for me so far. Supportive, ample width. Would be interested to hear of any bike shops in the UK (SE particularly) that offer a truly professional fitting service for saddles. |
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#2
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Saddle review
Would be interested to hear of any bike shops in the UK (SE particularly) that offer a truly professional fitting service for saddles. There could be no such thing. Trial and error is the only way as people's asses differ. I cannot ride anything but leather, nor can my wife or a couple of my friends. The others use other saddles. |
#3
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Saddle review
"Gearóid Ó Laoi/Garry Lee" wrote in message ...
Would be interested to hear of any bike shops in the UK (SE particularly) that offer a truly professional fitting service for saddles. There could be no such thing. Trial and error is the only way as people's asses differ. I cannot ride anything but leather, nor can my wife or a couple of my friends. The others use other saddles. I agree (about trial and error). I have tried Brooks and Ideale leather saddles and many Italian covered-plastic types. Nothing worked. I finally found the saddles from WTB fit me- so much so that I'm installing them on all my uprights. (Current collection: 4 uprights, two recumbents.) Jeff |
#4
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Saddle review
RE/
Would be interested to hear of any bike shops in the UK (SE particularly) that offer a truly professional fitting service for saddles. Can't speak to UK, but my impression is that in the USA, the saddle industry from retailers right up to manufacturers doesn't have a clue. -- PeteCresswell |
#6
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Saddle review
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#7
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Saddle review
"Jeff Wills" wrote in message om... "Gearóid Ó Laoi/Garry Lee" wrote in message ... Would be interested to hear of any bike shops in the UK (SE particularly) that offer a truly professional fitting service for saddles. There could be no such thing. Trial and error is the only way as people's asses differ. I cannot ride anything but leather, nor can my wife or a couple of my friends. The others use other saddles. I agree (about trial and error). I have tried Brooks and Ideale leather saddles and many Italian covered-plastic types. Nothing worked. I finally found the saddles from WTB fit me- so much so that I'm installing them on all my uprights. (Current collection: 4 uprights, two recumbents.) Yes, trial and error is one of the best ways to find the right saddle. But sometimes a professional opinion can help when you've lost your way. For example: A while ago I used to swear by the "Rolls" saddle, but then I moved to a very humid climate. In the high humidity the long skirt caused a lot of chafing on my inner thighs. I moved to the "Gel Flite" model and was happy for several years. Then I was developing a lot of hand pressure problems and couldn't work out why. A visit to a professional cycle fitter helped me out... The nose of my saddle was about 1 deg down. He pointed this out straight away, and raised it to level (or even a little nose up) which (proven over time) fixed my hand problems. But the "Gel Flite" was not comfortable in this position. My professional pointed out that the saddle should fit you in THREE places, centrally and on each sit bone, with equal weight on each point. His theory is that this locks you in one place allowing perfect leg length fitting, and best power transfer. The "Gel Flite" is raised in the middle, so I had auto-compensated by lowering the nose (which raised the tail) to put more weight on the sit bones. But lowering the nose caused me to slip forward, needing my hands to brace against this, causing hand problems. In a fitting session, we tried the "Rolls", "Gel Flite", "Nitrox", "Prolink" and many many others he had in his kit bag. I also brought a "Flite SLR" that I'd recently bought too. The best fit for me (fit on all three points with equal weight) was the "Prolink". On the day of the fitting session, quite a number of my friends (who'd also shelled out significant cash for an appointment) also found that the "Prolink" was the best fit for them. Surprisingly for me, this included both a female and males of quite different builds. I should point out that our professional didn't sell any saddles during our sessions, so he wasn't benefiting from any particular brand. Later I went to my LBS and bought a "Gel Prolink" and I've been very happy with it since then. As a secondary fit the "Flite SLR" worked better for me than the standard "Flite". The deck of the "Flite SLR" is much flatter, and weights my sit bones much more, though I still squirm a little compared to the "Prolink". So that's my 2 cents. Trial and error works best, but if you have serious issues and are feeling lost don't be afraid to pay for professional help. I'm not paid to advertise, but let me know by email if you'd like a referral. |
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