Saddle upgrade

Well, I have been riding my Trek 7300 for the last month on a 10.3 mile
'loop' around my house, and the Bontrager sport seat is just not
comfortable. Any reccomendations on either a good saddle or would a gel
cover work?

On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 22:57:49 -0700, jcat1974 wrote:

Well, I have been riding my Trek 7300 for the last month on a 10.3 mile
'loop' around my house, and the Bontrager sport seat is just not
comfortable. Any reccomendations on either a good saddle or would a gel
cover work?

Short answer is no, a gel cover will not work, IMNSHO gel is a bad idea
for saddles. You want to support yourself on the "sit bones", actually
fairly tough (once you've been riding enough) pads covering a portion of
your pelvis. Between these sit bones are a lot of sensitive nerves,
veins, arteries; serious stuff you do not want to put weight on. A gel
saddle squishes the gel away from the sit bones, making it harder than it
should be there. Worse, that gel gets squeezed over to those serious bits
you don't want to sit on.

A firmer saddle will be more comfortable in the long run. Really.

But you have to find what fits your butt. That may take a while, but a
cooperative bike shop can help out.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | "What am I on? I'm on my bike, six hours a day, busting my ass.
_`\(,_ | What are you on?" --Lance Armstrong
(_)/ (_) |

David L. Johnson wrote:
On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 22:57:49 -0700, jcat1974 wrote:
Well, I have been riding my Trek 7300 for the last month on a 10.3 mile
'loop' around my house, and the Bontrager sport seat is just not
comfortable. Any reccomendations on either a good saddle or would a gel
cover work?

Short answer is no, a gel cover will not work, IMNSHO gel is a bad idea
for saddles. You want to support yourself on the "sit bones", actually
fairly tough (once you've been riding enough) pads covering a portion of
your pelvis. Between these sit bones are a lot of sensitive nerves,
veins, arteries; serious stuff you do not want to put weight on. A gel
saddle squishes the gel away from the sit bones, making it harder than it
should be there. Worse, that gel gets squeezed over to those serious bits
you don't want to sit on.

A firmer saddle will be more comfortable in the long run. Really.

But you have to find what fits your butt. That may take a while, but a
cooperative bike shop can help out.

David's right on this one. Gel seats are wonderful things for beginners
on short rides looking for something soft, but your 10 mile loop
probably doubles the maximum comfortable range.

Pat

jcat1974 wrote:
Well, I have been riding my Trek 7300 for the last month on a 10.3
mile
'loop' around my house, and the Bontrager sport seat is just not
comfortable. Any reccomendations on either a good saddle or would a
gel
cover work?

What makes a saddle comfortable, IMO, is that it's exactly as wide as
it needs to be and no wider, and that it doesn't compress enough to
contact your soft tissues.

Your ischeal tuberosities - the "sit bones" - should ideally be the
only part of you that bears on the saddle. So measure the distance
between your sit bones (try sitting in some wet sand, or putting on
some tight wet shorts and sitting on a concrete stair, and measuring
the distance between the impressions your sit bones leave behind;
really, I'm serious!) and look for saddles that are the correct width.
The rest of the saddle should be as minimal as possible. If you get
perineal chafing or numbness, a saddle with a cutout might help (and
probably won't hurt).

The other factor is positioning. If your position on the bike is
pushing you forward or back, or the angle of the saddle is causing you
to slide, you'll never be comfortable on it.

Some bike shops keep a supply of trial saddles; some mail order vendors
such as REI take returns for any reason. Use such a retailer to try
saddles until you find the right one, after first narrowing the field
using accurate measurements.

RichC

Yes, you will get used to the firmer saddle, and will be happier in the
long run. Keep it up - it sucks at first but push through it.

I am only now getting used to my bike's 1992 "racing" saddle (read:
hard and stylish with no ergo cutouts for the delicate man-taint).

On my previous bike I went through 3 saddles: the first came with the
bike and wore out quickly. The second was a softie gel saddle that
eventually felt like sitting on feces. It felt like I had a load in my
pants. I got wise; the third was firm and sturdy, and when I got used
to it, I could ride 50 miles without saddle soreness.

"jcat1974" wrote in message
...
Well, I have been riding my Trek 7300 for the last month on a 10.3 mile
'loop' around my house, and the Bontrager sport seat is just not
comfortable. Any reccomendations on either a good saddle or would a gel
cover work?



Saddles are a personal thing - we all have different rears ;-) The important
bit is fit to your sit bones: gel does not equate to good. Gel can be too
soft which means pressure on important bits of your nether regions that
shouldn't have pressure on them and a properly fitting saddle will avoid
this.

I swear by a Terry's Liberator, but as I'm a girly, my sit bones are likely
to be totally different to yours ;-)

Cheers, helen s

"Pat Lamb" wrote in message
...
David L. Johnson wrote:
On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 22:57:49 -0700, jcat1974 wrote:
Well, I have been riding my Trek 7300 for the last month on a 10.3 mile
'loop' around my house, and the Bontrager sport seat is just not
comfortable. Any reccomendations on either a good saddle or would a gel
cover work?

Short answer is no, a gel cover will not work, IMNSHO gel is a bad idea
for saddles. You want to support yourself on the "sit bones", actually
fairly tough (once you've been riding enough) pads covering a portion of
your pelvis. Between these sit bones are a lot of sensitive nerves,
veins, arteries; serious stuff you do not want to put weight on. A gel
saddle squishes the gel away from the sit bones, making it harder than
it
should be there. Worse, that gel gets squeezed over to those serious
bits
you don't want to sit on.

A firmer saddle will be more comfortable in the long run. Really.

But you have to find what fits your butt. That may take a while, but a
cooperative bike shop can help out.

David's right on this one. Gel seats are wonderful things for beginners
on short rides looking for something soft, but your 10 mile loop
probably doubles the maximum comfortable range.

Pat

Plus if you park your bike in the hot sun you can fry an egg with the
retained heat.

jcat1974 wrote:

Well, I have been riding my Trek 7300 for the last month on a 10.3 mile
'loop' around my house, and the Bontrager sport seat is just not
comfortable. Any reccomendations on either a good saddle or would a gel
cover work?

I bought a Trek 4300 (Mountain Bike) last year and after 1 ride replaced
the bontrager saddle with my 10 year old gel seat off my old mountain
bike. Comfy as can be, even for a few hours. So I personally think gel
seats are great, but as other's have said YMMV.

Rich

"jcat1974" wrote in message
...
Well, I have been riding my Trek 7300 for the last month on a 10.3 mile
'loop' around my house, and the Bontrager sport seat is just not
comfortable. Any reccomendations on either a good saddle or would a gel
cover work?



Sheldon Brown explains it the best.
http://sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

Get a Brooks B17 and all saddle discomfort will disappear. They are
THE most important piece of equipment to add to a bike

Pat Lamb wrote:
David L. Johnson wrote:
On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 22:57:49 -0700, jcat1974 wrote:
Well, I have been riding my Trek 7300 for the last month on a 10.3
mile
'loop' around my house, and the Bontrager sport seat is just not
comfortable. Any reccomendations on either a good saddle or would
a gel
cover work?

Short answer is no, a gel cover will not work, IMNSHO gel is a bad
idea
for saddles. You want to support yourself on the "sit bones",
actually
fairly tough (once you've been riding enough) pads covering a
portion of
your pelvis. Between these sit bones are a lot of sensitive
nerves,
veins, arteries; serious stuff you do not want to put weight on. A
gel
saddle squishes the gel away from the sit bones, making it harder
than it
should be there. Worse, that gel gets squeezed over to those
serious bits
you don't want to sit on.

A firmer saddle will be more comfortable in the long run. Really.


But you have to find what fits your butt. That may take a while,
but a
cooperative bike shop can help out.

David's right on this one. Gel seats are wonderful things for
beginners
on short rides looking for something soft, but your 10 mile loop
probably doubles the maximum comfortable range.

Pat