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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? |
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#2
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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 (_)/ (_) | |
#3
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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 |
#4
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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 |
#5
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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. |
#6
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"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 |
#7
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"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. |
#8
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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 |
#9
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"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 |
#10
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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 |
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