Carbon fiber saddles

I've seen a number of different designs of all carbon fiber saddles -
no cover or padding, just carbon fiber.

Has anyone tried one of these as a saddle on a road bike, for longish
rides?

Ignoring their obvious weight advantage and that they might be hard to
sit on they do seem to offer some advantages, Easy to wipe dry if
caught in the rain, no cover to wear off, etc.

A disadvantage might be their cost buy if they last forever?
--
cheers,

John B.

On 06/11/15 10:03, John B. wrote:
I've seen a number of different designs of all carbon fiber saddles -
no cover or padding, just carbon fiber.

Has anyone tried one of these as a saddle on a road bike, for longish
rides?

Ignoring their obvious weight advantage and that they might be hard to
sit on they do seem to offer some advantages, Easy to wipe dry if
caught in the rain, no cover to wear off, etc.

A disadvantage might be their cost buy if they last forever?

Yes, I have seen them too.

I haven't tried one, but I suspect the fit of the saddle to the rider
would be more critical as the padding thickness is reduced to zero
(excluding that which may be in your knicks).

On water/sweat, the saddle I have doesn't seem to absorb much or enough
to be noticeable. Mine is an earlier model of this;

https://www.nashbar.com/reviews/nash...no-Saddle.html

It has also lasted many years already, and only damaged on one corner
when I had a minor crash last year. (Hit a lump in the bitumen that I
hadn't noticed, while looking over my shoulder. Hand slipped off bars
and I lost control. **** happens. I can't get complacent around
Brisbane. The roads are generally in worse condition. I have to hang
on with more vigilance.)

BTW, it's been around 30 degrees C, and 60-70% humidity recently. It
will get worse as summer comes around. I understand the need for a
saddle that is good for moist conditions.

--
JS

John B. wrote:

Has anyone tried one of these as a saddle on a road bike, for longish
rides?

I have a "Smud Carbon Saddle".
As I strongly dislike thick padding (on a saddle and in bibs)
it works very well for me even for "longish" rides (4 hours).
The saddle actually flexes surprisingly much and is really
comfortable for me.

On Fri, 6 Nov 2015 11:33:31 +1000, James
wrote:

On 06/11/15 10:03, John B. wrote:
I've seen a number of different designs of all carbon fiber saddles -
no cover or padding, just carbon fiber.

Has anyone tried one of these as a saddle on a road bike, for longish
rides?

Ignoring their obvious weight advantage and that they might be hard to
sit on they do seem to offer some advantages, Easy to wipe dry if
caught in the rain, no cover to wear off, etc.

A disadvantage might be their cost buy if they last forever?

Yes, I have seen them too.

I haven't tried one, but I suspect the fit of the saddle to the rider
would be more critical as the padding thickness is reduced to zero
(excluding that which may be in your knicks).

I think you are correct. I've seen a carbon saddle that the portions
where your butt rests was sort of perforated. I assumed to give a
cushioning effect.

On water/sweat, the saddle I have doesn't seem to absorb much or enough
to be noticeable. Mine is an earlier model of this;

https://www.nashbar.com/reviews/nash...no-Saddle.html

It has also lasted many years already, and only damaged on one corner
when I had a minor crash last year. (Hit a lump in the bitumen that I
hadn't noticed, while looking over my shoulder. Hand slipped off bars
and I lost control. **** happens. I can't get complacent around
Brisbane. The roads are generally in worse condition. I have to hang
on with more vigilance.)

I think I read your original report and it did influence me to ride
with my thumbs around the bar :-)


BTW, it's been around 30 degrees C, and 60-70% humidity recently. It
will get worse as summer comes around. I understand the need for a
saddle that is good for moist conditions.

Sounds cold :-) It is 31.6 (C) here at the moment, at 18:00. And this
is the cool part of the year :-)

I've got a Chinese made copy of a velo saddle that doesn't fit "quite
right" and has a plastic base that may approximate the flexibility of
carbon. I might try ripping the padding off to see how it rides.
--
cheers,

John B.

On 06 Nov 2015 02:24:08 GMT, Claus Aßmann
wrote:

John B. wrote:

Has anyone tried one of these as a saddle on a road bike, for longish
rides?

I have a "Smud Carbon Saddle".
As I strongly dislike thick padding (on a saddle and in bibs)
it works very well for me even for "longish" rides (4 hours).
The saddle actually flexes surprisingly much and is really
comfortable for me.

Thanks for that.
--
cheers,

John B.

On 11/5/2015 6:03 PM, John B. wrote:
I've seen a number of different designs of all carbon fiber saddles -
no cover or padding, just carbon fiber.

Has anyone tried one of these as a saddle on a road bike, for longish
rides?

Ignoring their obvious weight advantage and that they might be hard to
sit on they do seem to offer some advantages, Easy to wipe dry if
caught in the rain, no cover to wear off, etc.

A disadvantage might be their cost buy if they last forever?
--
cheers,

John B.


No opinion on that but IME the shape counts for more than
the material. For example the Turbo and Concor are quite
similar in material and quality yet I can't ride a Concor.
It's just slightly wider across the center.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 06/11/2015 7:49 AM, AMuzi wrote:
On 11/5/2015 6:03 PM, John B. wrote:
I've seen a number of different designs of all carbon fiber saddles -
no cover or padding, just carbon fiber.

Has anyone tried one of these as a saddle on a road bike, for longish
rides?

Ignoring their obvious weight advantage and that they might be hard to
sit on they do seem to offer some advantages, Easy to wipe dry if
caught in the rain, no cover to wear off, etc.

A disadvantage might be their cost buy if they last forever?
--
cheers,

John B.


No opinion on that but IME the shape counts for more than the material.
For example the Turbo and Concor are quite similar in material and
quality yet I can't ride a Concor. It's just slightly wider across the
center.


Agreed. I use a Specialized Romin which has some gel but not much. It
works for me better than the Toupe that come on most Specialized road
bikes. The padding is about the same but the shape is different. Also
trying saddles with more padding I find that they only seem better for a
short distance. As usual YMMV and probably does...

On Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 4:03:07 PM UTC-8, John B. wrote:
I've seen a number of different designs of all carbon fiber saddles -
no cover or padding, just carbon fiber.

Has anyone tried one of these as a saddle on a road bike, for longish
rides?

Ignoring their obvious weight advantage and that they might be hard to
sit on they do seem to offer some advantages, Easy to wipe dry if
caught in the rain, no cover to wear off, etc.

A disadvantage might be their cost buy if they last forever?

My brother was using them after he was convinced that light weight was the way to go. But they DO NOT last forever - they have a very limited lifespan for an active rider and then they normally split on the saddle area. That frightens me because it could grab you and you'd not be able to put a foot down properly.

I bought him a Prologo Smart II - one of those "Try and Buy" models and he was converted on his first ride. But the Prologo is a little sensitive to riding position - upright or on the drops so be all means test before buying..

On Fri, 06 Nov 2015 06:49:40 -0600, AMuzi wrote:

On 11/5/2015 6:03 PM, John B. wrote:
I've seen a number of different designs of all carbon fiber saddles -
no cover or padding, just carbon fiber.

Has anyone tried one of these as a saddle on a road bike, for longish
rides?

Ignoring their obvious weight advantage and that they might be hard to
sit on they do seem to offer some advantages, Easy to wipe dry if
caught in the rain, no cover to wear off, etc.

A disadvantage might be their cost buy if they last forever?
--
cheers,

John B.


No opinion on that but IME the shape counts for more than
the material. For example the Turbo and Concor are quite
similar in material and quality yet I can't ride a Concor.
It's just slightly wider across the center.

Certainly true and I'd also comment that very slight differences can
mean the difference between a sore butt and a happy camper :-)

I've got an original Velo saddle and a Chinese copy that looks
identical. The Velo is one of my most comfortable saddles and the
Chinese look, exactly, alike, is not.
--
cheers,

John B.

John B. wrote:
:On Fri, 06 Nov 2015 06:49:40 -0600, AMuzi wrote:

:On 11/5/2015 6:03 PM, John B. wrote:
: I've seen a number of different designs of all carbon fiber saddles -
: no cover or padding, just carbon fiber.
:
: Has anyone tried one of these as a saddle on a road bike, for longish
: rides?
:
: Ignoring their obvious weight advantage and that they might be hard to
: sit on they do seem to offer some advantages, Easy to wipe dry if
: caught in the rain, no cover to wear off, etc.
:
: A disadvantage might be their cost buy if they last forever?
: --
: cheers,
:
: John B.
:
:
:No opinion on that but IME the shape counts for more than
:the material. For example the Turbo and Concor are quite
:similar in material and quality yet I can't ride a Concor.
:It's just slightly wider across the center.

A former cow-orker had a carbon fiber sadle on his bike, and loved it.
he got new handle bars, which changed his position on the bike, and
couldn't get it to work.



--
sig 70