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saddle tortures please advise

Have put tri bars on a road bike. The set up is fine, have tweaked it a few times. I have the seat as far forward as possible as i feel strongest when pushing over the top of the crank, but i'm sitting on the nose of the seat leading to numbness, tingling and pins and needles in places that i can't mention!!!
The solution would be a tri-tip saddle, i think. Can anyone recommend pros and cons, makes and models, as some models even have different widths? I know that saddles are down to personal choice as we are all differnt just need a few words of wisdom.
Please advise.
Roll on summer.
Regards Ollie

Comments

  • I am a girlie so can't comment on what happens to mens anatomy but I can tell you that females also get soft tissue pain and for me, the answer was an Adamo saddle - sheer bliss! I also had it fitted and my set up checked at Velomotion and all the aforemetioned made an enormous difference to my comfort for IMDE. Prior to that I wouldn't have lasted a couple of hours, let alone almost 7.
  • PeetPeet Posts: 1
    Is there really anything worse than having an uncomfy saddle? I have only been riding for a year and not once have I actually gone out on a road and felt comfortable :-(

    Just got new bike with a new seat so I will see how that goes but I have heard on various forums that Adamo is the way to go - surely everyone can't be wrong?!

    So looking forward to my first road ride with a comfortable seat - hope it happens sooner rather than later.

    Good luck Ollie, I know how you feel.

    P.
  • wyno70wyno70 Posts: 189
    Hmm, I'm not sure I agree conehead.

    After much searching round and saddle buying, I don't get any problems. The furthest I've gone is 120 miles (8 days in a row over 100 miles) with no saddle issues.

    I think it's just a case of searching until you find your perfect fit. Mine is a specialized Gel Toupé, which I've known some of my friends not be able to stomach for 15 miles.

    My T/T bike had a standard Felt time trial saddle on which again gave me no issues during IMCH.

    Having said all of that, if you are spending a long time in a T/T position, you defianately want a T/T saddle as they have a thicker nose and more room on which to 'perch'.

    Horses for courses I'm afraid, no 'one size fits all' in this game!

    Good luck with your search.
  • ZacniciZacnici Posts: 1,385
    I also have numbness issues (apart from my head but then I've given up on that ). Thanks to my Sugois shorts and liberal lashings of Assos cream after 180K in the saddle I was OK with regards to soreness, no red raw, oozing etc, did walk like John Wayne for a few minutes but loosened up after a few minutes in the run. What hit me the next couple of days was complete loss of sensation

    For next season's campaign decided I need a new saddle for the longer distance events so have been looking at the Selle SMP series from £30 to £170 http://www.google.co.uk/products?q=sell ... k=showgrid What does the team think about these?
  • wyno70wyno70 Posts: 189
    I've looked at them before and decided not to shell out the cash, partly as I decided a cheap one probably wouldn't help and didn't want to spend £150 on a saddle.

    I figured I could try 2 £70/£80 saddles for the same cash. Luckily my next experiemental saddle went perfectly and I settled on that.

    For me, one of the main points in buying a (current) saddle is that a 'nearly new' one will fetch almost full price on ebay so in reality it doesn't cost you that much to try them. Buy/ ride and then flog if not suitable.

    My main caveat would be not to simply test on the turbo. My most comfortable saddle on the road (longest I've done on it is 8 trouble free hours) has me totally numb within an hour on the turbo.

    I'd echo what zacnici says though, you need shorts with a good pad and lashings of chammy cream. You don't need to spend top money for shorts just bear in mind that a cheap bargain bucket pair won't cut it. The one's I use are about £70 and perform equally as well as another pair of assos shorts I have which were twice the price (needless to say I won't be getting any more).
  • Primera sports (http://www.primera-sports.com/) are currently doing 20% off most things with a code (NY11). Not sure how long it's going to last for, but I've just ordered an Adamo Breakaway Saddle for 96 quid with free delivery. This was at least 20 quid cheaper than anywhere else including eBay.
  • Pretty much echoeing most of above:
    > Try different saddles - My fave so far is the Fizik Tri
    > Don't test on the turbo - the lack of bike movement, changing terrain etc will always make it a harsher ride (of course if you find one that's comfy on the turbo, you're sorted!)
    > Build your miles up gradually - your bits need time to toughen up
    > Get the position right - most bike fit guides say to have the saddle flat (ie parrallel to the ground), I've always found this digs in too much, so have a slight drop to the nose.
  • QuitterQuitter Posts: 160
    Another thing to consider is what you are wearing.
    Bought a new pair of cycling shorts and dont usually have an issue but after an hour it became uncomfortable and needed a good cooling dollop of the old sudocrem when i got back.....ahhhhh
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