Saddle Suggestions

[teamtrinity]

Hello,

I built up a tri bike for my girlfriend. A Cervelo P2-SL. I put a Selle Italia SLR T1 saddle on it. One minute on the bike, and she feels like she's permanently bruised her pubic bone, up front by her privates.

Any saddle suggestions? We need a place to start...

[Veronica]

Have you tried tilting the nose down?


Veronica

[Veronica]

That saddle is part of Competitive Cyclist demo program - which we've been playing with this week. :p It's a really narrow saddle and didn't last more than a minute for me either. I so wanted to like it too. But it's hard as a rock!

Based on my demo experience I want to try out a Selle Italia SLK Lady Gel Flow.

Veronica

[dianne_1234]

(Warning: TMI follows...)

Sounds like her torso is fairly horizontal (so her pelvis is rotated forward), so it may be her inner labia are complaining. If tilting the seat a bit down in front doesn't work (crotch still sore or too much weight on handlebars), then consider the "Adamo" by ISM. The twin "noses" put pressure on the outer labia instead (still not the greatest, but it's better than the inner).

I find the Adamo works best for me with my sit bones only touching the forward-most 2-4 cm or so; not as good when sitting in the middle.

Some women don't like the Adamo but it's worth a try if for no other reason than to rule it out.

[teamtrinity]

(Warning: TMI follows...)

Sounds like her torso is fairly horizontal (so her pelvis is rotated forward), so it may be her inner labia are complaining. If tilting the seat a bit down in front doesn't work (crotch still sore or too much weight on handlebars), then consider the "Adamo" by ISM. The twin "noses" put pressure on the outer labia instead (still not the greatest, but it's better than the inner).

I find the Adamo works best for me with my sit bones only touching the forward-most 2-4 cm or so; not as good when sitting in the middle.

Some women don't like the Adamo but it's worth a try if for no other reason than to rule it out.

well, she didn't mention and tissue pain...she said it was more like the bones. are there even bones up there? lol i'm guessing maybe the pubic bones? i have no idea. i'm just going to get a bunch of different saddles and play with angles!

[Biciclista]

teamtrinity; you answered your own question. try a bunch of saddles and angles. but be sure you understand, she does not need to "get used to it"
it is unacceptable pain.

thanks

[Wahine]

She likely needs a slight nose down tilt as mentioned above and a different saddle. I like the WTB Deva, it's flat and firm but has a really good base for my sit bones and allows me to get the weight off my pubic area and labia. There are also saddle out that have a firm sit bone area but encorporate gel or some other softer material in the nose region that might work. But as Biciclista said... you just have to have her try a bunch of different ones. And I agree, a women should never feel like she just needs to get used to saddle pain. There are good options out there.

[teamtrinity]

Update:

We tried tilting the Selle Italia saddle down various angles...no help whatsoever. We tried the Profile Designs Stryke Ti Solid...various nose angles...SLIGHTLY better than the Selle Italia (translation: not quite suicide inducing).

We then tried a road saddle...the Terry Butterfly. It was better than both the Selle Italia and Profile Designs, but still pretty awful.

She then told me the pain is pretty centered, almost on tissue but sorta on a hard area. She thought the cutout part of the Butterfly was the reason it was slightl better, except she thought the cutout stopped too short to really alleviate the discomfort.

So...my next idea is extreme. We're going to try the ISM Adamo saddles. Is this a bad idea? Thoughts?

Thanks!

[kermit]

I know alot of tri girls that love the adamos. It totally isolates all the weight on your seat bones so she might get a sore butt in the beginning. If you go to their website and watch the video, set up is critical. Worth a shot! Make sure you get her seat bones measured. Some of the adamos are narrow and have different varieties of density(hardness).