Carbon

[alpinerabbit]

I am NOT thinking of spending the money for a carbon saddle!

I'm not crazy... But the lbs guy let me do a round on a time trial machine with a carbon saddle! It's rock hard and I thought that was completely crazy until I sat on it and I *think* it could be ok with chamois. However, time trials last only an hour. For pros at least.

Has anyone got experience?

[emily_in_nc]

Owww! No experience w/ carbon saddles here, but with roads like the rough, bumpy rural ones I have the "pleasure" of riding on more often than not, a rock-hard saddle would be absolutely miserable....don't know what roads are like your neck of the woods, but I would think that would make a big difference. On smoothly paved roads, a harder saddle would be doable, I think.

Emily

[Squirrel 2]

I ride a saddle with a carbon shell, & I ride rough, bumpy roads. Don't let the hardness scare you -- carbon has a huge advantage over nylon or plastic shells because it soaks up some of the "road trauma", and I take a lot of hits on our rough, tough roads. Carbon is well-known for vibration-damping. I have a carbon seat post & carbon seat stays as well that help absorb the road shock.

My saddle does have some padding over the carbon, but the padding is very minimal.