Specialized Women's Body Geometry Comp

Saddle Survey Response posted to forums by Administrator:


First of all, 80-90% of my saddle problems were caused by POOR
POSITIONING on the bike. Most of the 80-90% was from poor fit on the bike itself, the remainder was positioning the saddle itself (fore-aft and tilt). The remaining 10-20% was the saddle itself. Most of the saddles I tried would have been OK if they had been positioned properly relative to the bottom bracket. The real trick was to GET them there. I have long femurs and need a large amount of setback. Many popular seatposts have low setback, including the telescoping shock posts on our tandems. I had figured out that I needed more setback and had been gravitating toward narrower, long-railed saddles -- believing the sales hype that a saddle is going to solve comfort problems. I still sat off
the back of my saddles, experiencing chafing at the inner thigh area. In addition, since I couldn't get far enough back, I had to run my seat position high to protect my knees. This caused my pelvis to tilt forward and moved my weight away from my sit bones and onto the nose of the saddle.

Saddle advertising would lead one to think that the solution to excess pressure at the crotch would be a saddle with a cut out nose. Wrong. (Of course, I purchased 4 cut-out nosed saddles before I figured this out!) My poor bike fit meant my weight was still rotated onto the nose, this time on the narrow parts of the saddle bordering the hole. Plus, many cut out saddles have wider noses and the inner thigh chafing problem got worse. Higher pressure + hot humid weather = horrendous saddle
sores. (Well, at least I wasn't going numb any more...)

My ultimate solution, when I realized that seatpost setbacks differ, was to find a high setback post. Combined with a long-railed saddle with a narrow enough nose and neck, I can now position my saddle rearward and slightly lower so that my weight is carried on my sit bones! My body weigh is now balanced on the bike, with the advantage that I have much more comfort in my upper body as well (hands, neck and shoulders.)

I cringe at the thought that most bike manufacturers shorten the top tube on "women's" frames by making the seat tube angle steeper. Someone with long femurs (like I have) would need a seatpost with a 2-3 inch setback, at which point the effective top tube length would be too long anyway!

Getting to the end of the story:
seatpost: Nashbar suspension post -- cantilever arrangement with about 1" of setback. (It also cost 1/6 as much as my telescoping suspension posts.)

saddle: Specialized Women's Body Geometry Comp -- 75-78 mm rails allow a high setback. The side-to-side profile is flat, which makes the 5-1/2" width actually wide enough for my sit bones (and I am NOT narrow-hipped).

I've tried saddles where the rear side-to-side profile is rounded, and the high center part puts pressure on soft tissue. Not so with the Specialized. (The notched rear helps in this respect as well.) The nose and neck of the saddle are narrow, eliminating chafing at the inner thighs. The front-back profile is flat too, which I think works better for me than saddles with a raised rear (raising the rear tends to rotate my pelvis forward and shift my weight towards the nose.) If this saddle is not set up correctly, it can be as uncomfortable as anything else -- too high and nose pressure resuts. Too high or tilted back from the level postion will result in the front edge of the wide part of the saddle digging into the rear inner thigh area. This cuts circulation to my inner thigh muscles and reduces my power output and endurance. When the saddle is set up correctly, it is wonderful.

I love this combination. Iif you look at my bike from the side, it
almost looks like a beamed bike, because the clamp and saddle are cantilevered so far back from the seat tube. But after years of
modifications and trying to learn about fit, I am finally comfortable. Unfortunately, due to sales hype, I approached the problem backwards -- changing saddles, then changing saddle postion, and then changing bike fit. It's a good thing I'm stubborn and have a high pain tolerance when I'm full of endorphins.

Other saddles that may work for me:
Selle Italia Flite (women's) -- I tried one briefly on a test ride of a bike
Giro Vitesse (I think that's the name of the women's model)
Men's Avocet O2 touring -- When I tried this, I had it too high and got really numb, I think it would have worked if I had had it lower. The women's model would not work for me without another inch or so of setback: too wide, rails too short

If you are featuring saddles, please tell the whole story and emphasize BIKE FIT. You can then expand your sales approach to stems and seat posts.

Thanks for listening!
Dianne