No cutout = no chafing

I learned that the hard way. After insisting and believing I needed a cutout continued chafing kicked my butt. I decided to go out on a limb and retry the SSM aspide glamour with the little SCOOP. Took it out for another ride today after a couple initial trainer rides. Two hours and I can't say perfect comfort, needs a little tweeking (nose down, forward) but I love the fact that I didn't get any rubbed spots. A little numbness and two seconds out of the saddle and that is fixed. I am really rethinking the whole cutout thing in general. WOW.

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Originally Posted by kermit

I learned that the hard way. After insisting and believing I needed a cutout continued chafing kicked my butt. I decided to go out on a limb and retry the SSM aspide glamour with the little SCOOP. Took it out for another ride today after a couple initial trainer rides. Two hours and I can't say perfect comfort, needs a little tweeking (nose down, forward) but I love the fact that I didn't get any rubbed spots. A little numbness and two seconds out of the saddle and that is fixed. I am really rethinking the whole cutout thing in general. WOW.

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Congratulations on figuring out what your butt needs! Not everyone needs a cutout, for sure. For those of us who do then we really do, but for those who don't they can certainly cause a problem. It seems to take forever sometimes to figure out what our butts need :o

I'm off the cutout thing, too. I wondering if for some, not all, but some, the cutout need is an indication of fit, seat height, seat angle, too loose/tight shorts etc. BUT, whatever works for you and keeps you pedaling.

I think that Knott's test is probably spot on. If you've got "stuff" hanging down there when your bones are well supported, then I can't see how you're not going to need a cutout. But if not, then, ... not. And as she's said, a cut-out distributes the pressure over a smaller area, which isn't a good thing if you can distribute it over a larger bony area. :)

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

I think that Knott's test is probably spot on. If you've got "stuff" hanging down there when your bones are well supported, then I can't see how you're not going to need a cutout. But if not, then, ... not. And as she's said, a cut-out distributes the pressure over a smaller area, which isn't a good thing if you can distribute it over a larger bony area. :)

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Or at least a big indentation. I definitely have enough 'stuff' to need a cut-out (by Knott's test) but I've found total comfort on a non-cut out saddle! I am utterly shocked but completely pleased. :)

I'm very happy with my no-cutout saddle :)

Revisiting this thread. I am thisclose to buying the same saddle that kermit referred to in the OP. I have the version with the cut-out and LOVE the saddle, except I get the same chafing (and sometimes serious clitoral pain/stimulation...TMI?) that I've had with every saddle with a cut-out. I have a Bontrager Affinity RL WSD on my CX bike and like the little dip, but the saddle isn't quite T-shaped enough for high mileage, like on my road bike. I rode a Mukluk last week with a Prologo saddle. And, other than it being a hair too narrow, it had that dip and I had no issues up-front. Granted, I wasn't quite as aggressively positioned as I am on my road bike, but I still suspect that the edges of the cut-outs are the prime culprit in my specific saddle woes.

It is interesting to me how many saddles are da bomb for some of us and are implements of torture for others.

My SI Diva caused a lot of problems because the cutout was too wide, but my SI Lady Gel Flow just rocks - it is indeed THE saddle for me. I've tried saddles with depressions and had different problems with those.

This thread brings home more than any other how highly individual bike fit is - especially in the saddle department.

I'm about to try out an Arione Donna (arrives at LBS today eeeee!) and it has a nice central channel down the whole thing and is 145 mm wide. My old saddle was stock on a WSD bike (I figured it was good for me, doh!) but only 130 mm at its widest, but it did have a little dipsy do in the middle. Turns out I've been sitting on my tailbone and soft tissues for four years. When I upgraded to the men's Arione (thinking it was the right width for me) and it was awful, lbs measured my sitbones at 140 mm. This should be good. Hopefully my saddle search will end here... but I'll have to keep kermit's saddle in mind!

I tried the Arione Donna and found it to be VERY painful--but I think it was too narrow, so I was sliding off to one side. Instead of my bits falling over the channel they were being mashed into the edge of the left side of the channel--owie!

Well, I'm hoping it will be just right... I survived four years on a saddle 1 cm narrower than my actual sit bones, so one that's 0.5 cm wider should be a better choice (I HOPE).

I have a new bike and a new Prologo Kappa Evo Dea saddle. I love the saddle EXCEPT that it doesn't have a cut out. I can't get comfortable up front at all. I've been riding with a significant cut out for years. Does any one have any suggestions. I've been studying Prologo's site and honestly cannot tell if any of the saddles have a complete cut out or not. The one I thought had a cut out, won't show me a picture from the top.

I rode a 33 mile ride the other day and refused to put on my old saddle because the new saddle looked good on the new bike. But I thought I would die. Everything up front was getting too squished...... so much for vanity.

Thanks for any suggestions!

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Congratulations on figuring out what your butt needs! Not everyone needs a cutout, for sure. For those of us who do then we really do, but for those who don't they can certainly cause a problem. It seems to take forever sometimes to figure out what our butts need :o

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To cutout, or not to cutout? That is the question. Sometimes this thread is the answer :cool: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=25954

I didn't like cutouts either, but now I'm borrowing an SMP until my own arrives and not having any chafing. You can't get a much bigger cutout than an SMP, so go figure. Maybe the shape and size of the cutout matter?

E.T.A.: One saddle you could try is the Fizik Arione. I didn't like it because the "wings" at the back dug into the back of my leg, but the nose was very comfortable. I'd consider trying this saddle again in the men's version if I needed to, for that reason.