MtKitchen "absolutely hates" her An-Atomica Titanico. Maybe she'll sell it to you?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitsune06
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MtKitchen "absolutely hates" her An-Atomica Titanico. Maybe she'll sell it to you?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitsune06
Aren't the an-atomica saddles made from much thinner more flexible leather than the Brooks saddles?? I can't imagine that cutting a slit in a Brooks would make much difference in terms of the girly bits pressing the leather down. If the problem pressure area is up near the nose anywhere I would think it would make even less difference.
Also, if you cut your Brooks you won't ever be able to sell it for much if you decide you don't like it. Just a thought....:o
Kit, before you send your beloved Brooks in to get slaughtered, can I ask a really stupid question?
You've probably already dealt with this... so forgive me.
You did level only the NOSE of your Brooks, right? So that the nose is level, and the back flares upward? (the back rivets will be higher than the nose)
I've experimented pretty thoroughly w' saddle tilt. It just still mashes the h*ll out of my bits. Especially up front. Level, tipped up, tipped down I slide forward and put too much weight on my hands...
i'm just getting sick of having my bits rubbed raw. Even curled tight with tight abs, tucking tailbown down as low as I can in the 'pelvis neutral' position, when I get into the drops, things 'heat up' down there from friction and I know if I go more than 20-30 miles, things will be chafed beyond recognition.
Are your bars too low?
The tops of my bars are perhaps an inch or 2 lower than my seat. It's not, by any means, a 'relaxed touring position'... but I've seen a *lot* of bikes with much more of a difference in seat height in relation to handlebar height... :confused:
Kitsune sounds like you are having exactly the same problem I was having with my Brooks :( Hope it works out for you, saddle search is such a PITA
I guess you are faced with giving the Brooks back to Miz Cakes (it didn't bother you in the upright position, right?) and seeking out a cut-out saddle for Merqueri.
Trek420 has a Selle Italia on Menace that she really likes. Her 3 year old saddle is only now starting to wear out, even after all those ALC rides. It's not too padded/not too firm. Of course, it is WAAAAAAAY too small for me, but it seemed like a nice saddle.
I have a Serfas Niva (the one I was riding on the TE to Redhook ride) that I'd be happy to send you when my 2nd Brooks arrives.
And Quillfred has my old Fizik. She's not using it. Maybe she could send it to you? Or maybe I could get it back from her and send it with the Serfas. It doesn't have a cut-out, so I don't know if it would be an improvement, but it might help.
I've also got the Velo Plush that came on my Kona Smoke. It's a surprisingly decent saddle. Long narrow nose with a groove. No cut out, but also no support under the groove. (like the nose has a cut out, but the cushion and cover are over it) The plastic undercarriage is cut away. Decent width at the sit-bones. It's a bit more pear-shaped. I could send that, too.
The reason I was thinking of the An-Atomica was because I love the feel of leather- the very firm feel but 'give'... I've never felt anything like it in any 'synthetic' saddle I've tried. Even if I went with the ED cut... I dunno. just need the pressure of the 'bits. the orchid is rather generously petaled if ya kwim. it goes well beyond the semi-retired piercing... =(
You might just really like a Specialized Jett - very firm - almost zero padding, but is built so that each side of it can flex independently - so its not like riding a leather and or plastic wrapped brick, nice sized cut out - no girly bit rub or pressure and comes in several different widthsQuote:
Originally Posted by Kitsune06
After reading a lot of positive things on here and other places, I ordered an An-atomica. It should be in this week, and I'm hoping that it's the magic fix I've been looking for. It seems like it may be kind of wide, but when I talked to Tod, he insisted that the Titanico would be better than any of the other models. I'll let you guys know how it goes.
Kitsune- I understand what you mean about the "well-petaled" orchid... which is part of my issue with finding a comfortable saddle!
Hey, don't assume that those of us with no comfort problems on our saddles are not "well petaled"! :eek: :rolleyes: The bloom ain't off the rose yet!
We all have different bike sizes, bike geometry, angles, body positions and proportions, and saddle positions...the variations are almost endless, as are the solutions.
The mashing of frontal bits does tend to occur more with bikes that have high saddles and low handlebars, however. After all, that position tends to tilt one's whole body forward off the sitbones and onto the pubic bone area. There is a price to pay for an extreme racing bike position, which seems to be more and more what is sold these days. Hopefully everyone can find their own combination of elements that can help alleviate the problem a bit. Perhaps a combination of two or three factors....
(Sorry Kit, just saw this question...)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitsune06
No, not now. The first ride it did a little, and I think it was because I didn't have the tilt right. I don't notice the cut-out at all now.
You can take an exacto knife and trim the leather edges of the cut out so it isn't sharp, and also buff the edges, but I haven't done that.
I have had to retension it a few times - I'm almost certain that the saddle got too slack, causing the sides to flare out too much, and this caused the side-chaffing issue I experienced on the Wine Country Century ride. It's possible that I'll max out the tension screw, but I read somewhere that if that happens, they will fix it somehow.
On yesterday's ride I was plagued by a creaking with every pedal stroke, so I think I need to add some dry lube to the contact points and the tension screw.
But, I think this may well be the saddle for me, if the tensioning works out.
I am curious about the idea of lacing the An-Atomnica - I know people have done that with their Brooks to adjust the width and stiffness.
Andrea - I hope you like your saddle!
I want to know why some people are so anti-an-atomica...
BikerZ I was thinking of butchering my Brooks anyway (the one where you "swallow-ize" it to make a slimmer profile like the Swallow has) I'd imagine that would cut down on 'flaring' but I'd imagine lacing would be possible, too. I'd limit how tight you lace, though, and be careful to waterproof/grease your laces fairly regularly. Leather held tight like that can "dry rot". :(
This should probably go on a different thread, but very quickly, how would I go about raising my handlebars? I already have a decent degree of 'lift' in my stem as it is. I'm concerned that I won't have enough room on the steerer tube to add spacers etc... :confused:
If you don't have room for spacers, you can get a stem that has an angle to it. If you already have that, then I'm not really sure :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitsune06
Since I would be lacing it to make the sides narrower, I'm a little worried that the laces themsleves would be what I rubbed against. Thanks for the tip about protecting the laces - I'm considering that butchering as a last resort!Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitsune06
I like the look of those "swallow-ized" saddles quite a bit!
That's the beauty of leather. If you keep oiling the laces on the outside (where you'd get thigh rub) they'll soften and flatten against the side. HOWEVER they would still be raised just a bit and thus not quite as smooth as the regular sides o' the brooks. That and don't get that softening oil on the rest of the saddle or you'll get sag... =P oh the delicate balance... :rolleyes:
The sides of my selle anatomica are not as vertical as the brooks, and looking at the anatonica website, in some of the photos the saddle sides look much more vertical than mine do. Maybe it's just a matter of time before they mold that way.
It seems like if I could lace it in tightly, to make more of a "T" shape, it would be perfect, but I'm nervous about messing with it!
My thought - to be taken with a grain of salt and maybe a margarita- would be to put 4-5 holes ~1/4-1/2" apart along the flared part, 1/2" up from the edge and lace that way. It allows the safeguard that if the lacing is not what you'd hoped and dreamed it would be you can remove it, and if the removal leaves it very rough, you can still trim that 1/2" at the tops of the punches, 'swallowizing' it minimally. Also having it only 1/2" up means that you'll have enough leather *beneath* the laces to brace the lacing properly and support the structural integrity of the saddle itself.Quote:
Originally Posted by bikerz
I'm not sure how it's tied, tho. You'd have to look at that again to see. Another thing you could try is smoother (i.e. flat) shoe/boot laces. They'd be strong and yet lay flat against your leather seat. As the saddle attempts to flare around the stitching it would pull the lacing into it and effectively (eventually) inlay the lacing just a bit, reducing rubbing. ...just a thought.
kit
what's scary about cutting the sella anatomica is that since it has a slit in the middle, iff you pull it tight with laces, that slit is going to change. On a brooks
the saddle is a whole entity and your laces aren't going to mess with the integrity of the saddle.
Bottom line, it's hard to cut something up that you just paid over $100 for.
:confused:
Yes, this is true. I probably couldn't 'swallowize' my B-17 after I had it an-atomicated.... :(
I'm just thinking, you said Raleighdon's slit molded shut after awhile, I'm wondering if tying it would re-open it and restore it to the original position? When I looked at/felt it, it seemed like the Anatomica's leather was a lot thinner than that of the Brooks. All that said, though... I admit. It's much easier to theorize about such things but I'd be sweating bullets seriously contemplating such things.
it didn't really "mold" shut, it just sort of shut.. you could pry it open.
and yes, you could TIE it so that would open, but since it's leather (waterproof or not) it's going to change and stretch over time. Fortunately you are a light weight, AND you're not going to do as many 200 mile rides as Raleighdon does so i think the saddle would be more apt to keep its own shape unless of course you alter it yoursellf :cool:
On further consideration (and mimi, it had occurred to me that messing with the sides might mess up the slot behavior - that's a good caution!) I have decided to postpone even thinking more about changing my saddle until I have my new bike and have the fit dialed in for it.
I did a little digging on the selle anatomica site and found that the memos they issue to their dealers have a ton of useful adjustment information, so I'll be looking at those very carefully as I'm getting settled on my new bike.
I wonder if it'd be prudent for high-mileage riders to get the clydesdale option?
I owe Knottedyet an apology. She was right and too polite to challenge me.
It says clearly on the website that the selle an-atomica has 3 sizes. How odd is it that when i talked to the guy at expo (who says he is the man who makes them ), what a month ago? did not tell me there were different sizes . I said "I don't like them because this size is too narrow."
He COULD have said "we're about to start making 3 sizes"
but instead he said something like "95% of the people like that size"
sorry Knot, I guess I am better edujmakated now.
BikerZ - one of the things I like so much about my Brooks B67 (B66, B68) is that it's already T-shaped. Pear-shapes with the flaring sort of sides like the B17 or the Selle An-Atomica give me.... discomfort.
Terry Sport (not made anymore) had a nice T shape, too. If you've got a used bikes shop nearby see if they have one floating around. They have a nice narrow nose (the cut-out is only in the underlying plastic, so the nose can be much narrower than the current Terry saddles.)
I think the flaring might have been a question of poorly adjusted tension - the sides haven't bothered me at all on the last few rides, and lord knows I've got some big thighs to move past all that saddle!
I'll be on my new bike this weekend (hope, hope, hope!) and I'm curious to see how it all comes together!
Just thought I would mention that I am selling my Brooks B17S saddle here:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...843#post204843
I am happy with the ultra-wide B68 I recently got to accomodate my wider sitbones. The B17S was very comfy for me for a year, but I always knew I'd be even better off on a wider saddle.
just an update... I threw on a 1/2" spacer and scooched up my saddle (the Brooks) a half-inch. The ride in today was actually pretty nice. The handlebars are probably within a half-inch or an inch of being even with the saddle. I felt much more like I could 'play the piano' so to speak. Still a pain in the azz to have to consciously curve my spine to keep in pelvis-neutral position. How do you do deep belly breathing when you're using your core to hold everything 'together'?
Ideally, I want this bike to be comfy enough to tour on... Yes she's aluminum, but I think... think... think? that I could find a way to tour on her... at least light-load touring. Weekend trips and the like.
Compared to my other saddle, the Brooks is still a touch of heaven, it really is. Now I can still 'knock' on it, but I can squish it down with the heel of my hand, etc... Nice butt dimples, too :D
The An-Atomica still fascinates me, though.
After yesterday's ride I realized I hadn't noticed the An-Atomca saddle at all. That was a first.
I don't want to jinx myself, but maybe, after nearly 3000 miles of riding and 7 or 8 (or 9?) saddles, I might have finally found a saddle!
Kit - good luck with youor Brooks, but if it doesn't work out, you might like the An-Atomica.
I got the shipping notice for my an-atomica last night, so now I just have to wait for it to make its way from Wisconson to Memphis via postal mail. I hope it gets here soon- I've currently got about a 40 mile range before everything down there starts hurting.