What would make a saddle too wide in the nose? Thigh rubbing?
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What would make a saddle too wide in the nose? Thigh rubbing?
Yeah, thigh rubbing and just feeling like I'm sitting on an edge there, where I didn't used to. The Fizik Vitesse has a super narrow nose, which is really nice. _But_ when I switched saddles back, it was immediately apparent that now the "bits" were again resting on something, instead of not, as with the SMP...
I also had a hard time deciding how much down to tilt it. With the rails level, which makes the nose go way down, I felt like I was sliding off. With the seat level, which puts a little dip in the center, with the nose still down, that seemed ok. With slightly more tipping up, like how I ride the Vitesse, that felt ok, too.
And the rails are way longer, so I had to play around with how far forward or back to position it. I'm still not sure I had that adjusted correctly- I think it still should have gone back further. It's hard to tell exactly where you're supposed to sit on it, because the seat part is so generous.
And then I also would need to lower my seat, because I felt like my knee was too straight, but I immediately got a pain down the front of my right knee, which doesn't that indicate you need to raise the saddle? I was riding in sandals, not bike shoes, and around on the grass- so the whole thing wasn't a fair test. I need to take it out to a paved trail.
It is a lot cushier than I am used to.
Nanci
Hey Nanci-
Maybe THAT is the source of my phantom itb pain. Because I was noticing yesterday that the pain seemed to be more on the front lower part of my kneecap, and not really the side of my knee like when my itb flares up?? hmmmm... Maybe I should just leave the saddle thats on Valentina alone. Of course right now all I have is my road rig since the tri bike is getting her final adjustments...
Ahh man! Now I'm questioning whether or not I should even ride the road bike w/ that saddle on?! I don't want to aggrivate my knee any further!
But yeah, I did make about a bazillion adjustments before I felt it was just right. And the shape of the saddle does make it alot harder to get the perfect feel. Of course I *think* it feels perfect, but now I'm not so sure???? Maybe I should take the whole thing down to my bike fitter and have him take a look see. Of course that's the last thing I feel like dealing with right now... sigh... UGH!
I think you should FREAK OUT and run off to the bike shop to buy a aerobar bag that you suddenly decided you need because the $35 handlebar bag isn't working out as well as you thought and it turns your lights off and on by itself.
And then go to Best Buy to buy $40 worth of lithium batteries because they are lighter and last longer especially in cold weather.
Oh wait, that's what I'm going to do today.
Nanci
I kept the saddle completely level, but that's just me. Also, I ride about as far back on the saddle as you can possibly sit. I didn't raise my seat at all. I know not all saddles work for everyone. I had to ride this one 3 or 4 times on the road before I was used to it and knew it was the right one for me. I was ready to ditch it after the first ride.
It seemed a lot more comfortable to me when I was on my aerobars for some reason. I wish I could see the men's version. I will have to play around with it not this weekend but the next.
Nanci
yeah thats what I liked about it too. I was super comfy down in the a-bars.. So I really want to make it work. It did seem a bit wide to me at first as well. I guess I got used to that. but I had the same thought process! *I shoulda bought the mens model cause it's prolly narrower*... We think alike! SCARY!!
with all the talk recently about the selle trk, i was looking into purchasing one (found them on ebay yesterday for $28 from the uk). however, i had recently purchased a specialized jett gel, so i figured i'd at least give it a try before buying a different one (LBS allows saddle returns). however, after just one ride on my trainer i can already tell a difference! i was riding a much more padded specialized saddle prior to the jett, but now i love the flatness of the new saddle. my sit bones are sore, but that's b/c i've only started riding this year. more importantly, my 'area' feels a hundred times better. i think the end to my biking woes may be in sight. :D
Had maint. workshop this morning so the group only did 20 miles. I'm voting for too wide as well. It kinda smashes the outer bits instead. I did get it readjusted late in the day so I may have just had some continued tenderness. I will give it another shot and let y'all know.
The guy who adjusted mentioned that the slight rise in the nose should be the level part sending the back part UP a bit instead of being level with each other.
Robbin
I'm wondering how others are liking them. I'm going to measure my Fizik, and compare to the $200+ mens SMP's, to see if there's a closer match. That's a lot, though, but probably worth it if it was _perfect._ Have yet to do a real ride on Lady, or even get it adjusted right.
I'm telling you, though, I would have practically killed to be able to switch to it at mile 325 of my ride this weekend. Oh, just to have nothing touching there- who cares about what my thighs are touching.
Nanci
Bought the SMP ladies a few weeks ago after I had ridden my new OCR with the saddle from LBS(selle Italia Ldy gel flow). I had never ridden a road bike (been riding a COMFORT bike for goodness sake) and the first rides with the Italia were very painful(at front soft bits). So have been trying the Selle SMP some of you discussed. So far I am having discomfort(not terrible but??) at the bones ?? jeez don't even know name for them....directly between my thighs.Not at rear... Also have noticed that the broad saddle puts pressure at outer edges! Hairs irritated...am wearing good shorts(Pearl I ultra) Did ~24 miles today and haven't had time to go further to try the saddle on a longer ride but at ~24 it is starting to become noticeable(as compared to comfort where after 40 miles I am not even aware of the saddle.) Are all road bikes & saddles noticeably uncomfortable? :( Do ya ever get used to them?:confused:
No! Your bike & saddle should not be uncomfortable.Quote:
Originally Posted by easterbird
It sounds like you don't have the right saddle for you. Unfortunately I don't know of any method that allows you to get the right saddle the first time - short of riding with them. Does your LBS have a stash of saddles that they will let you borrow to see if one works for you?
--- Denise
[QUOTE= So far I am having discomfort(not terrible but??) at the bones ?? jeez don't even know name for them....directly between my thighs.Not at rear... [/QUOTE]
I had the same problem on my first ride with this saddle. Also similar to Nanci, it's almost better when bent further over. However, when leveling this saddle, "ignore" the back and make sure that front bump in the nose is whats flat. Do not make the front bump level with the back, the back should point up. Let me know if that works.
I was a fool, and sold my Terry Sport with my old bike when I switched to a recumbent a few years ago. Terry doesn't make the Sport anymore, so now that I'm switching back to wedgie-bikes I'm trying to make do with a Serfas. It's really not too bad with the nose dropped just a bit. And it has a cute smiling sun face on the right "cheek"...
Tried dropping the nose a notch and I think that may be the trick for me. I got 35 miles on yesterday(in three rides with short break as I was riding w BF who changed his mind about riding after I waited for him!!). Good news no additional pressure apparent. I'll try for longer ride soon and see how it works out! thanks,Robbin_GQuote:
Originally Posted by Robbin_G
Have been reading all your saddle advice and just purchased the Selle SMP, can't wait for it to get here- I'm in agony with my current saddle which feels more like a breeze block! :D
I have a question about Selle SMP Strike saddle.... How do you determine which one to get? mens or womens? I understand that womens is wider than mens, is there some trick to measure yourself? Share please as I am having a problem with my serfas saddle on longer rides. My butt does not bother me, it's my front that hurts when I am in my drop bars.
It's simple, you can find the women's for $70, or $50 on eBay if you're lucky. The men's is $208 on eBay. :-)
Actually, since I was disappointed in general with the Lady, I asked a guy selling all models, and he said measure my Vitesse, (which I love- so I don't really know why I was trying to cheat on it with another saddle- seven year itch, I guess) then pick the men's that most closely conformed to the Vitesse's measurements.
I figured, correctly, I was getting such a good deal on the Lady it would be no problem to resell if it didn't agree with me.
Nanci
well, i just did the same thing, i measured my serfas seddle and it's exactly 17cm in width, so i ordered from Ebay. Will report when I will get it. Thanks
You didn't have any trouble with him shipping to the US? It says in his auction he ships to the UK only.Quote:
Originally Posted by boulderbliss
Hey SilverBullet, I ordered from that guy on ebay, he is very willing to ship to US. Although they will charge you around 50bucks including shipping. Just email him beforehand, thats all
When I ordered, I warned him his link to the saddle was a hot topic on a cycling discussion forum so he knows we're here.
I'm still pondering the Zero X though..... so even if he runs out, I may put mine up.
Hello Everyone
Firstly, thanks to all those of you that have purchased one of the SMP TRK saddles from us over here in the UK.
I just wanted to address a couple of points to make sure that anyone thinking of buying one knows what to expect.
The price is UK£27.99 including signed for insured airmail delivery.
You should not compare this saddle directly (which is low end specification) with one of the higher specification saddles like the Pro, Plus, Evolution etc. The price gap (which is about UK£90) reflects the superior materials used in the more expensive saddles.
See the ebay listing for more details or any questions, just drop us an email.
Are you all still liking this saddle? I am very tempted to get this one from the UK Ebay guy.
I am a new to cycling and ride a Trek 7.2FX hybrid. My Bontrager stock seat gives me some discomfort on the front sensitive bits so I am thinking the channel might alleviate that issue. But I've read some people think that the most comfy position on this saddle is aero so my more upright position might still give me issues.
I am also thinking of trying a Terry Butterfly (will have to find an LBS with a return/exchange policy).
Please advise.
I've been trying to sell a brand new, never used Ladies SMP saddle, by the way. I live in the US. Just PM me with a fair offer.
Took my relatively new Selle SMP Strike with me on a 350 mile 6-day tour in the Catskills and Berkshires. I'd only done up to ~50 mile non-loaded rides with it before that. My girly bits, as always, loved the very wide cut out. I've never been happier with a cutout. But, I did experience some massive inner thigh/crease of the thigh chafage, though I had virtually no chafing on the sit bones area. I'm fairly sure this is due to the width of the nose - maybe TOO wide for comfort. Just a warning. I used a TON of Bag Balm on the crease/upper inner thigh area to keep the chafing down.
I think this saddle is a great shorter-ride or commuter saddle, but I'm definitely not gonna be taking it with me on any more tours or long rides!
-michelle
I'm sorry to say that this is why I won't be keeping this saddle either - but the cutout was great!Quote:
Originally Posted by rustygrass
(Slinke - if you read this - do you still want my saddle as a backup?)
Let me consult our financial guru, aka my husband, and see what we can swing. Sorry it didn't work out for you! I wonder if one of the other models has a more narrow nose?Quote:
Originally Posted by bikerz
Quote:
Originally Posted by slinkedog
I would love to buy another one of these. Have ridden many miles~3500 on mine and don't want to ever be without one so am looking for a spare...
I've got one that I rode for a couple hundred miles till I couldn't take the pain any more. PM me and we can work out a deal.Quote:
Originally Posted by easterbird
Any idea how this saddle works in the aero position?
I have ridden the selle smp strike pro and it was hard on the sit bones but no harder on the sit bones than the specialized jett and I am addicted to the cut outs I cant ride a saddle anymore if it doesnt have a cut out , so now Im am actually trying the selle smp strike plus it suposedly has a little more padding, and I must say that I would prefer some soreness in my sit bones than in my delictae tissue area, I will let you all know how it goes because at presnt I am training for a double century anyone of you ladies ride doubles and if so I would be interested to know what saddle you used thanks
Can't say that I ride in the double century distance (kudos to you!), but I recently switched to the smp strike and love it. Unfortunately, given the width of my sit-bones, I have not choice but to use the lady smp strike. It has too much padding for my liking. Perhaps we could get selle smp to take both our saddles and take a little padding out of mine and put it in yours? :rolleyes:
But the lady strike is one of the few saddles that I've found that is actually wide enough for me and the cutout keeps the girlie bits happy. Oddly, I'll put up with the excess padding in the sit bones to keep the tissue area happy.
Hmmmm....do you think there is a business opportunity for a design your own saddle manufacturer? Like the custom frame builders, but instead a custom saddle?
For all looking for a saddle: please remember that TE has a 90-day return policy on Terry saddles (maybe others too, don't know) that includes free return shipping -- this is a bargain!! Three months to ride a saddle and still get to return if not satisfied ... personally, I am very impressed with this guarantee/policy. :D
And Wallingford Bicycle Parts www.wallbike.com has a 6 month return policy, but they don't pay return shipping.