how do you sit on your SMP glider (or other smp saddle)?

[djgafi]

hi girls
i'm new to this forum, and i've read some previous discussions on SMP saddles...

but, reason why i'm posting this is to understand how you sit on your SMP...

because: i have a Glider too, and have ridden about 800 km on it.
Yesterday i got a proper fitting and posture test... and the guy noticed that my sitbones are not on the saddle (sitting on the flat part) but just on the outside...
In his opinion this explains the the pressure/slight pain on the boney front part (the ischiatic bones) and discomfort when riding long distances because this area become the only place where the weight of the body gets concentrated to, and this ultimetly causes an improper posture on the bike and pedal stroke.

before yesterday i thought it was only a matter of getting used to to the Glider's discomfort, but yesterday it all changed for me, and now i'm trying to figure out if i really need to change the saddle with one just a bit wider in the back so that my sitbones would relieve pressure/weight from the central part/ischiatic bones, or continue the old way.

i see many girls using the glider, and everyone says that is a 'different' way of sitting on it... i wouldn't know better because i've always used smps (before i used to have a extra strike in plastic), and have ridden almost 2000 km on them.
so now at this point i'm confused.

if this matters, i'm a size 42 european, 1.73 tall, slim... but have never measured the distance of the iliac/sit bones when sitting.

maybe is not the saddle for me, maybe i just need to upgrade it to a wider model... but i just wanted to hear from you girls how you sit on it.

the guy's suggestion was to go for a wider and flat saddle in the back with a regular/narrower point.
According to him good substitutions would be: Selle Italia SLR gelflow, or Fizik Antares.

mmmm, i got so attached a that wide opening that the SMPs offer...so great and no one really has matched that.

anyway, would love to hear back for you SMP enthusiastic women!
thank you

[alpinerabbit]

Hi,

I think there are 2 variants.

In an upright position (top of the bars) I sit mostly on the ischial tuberosities themselves.
In the drops or the aero bars, I have most of my weight forward, on the bony ledge (think it's called the os ischium) around your soft bits.
During a ride, I will move around, and i think that's part of the power of the SMP - the cupped shape offers you lots of different angles to sit.

I've tried to show in the below pic (cave: I'm not quite sure about the anatomy but I think I got it right) where I place my sit bones (red dot) and the ledges (green dot). The sit bones are quite way back (at least that's how I think I sit on it).

I don't know if the guy confused you more than is good.
I rode about 2500 km on it last year. Including a 190 end of season with NO significant pain during or after the ride.



As always:
Pictures of you on your bike would help in the discussion.

[Andrea]

Just to complicate things, I'll add that with mine, I had it set so that weight was distributed across both of those areas that Alpinerabbit circled above. If you've got the nose tilted up a fair amount, the widest part of the saddle will be flat like a "normal" saddle, and the upwards curve will form a bit of a cradle for the other bones to rest against. It results in some odd soreness (like sitbone soreness, but in the other bones) when you first do it, but I found it to be the most comfortable position for me.

[alpinerabbit]

You are right of course. It's always somewhat distributed.

Also, note that the "horizontal" part of the saddle, in my case, is perhaps a bit forward of the green bubble. So you really get the cradle effect and don't be afraid of the front part arching up, it's not a problem.

[djgafi]

thanks girls for your input...

the way i had to set my saddle was with the nose lowered down a couple of millimiters lower than what it should be... because with a raised nose, it hurts even more... so for me that's not an option.

i find myself more in line with the way alpinerabbit described her riding, although in my case, the green dot i think is placed further down.

today, i called the SMP headquarters to understand better how one should be properly sat on the smp's....
apparently both bones (ischial and sit bones) should be resting on the saddle, meaning sitting on the 'flat' part.
then ofcourse one moves around the saddle a bit, but at least the sit bones shouldn't rest on the side/sloped back area.

and i think this is my problem, my sitbones in a sitting position are 130mm wide, when the glider is 136... they're basically not sitting on the flat part.
i'll test it out tomorrow again and see exactly what happens.
maybe upgrading to a wider smp saddle, positioning-pain-pedal stroke will be improved.

thanks a million for your feedback!!

[djgafi]

actually to answer alpinerabbit, i took a couple of pics on the saddle and pointed out where approx my bones sit on the saddle.

the back view shows where the sit bones touch, which is on the outer part of the saddle, right before the lateral edge.
obviously are placed further up on the saddle than what they appear in the image.

the side/later view, shows approx where they are on the saddle...
green dot is the ischial bone.

looking at the back view image, are your sit bones touching the saddle approx in the same way, or closer to the center axis of the saddle?