Selle An-Atomica vs. Brooks

[mimitabby]

i guess what we really need is an official Brooks saddle thread.

There's an article in the Bicycle Quarterly that talks about the kinds of saddles and bikes that people road in the 1200 kilometer Paris Brest Paris ride. Fully 50% of the people that responded had Brooks or the selle an-atomica saddles on their bikes. Further, a majority of the faster and more experienced riders had leather saddles.
And most of the riders rode STEEL BIKES!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Mimi, were most of the riders French?

[mimitabby]

most of the survey respondents were americans. but i think other than the French, americans were the largest single group.

[SadieKate]

There's an article in the Bicycle Quarterly that talks about the kinds of saddles and bikes that people road in the 1200 kilometer Paris Brest Paris ride. Fully 50% of the people that responded had Brooks or the selle an-atomica saddles on their bikes. Further, a majority of the faster and more experienced riders had leather saddles.
And most of the riders rode STEEL BIKES!

50% used a traditional leather saddle such as a Brooks or SA. I didn't see where it said that the faster or experienced riders used leather saddles either, just that 55% of the 90 hr group used traditional leather and 37% of the faster group did. The charts are confusing but I think I'm reading it right. Matter of fact the article said " no dignificant differences in equipment choices or DNF rates between novice and experienced randonneurs." Users of '"other" saddles, mostly gel, were almost twice as like to DNF. However, few of these riders listed saddle problems as the reason for abandoning the ride."

And the survey was conducted through RUSA bulletin boards so the analysis was of equipment used by RUSA members.

[mimitabby]

Nice Sadie Kate, you missed my point. There's a huge percentage of people on that ride who were riding leather saddles. That's all I was saying. and then you provided the other interesting statistic; the non-leather saddle people were more apt to DNF.

[SadieKate]

Further, a majority of the faster and more experienced riders had leather saddles.
And most of the riders rode STEEL BIKES!

No, truthfully, Mimi, I didn't see this part about the faster and more experienced. Where is it? I sometimes have a hard time following Jan. He needs an editor for himself and some of his contributors. I constantly have to re-read a paragraph trying to piece together the progression of logic.

[kayandallie]

Back to topic: I just tried out my new An-Atomica today and I love it! I had two Brooks; the Team Pro and the Team Pro S and although I liked them, I was never able to get comfy.

[lattae]

I'd like to try the An- Atomica saddle but have concerns about the durablity of it compared to the Sella Italia gel flow saddle. My problem is I sweat a great deal and the surface of my gel flow saddle degrades and a hole will wear thru the saddle... Does anyone know if the An- Atomica saddle will hold up well after biking in hot sweaty summers? I have to replace my gel flow saddle after one year of use and it becomes expensive to do this year after year. I'm happy with the fit of my present saddle but don't want to keep purchasing new saddles yearly.. thanks

[redrhodie]

Just got my new An-atomica. I think I'm in love. Apart from being the most comfortable saddle I've sat on by far, it's so beautiful. It has a shaker-like simple beauty, nothing there that doesn't serve a purpose. It definitely looks handmade. I got the red one, what a surprise !

As I sat on it, my sit-bones made contact, and the rest of it disappeared. I felt nothing between my legs, and the pain I often get on the ouside of my right hip didn't come. I know now I was sitting on my perineum on my old saddle, and it was too wide, which gave me a lovely hematoma which would recur after long rides.

I hope it will last a long time. It's made of a weather proof leather that doesn't need conditioning. I'll let you know in the summer how it's holding up.

[Andrea]

I'd like to try the An- Atomica saddle but have concerns about the durablity of it compared to the Sella Italia gel flow saddle. My problem is I sweat a great deal and the surface of my gel flow saddle degrades and a hole will wear thru the saddle... Does anyone know if the An- Atomica saddle will hold up well after biking in hot sweaty summers? I have to replace my gel flow saddle after one year of use and it becomes expensive to do this year after year. I'm happy with the fit of my present saddle but don't want to keep purchasing new saddles yearly.. thanks

I just saw this- I don't know if you got one, but I wanted to add that I had two an-atomicas. I thought they were definately the most comfortable thing I've ridden on, but within a couple of months, both stretched to the point of being at the end of the tensioning bolt and then began to chafe because I couldn't tension them any more and they continued to stretch. I'm well under the weight limit to where they recommend getting the clydesdale model, and I cared for the saddle according to the manufacturer's recommendation.

I'm currently on the lookout for something that's just as comfortable but more durable (Brooks didn't work because I need a cutout).

[mimitabby]

Did you contact the manufacturer? My husband has one and has at least 10,000 miles on it with no problem.. SO maybe they can be replaced?

[Andrea]

The 2nd one was a warranty replacement for the 1st. I decided not to get it replaced again because I will be racing in some NRC races this year, and the saddle is very long. It violates the UCI saddle rules by both being over 27.5cm long and by the nose being too far over the BB.