Terry Damselfy

[fatcat]

Has anyone tried the new Terry Damselfly saddle? I've used the Butterfly since it was produced but I feel it is slightly too wide. The Damselfly is very narrow.

[wrightsis]

I have the Terry Damselfly in my house waiting to be tried! For me it was between the Butterly and Damselfly. When I ordered the Damsel I first measured my current saddle size. The Butterfly was much larger and the Damsel matched almost perfectly for size. It's been subzero where I live, so haven't had a chance to try it. Have you tried yours? What do you think?

[swimbiker]

I would buy a Terry saddle if they didn't have that cutesy-pie ornamentation on them. Maybe if enough of us wrote them asking for a plain saddle, we'd get a response.

[BikeLady]

Oooo...I just put a Damselfly on my road bike. I can't say enough good things about it! I've been using the Butterfly on my mtb for years, but it was too soft on the road bike. The Damselfly is narrow, has the cutout in just the right place, and is FIRM! No squishing of the "delicate bits."

[swimbiker]

I looked on the Terry website and found a great range of widths in their saddles. The entire list of women's racing saddles are too narrow for me. I am looking for something firmer than my Serfas RX. Does anyone know if the Liberator Lite or even the men's Liberator (same width!) are firmer than Serfas saddles?

[williamtash]

Hi I was wondering about the damselfly for a very small 5' person I need a new saddle and I have found the nose on a few were to big for me. Does anyone no how the ride is on this terry saddle. Or does anyone suggestion

[swimbiker]

First, measure the distance between your "sit bones". Take a piece of notebook paper and put it on a curb. sit on it so that you are making an impression in the paper. then, measure between the "dents" and that will give you the width the saddle has to be. Then, go on the Terry website and see how the different saddles measure--length and width. I ordered a Terry Men's Liberator Y this way. It is not quite as "cushiony" as my Serfas RX saddle, and the "nose" is longer. "Noses" on men's saddles tend to be narrower, in my experience, and that is what I was looking for. This particular saddle is a 2002 one and is on sale for $25 at online stores. Good luck!

[williamtash]

I will try the idea with the paper once it stops raining here long enough. this rain in NC is really cutting into my ride time. I will get back to you once I can use the paper Idea. Do you measure only from the outside edge of the dents. my vitesse saddle fits ok on the sit bones it just the nose I have tipped it down and a still get a sore spot on the right side only in the delecate area. what do you think sandy

[swimbiker]

I have been trying to break in a Brooks Finesse for a couple of months. I too lowered the nose of the saddle. My local bike store guy said that was wrong because it made me slide forward! He said it should actually be up just a bit to make sure you keep your sit bones back on the back part of the saddle. I have been riding the Serfas RX with the cutout and put the Brooks on my mtn bike. I still think I can get it "broken in" but I was in too much pain and I am training to ride in the Hotter 'n' Hell Hundred. If I am going to ride 100 miles, I don't want my sensitive parts to be killing me before I even start that day!

When you do the "Paper test" concentrate on the center of the wrinkled part--that is where your sit bones actually touch the saddle. I am going to try this Terry Liberator Y to see if it will be a good replacement for the Serfas RX saddle (which is too soft).

[williamtash]

swimbiker
thanks about the paper I am going to do it tonight
to see about the sit bone. I hope your 100 goes well I heard the saddle your working on the terry id go let me know. I have been through 4 saddles on my hybrid. my road is the one I am looking for now that is why I am thinking about the damselfly I have looked at three terry's I just have to pick one. I wish you could ride one for 3 day then send it back if you don't like it. Their so expensive. so much to think about Thanks again about the saddle idea and good luck on the 100

[missliz]

you know, you can actually call Terry and ask them questions- Georgina herself answers the phone half the time and she knows her stuff. They'll be glad to give measurements and advice.
The number is on the website.

Lizzy

[emily_in_nc]

Hi,

I just recently tried to switch from a Terry Butterfly to a Terry Damselfly saddle on my Terry Isis bike. My reasons for making the switch were that I was getting a lot of chafing/rash from the B-fly around the back edges and felt that it was a bit too wide - I'm petite and have narrow hips.

The Damselfly felt VERY hard at first, but I quickly adapted to that. However, I put in a lot of miles (about 100-150 per week), and after a metric century developed a very painful saddle sore from the D-fly that just wouldn't go away. I've had saddle sores from the Butterfly, but never this bad before. It would just put me into agony from about mile 20 on on rides and wouldn't go away unless I took more time off the bike than I am willing to do at this point in the season. It is right on the edge of where the saddle was hitting in back, and since there's less area to disperse my weight, I guess there was more pressure right there than with the Butterfly.

So, yesterday I put the Butterfly back on and took a ride. Instant relief! No pain at all! I may give the Damselfly another try, but I'll try it at the beginning of next season when my mileages are less and I'm not riding so many days in a row, to give my body more time to adapt. It was just too big a chance at this point in the season for me.

That said, I know of a couple women in my bike club who just love the Damselfly and hate the Butterfly! We're all so different....

Good luck!
Emily

[swimbiker]

I got the Terry Liberator Y (meant for males) and installed in on my bike. I love this saddle! The cover is leather and the foam is slightly firmer than the Serfas RX saddle. I am thinking of ordering a couple more because it fits me so well. No pain, ever!

I had to send the Brooks Finesse back to Wallingford Bikes. I just couldn't get it to be comfortable and it was causing me too much pain. I think the problem was that the saddle was short and the nose area is just too hard. It could be that a men's saddle would work for me because, being longer, the nose area can flex more.

[missliz]

Bless you swimbiker- I put the Liberator Race back on my bike, was using a cushy tushy softy saddle as I started to ride again after injury- anyway, the point is I gave the nose that slight tilt up to try and put the sit bones where they should be- Oh, total comfort! The most pain free ride ever, and I picked up 3 mph immediately! How cool is that?
I've heard of the "nose up for the ladies" thing, but never an explanation- and I concentrated on finding my sit bones and putting them in the right place. Got a whole different position to my pelvis, no lower back pain! Which has been the plague of my bike life.
Course I'm stiff as a board today from a fast hard (short ) ride, but thanks for the tip. It's good to BE sore after a fast hard ride...
Hooray!

Lizzy

[swimbiker]

Go get in a swimmming pool! Just moving around in the water will help your sore muscles. My doc calls it "range of motion" exercises. You will be surprised at how much the water relieves muscle soreness.

I rode the Serfas RX in the Hotter 'n' Hell Hundred, but at the end of the day my rear felt flattened. So, I put the Terry Liberator Y back on the bike and have ridden a 100K with no seat pain. This saddle has kind of a "hammock" effect when you sit on it. Maybe it just flexes in the middle? Anyway, it is stiffer than the Serfas, covered with leather, and gives support where I need it.