Anyone familiar with the Selle Royal saddles?

[Trekhawk]

Trekhawk - I did a quick ride last night with it - 15 miles. It definitely felt better on the soft tissue, but I was really feeling my sit bones, more on one side than the other - I'll fuss with the adjustment tonight, and tomorrow's ride will be a good test. I'll let you know... It looks tiny compared to the Terry butterfly!

Hey bikerz - how is that saddle working out?
I received mine a few days ago and so far so good. I did notice that I can really feel my sit bones compared to my last saddle but no soft tissue pain at all.

Would love to know how yours is going (and those sit bones).

[bikerz]

Hi TrekHawk - well I think the Atole is a keeper - so far... Sounds like yours is working out as well

Last weekend I did a 46 mile ride on it, and then 2 short, steep hill rides this week. The saddle is definitely harder, and my sit bones are taking notice! The first 15 minutes or so I'm pretty aware of it, and I find I shift around a bit. I think I still have some minor tilt adjustments to make - on the hill rides I feel a little pressure in front - but the cut-out is so much better than the Terry - it's probably 2-3x as wide. So the soft tissue has not been bothering me at all. Also, the saddle overall is quite a bit narrower than the Terry, and I guess that is working for me now.

I am really working on posture these days, and trying to build up my core strength - I think that has been part of my trouble.

(For some reason, the Terry I had had a super-narrow cutout, compared to the cutouts on my friends' Terry saddles - hardly seems worth having a cutout at all - kind of strange. But that saddle went back to REI for a full refund!)

[emily_in_nc]

Based on the recommendations here, I decided to order a Selle San Marco Atola Gelaround saddle (found it at Colorado Cyclist for $69.99, most other stores that carried it were in the UK). I have been riding Terry Butterflies for years but think the back is too wide; I get lots of chafing towards the back. Love the cutout and general feel of the saddle. I wanted to try a narrower saddle but one that was not too incredibly hard (I tried the Terry Damselfly and OWWWW....way too hard, and the cutout was too narrow and pinched!) I chose the Atola Gelaround over the regular Atola since it sounded like it would be a bit softer in the sitbone area. So I'll report back once it comes in and I can try it out!

Do those of you who have the Atola have the regular model or the Gelaround? If you don't know, the Gelaround model says "Gelaround" in the back in large letters, the regular does not. Except for the gel, they seem to be exactly the same (size, weight, styling).

Emily

[slinkedog]

Hey BikerZ... which Terry saddle did you have before?

[Trekhawk]

[QUOTE emily_in_nc]
Do those of you who have the Atola have the regular model or the Gelaround? If you don't know, the Gelaround model says "Gelaround" in the back in large letters, the regular does not. Except for the gel, they seem to be exactly the same (size, weight, styling).

Hi Emily
I have the gelaround and so far it seems pretty good. I really can feel my sit bones but after a while on a ride I dont seem to notice it as much. I like the fact that the saddle seems a tad shorter than my old terry as I use to get myself snagged on the end of that all the time. This has not happened on the San Marco.

Let us know how you get on with yours.

[bikerz]

Do those of you who have the Atola have the regular model or the Gelaround?

Mine is the regular Atola womens saddle. I ordered it from Cambria Bicycle Outfitters for $64.95

Hey BikerZ... which Terry saddle did you have before?

I had a Terry Women's Butterfly Titanium. I was just looking at the picture of it on the REI website, and my cutout looks like it was quite a bit narrower than the photo. Hmmm - maybe I had some sort of reject saddle... Oh well, I'm happy with the Atola and it was $40 cheaper!

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks for the info, Bikerz...

I was also interested to see that the Atola is ever so slightly lighter weight than the Terry Butterfly ti (254g vs 262g), I guess because it is a little smaller. So for it to be that much less expensive than the Butterfly ti is pretty cool. I have Butterfly ti models on three of my four bikes now, but I'm looking forward to trying out this Atola!

Emily

[kim]

I've been lurking for a long time gathering very valuable information from this site, so I felt compelled to finally register and post a reply where I've had some minimal experience since I'm a relatively new rider. I bought a San Marco Atola Gelaround saddle this spring and have since put almost 3000 miles on it (I'm a new rider, but I really like it). For the most part, the Atola is very comfortable--even during centuries. My only complaint is that there is little padding in the nose. So I find it a lot less comfortable when I'm riding in the drops. Now that I'm getting a little faster, I find I like to ride in that position more, so I'm looking for a similar saddle that might accomodate that better. If you don't spend much time in the drops, I believe you will be very pleased, though.

[emily_in_nc]

I've been lurking for a long time gathering very valuable information from this site, so I felt compelled to finally register and post a reply where I've had some minimal experience since I'm a relatively new rider. I bought a San Marco Atola Gelaround saddle this spring and have since put almost 3000 miles on it (I'm a new rider, but I really like it). For the most part, the Atola is very comfortable--even during centuries. My only complaint is that there is little padding in the nose. So I find it a lot less comfortable when I'm riding in the drops. Now that I'm getting a little faster, I find I like to ride in that position more, so I'm looking for a similar saddle that might accomodate that better. If you don't spend much time in the drops, I believe you will be very pleased, though.

Hi Kim - welcome to Team E! This is a great place to hang out!

I found your experience with the Atola interesting, because I ride in the drops fairly frequently and find the nose extremely comfortable. I wear Performance Ultra shorts most often, which have a lot of padding in the front, which may be the difference. I just don't notice the nose of the saddle at all, one way or another, which is a good thing. Once again, just shows how different we all are!

Again, welcome, and now that you've registered, post on!

Emily

[bikerz]

Well, on the last two 45 mile rides on my Selle San Marco Atola, I started thinking maybe it's NOT the saddle for me after all. I think it might be too narrow at the back. I've been getting some unpleasant chafing where the back of my thigh meets the rear-end itself after about 20 miles... ouch. Bu tthe cut-out is perfect. I may try to find another saddle with a similar cut-out but with a slightly wider back. Any ideas?

[Trekhawk]

Based on the recommendations here, I decided to order a Selle San Marco Atola Gelaround saddle (found it at Colorado Cyclist for $69.99, most other stores that carried it were in the UK). I have been riding Terry Butterflies for years but think the back is too wide; I get lots of chafing towards the back. Love the cutout and general feel of the saddle. I wanted to try a narrower saddle but one that was not too incredibly hard (I tried the Terry Damselfly and OWWWW....way too hard, and the cutout was too narrow and pinched!) I chose the Atola Gelaround over the regular Atola since it sounded like it would be a bit softer in the sitbone area. So I'll report back once it comes in and I can try it out.
Emily

Hey Emily - How is the new saddle working out?

[slinkedog]

Yeah, I'm seriously considering having another look at that one... I got to see BikerZ's and it looked pretty nice!

[Trekhawk]

Yeah, I'm seriously considering having another look at that one... I got to see BikerZ's and it looked pretty nice!

slinkedog - Im pretty happy with mine the sit bones are still not quite use to the change from my terry but the rest of my sit area feels much happier.


If you go the Atola give us a review - always like to hear how stuff works for others.

[emily_in_nc]

Hey Emily - How is the new saddle working out?

Hi ~ It only arrived Tuesday via UPS (rather slow shipping since it had to come from Colorado to NC, and they didn't ship for several days after I ordered), I mounted it on my Aegis, but didn't go to the women's club ride last night b/c rain threatened, so I rode my older bike on the trainer indoors instead. So, it will be Saturday before I can try it out - but I'll report back.

I love the way it looks, the shape, size and feel of the "gelaround", but I could tell immediately that it was heavier than my Butterfly ti saddles, even though per the weight on the Selle and Terry websites, it was supposed to be a few grams lighter! I weighed it on my super-duper-accurate postal scale, and it is exactly 2.1 oz heavier than the Butterfly ti, which really doesn't surprise me b/c of the gel and cro-moly rails, but someone isn't telling the truth - either Terry is under-reporting their weight or (more likely) Selle is off in the other direction. So, since I am sort of a weight weenie just on this particular bike, I was a bit disappointed, but I still plan to keep an open mind and try it. I'm down a couple lbs. in the bod since my accident, so I guess I can spare 2.1 oz. if the saddle is better for me, right?

More complete report soon!

Emily

[emily_in_nc]

Okay ladies, I tried the Atola Gelaround yesterday on a 40 mile ride (my first of that distance since my accident - yippee!!!) It's too early to say definitively, but I think I am going to like it.

When I sat on it right at first, it felt like the right shape and size, and I could feel my sit bones being well supported in back, even though it's quite a bit narrower than the Butterfly, so that confirms that I didn't really need the extra width of the B-fly. It also seemed like the areas in back that chafe on the B-fly weren't even hitting the saddle anymore, so it really might be an improvement there, as I'd hoped. The cutout is perfect, completely unnoticeable, the nose is comfy, the shorter length is fine, the only thing that was not perfect was that it definitely has a firmer feel in the sit-bone area (as I've read here), and as a result, I got a little sore by the end of the ride just on those two small areas, but I think this is something I can toughen up.

Riding the Atola was a very different sensation than my first couple of rides when I tried the Terry Damselfly (two years ago) and thought it felt like a 2 by 4, and it also pinched and rubbed me raw in the labial area b/c the cutout was very narrow and firm. After the first ride on that one, I wondered how anyone could ever find it comfortable! A few rides later, it came off the bike, never to be used again.

So far, I am happy with this purchase! A final verdict will come a bit later, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

Thanks for the recommendation!

Emily