Saddle help, PLEASE!!!

[dianne_1234]

I ride a 51cm Cervelo Soloist Carbon road bike

Take a look at your Soloist's aero seat post - I've seen the tops of the bolts coming up pretty high, almost into the cutout of a Specialized Toupe (almost the same saddle as a Ruby). It looks like the bolts could hit you when the saddle flexes. I didn't ask the man riding it if that ever happened...

So when considering different saddles, make sure the vertical clearance between rails and saddle is high enough, because all the posts your Soloist will accept have the same hardware on top.

[nscrbug]

Take a look at your Soloist's aero seat post - I've seen the tops of the bolts coming up pretty high, almost into the cutout of a Specialized Toupe (almost the same saddle as a Ruby). It looks like the bolts could hit you when the saddle flexes. I didn't ask the man riding it if that ever happened...

So when considering different saddles, make sure the vertical clearance between rails and saddle is high enough, because all the posts your Soloist will accept have the same hardware on top.

Hmm...I'm pretty sure the bolts aren't hitting me. My Terry Tri Gel saddle that is on the bike now, has a cut-out...and while I can SEE the bolts clearly...I don't think they even come close to touching me. I guarantee that I'd FEEL bolts poking into my privates... LOL But I will take the vertical clearance into consideration in my saddle search...thanks for the tip!

[nscrbug]

I've been checking out some of the Specialized saddles on their website. The Jett looks promising...so I added that to my "possible" list. The Ruby doesn't look bad either...but I worry about that metal-looking tip on the nose...wondering how comfortable (or not) that might feel against my girly bits, while in aero...

I also checked out some of the men's saddles, as well....and that TriTip saddle looks interesting. But I'm confused by the sizing on that one. It shows it as being 40mm or 50mm...instead of the standard 130, 143, or 155mm. Can somebody explain this to me? Does anyone know the actual width of that saddle?

[Kathi]

I have the Ruby on my road bike and have no issues with the metal in the front when I ride in the drops. The cutout doesn't bother me either and I haven't had much success with cutouts on other saddles. I did have to change my shorts. I love Shebeast SSS shorts but needed more padding on the sides, the Ultra D's work better.

The Ariel has more padding on the back to slide off the saddle when climbing on a mtn bike and is sturdier to accomodate falls.

BTW, make sure the saddle is put on properly. I just got the Ariel for my mtn bike, had the shop put it on according to my fitting measurements, they didn't check my riding position, and it ended up to far back for me. In order for me to get my knee properly over the pedals I'm riding on the nose. My old saddle was too wide and forced me on the nose so I didn't notice until my back started hurting on the 3rd day of the Mickelson Trail tour. Back to the shop for an adjustment.

I have a tendency to slouch when riding and notice my saddle. Lifting my chest takes away the irritation.

Give yourself time to adjust to a new saddle with shorter training rides.