Love the Damselfly but steep climbs are painful...

[Dual rider]

I recently bought the Damselfly and love it for downhills when mountain biking. It's very easy to get back over the saddle. My previous saddle was the Liberator Ti Race. However, the Damselfly's nose is quite a bit narrower and quite uncomfortable for climbing steep hills. Has anyone had this problem? Any suggestions on other saddles that you like which are narrower in the rear portion of the saddle, but not in the nose? Or any suggestions at all? I also have a road bike and I'm considering getting a Damselfly for the road, but want to work out these problems first. Thanks!

[missliz]

I wanted the Damselfly for my Mt bike, but Terry has discontinued them. The road snob I talked to (VERY unusual for Terry!) claims that none of their saddles are suitable for dirt- she needs to get her head out of the car pollution . Anyway, I'm glad to hear it's good for dirt, I'll look on Ebay. This woman at Terry said the saddle was too flexxy after twenty miles- making it a great dirt ride?

(edit- called Terry back, got a dirt rider, Damselfly is NOT discontinued, and won't be soon. She loves hers for the trail, said it's quite firm and those who love it love it)


I was taught to climb steep grades with the saddle nose pretty much in the crack of ones backside, so I'd think a narrow nose was good. But I haven't ridden it. The other candidate I'm looking at is a mens Bontrager, they're fantastic saddles but only have a "releived area" gel insert, even in the betty version. Not the same as the hole, is it? I have Liberator Races on both bikes and love them, but I know what you mean about not getting off the back. Big problem!
Back in 97 I had a Bontrager I took a jigsaw to and "Liberated" it- and got a season out of it before it broke. Awesome. They've gotten a little pricey for experimentation though.
Anyway- the mens Terrys are very similar to Damselfly, so you might look there. I'm thinking about them as a fall back if I can't find a better bet.

Hating the saddle search aggravation...

Lizzy

[emily_in_nc]

Hi Lizzy,

Is the Terry Damselfly saddle you are looking for the regular "road" model, or is it a special mountain model?

If it's the road model, I have one I am not using. It's nearly brand new and in perfect condition. I bought it this summer, used it for three rides, and decided I preferred my old standby Butterfly. There is someone in my bike club who may want to buy it from me, but if she is not interested (I can verify that over the weekend), I would be willing to sell it to you as it will just go on eBay otherwise.

Let me know if you might be interested and we will go from there. I do need to give the other woman first right of refusal since I'd already offered it to her and she is thinking about it (she has one now but was thinking about getting it for a backup). I offered to sell it to her for $70.

I didn't know that Terry was discontinuing it (it still shows up on their web site as orderable - I just looked), which is why I wonder if there is a mountain version of this saddle I don't know about.

Emily

[Dual rider]

Thanks for your thoughts, Lizzy. Here's an update from my end. I sent an email to Terry, Serfas and Selle Italia. I fortunately got a more helpful response from Terry than you did. They suggested that I try the men's Firefly. The rear part is a bit wider than the Damselfly (but narrower than the Ti Race), and the nose is thicker than the Damselfly. I can still get back behind the saddle and when I sit on the nose I don't feel like I'm sitting on a razor blade. ;-) It seems like a good compromise. I'll try it on the dirt this weekend.

I tried the Serfas and it was similar to the men's Firefly, but a bit thicker top to bottom in the rear, so I went with the Firefly. It was a comfortable saddle and worth a look.

Also, Selle Italia is coming out with a new women's saddle in Jan. -- "SLR T1 it will be 5.1 inches wide in the rear and have wide heavily padded nose." I think I'll wait to buy a new saddle for my road bike and check that one out in Jan. I don't know the price ... between finding the "perfect" saddle and "perfect" shorts, this gets expensive. ;-)

Good luck on your search!
Christy

[missliz]

Emily, I think there's just one model of Damselfly. And I'm looking for one, even on another woman's bike, to LOOK at before I commit cash. I'm kind of liking Christys idea of the Firefly- but again I want to look at one in the flesh. My Ti race is about a 2000 model, with curve to it, and if it didn't flare out in the "skirt" on the sides it'd be great. Climbs like a goat. But it's six inches at the widest point! I need to get back out on a trail, been off the bike for a while, so I can wait. I need to sit and spin on the road for a while and get my stamina back, so I'll pass on your offer for now. But thank you, I appreciate it. And your club mate may adore it anyway.
Hey Christy- you know who makes great shorts? Everybodies idea of that is different, but I have those Terry knickers with the Ultimate Chamois and really like them. And the best of all- Blackbottoms! Apparently hard to find, but very serious dirt wear. The fabric is heavy wheight supportive spandex, and the chamois is Coolmax with real chamois, meaning lizard hide like Dad used to dry the car with. The stuff shorts all had until the late eighties. All flat fell seams, just add some Chamois Butt'r you get from TE and go! When I got hurt mine were all at least four years old and still iron bottomed, maybe you don't see them around much in stores 'cause they don't wear out?
And a lot of other women mention in this forum that a seat adjustment fixes what they thought was lousy shorts, something to think about?

Lizzy

Oh- I looked at Serfas, too padded and squishy for my taste.

[pedalfaster]

The best saddle for "in your crack" climbing (we all know about those climbs, eh?) on the mtb for me has been the Titec Berserkr. I dunno if they even still make the darn thing; I bought 3 on sale last time I found them! It's a "guys" saddle, but the comfy, padded, thick nose does it for me. Not too wide to get off the back either. It weighs a bit...I use it for endurance racing (12-24 hours) with extended climbing and for other loooong rides.

On the road, I don't really sit on the nose as much, so it's not such an issue. If you do a lot of Tri's or TTs though, that could come into play.

[Dual rider]

Lizzy, thanks for the lead on the shorts. I'll look into it. I thought that I found something that worked -- the Shebeest Elite Distance Shorts (bought from TE). I used them in a century recently and loved them, so I ordered 2 more. Wouldn't you know it .... Shebeest CHANGED the pad! It's flimsier now. I haven't had a chance to use them on a long ride (over 50 miles) so I don't know if they'll work. I've had the flu so haven't been riding much since I bought them. I just rode 30 miles today and I'm not so sure that they'll work for the longer rides, but I will give them a chance next weekend, probably ride a metric or so, building my mileage back up. I agree w/your comment about the Serfas, sort of what I meant about being thicker. Squishy doesn't hold up on long rides.

And pedalfaster, thanks for the lead on Titec Berserkr. I hadn't heard of that one. I'll keep my eye out for that. Re my road riding, I don't TT, so as you said the nose is probably not an issue. After I look around I may find that my Liberator Ti Race may be Ok for the road compared to the others.

Christy

[missliz]

You know, the Terry pad is thin by my standards, too, and their chamois below the Ultimate are not woth bothering with in my book, so you need to look at them. And I haven't done any distances you all wouldn't laugh at recently, got new knees and have been riding with the beginners, but I've been pretty impressed with the Terrys. And the knickers are great- they hide a lot of out of shape knee ugliness!
Anyway, I'm impressed by what I thought would be a total washout. Look for some Blackbottoms, though- nothing beats real lizard hide!
I have that Liberator Race, and I gave the nose a tilt up, just one tooth on the seatpost adjustment, and MY GOD! My seat bones are totally planted on the back, and I picked up three mph immediately! I couldn't see this for Mt, but I'm more impressed than ever with that saddle.
I'm still pondering the Damselfly- I just need that hole in the nose. I dug out my BMX bike- Anybody else have one of those? - and that saddle is 5" across the rear, so I may put it on the Mt bike and see if my sit bones will fit. I bought it in grad school to scoot around campus on, and don't remember any seat trouble, but one doesn't really sit down on those bikes.
Hint if you go back to school- having a lot of grey hair but still riding the stairs on a BMX cruiser will get you a lot of In with beautiful young men, the maintenance guy with master keys, nutty proffessors, and a whole host of other inconspicuous but very valuable contacts. Like Security at the private suite VIP entrance to Tiger Stadium. (That's a story for the first TE Forum convention)
And they're fun! You dirt-y girls would love them.

Lizzy