New saddle issues... when to see a doctor?

[Miranda]

The Terry Damselfly is the skinny one. That would never work with my sitz bones. I'd be riding my pubic bone no matter what.

My Terry saddle that I *love* is the Tri Gel version.

http://www.terrybicycles.com/saddles...tri-gel-saddle

It is wider than the Damselfly. And has a bit of gel to provide more cushion for long rides. As well as imo the more expensive leather cover gives the saddle a different feel, vs. the cheaper cromoly tri gel version.

Things bigger than the saddle to consider are: does your bike fit you? if your bike fits... is the fit itself dialed into you?

The best saddle in the world can quickly become the worst if these two above things are not true.

SO been there, done that... feel for you... good luck!

[Blue_Fedora]

Hi Miranda,
Yes, the bike fits... had a professional fitting at a very reputable LBS where they made lots of adjustments. I just bought it about 4 weeks ago... the regular tech did the initial fitting at the time and the store owner did the "pro-level" fitting about 3 weeks later once I had my new pedals & shoes.

The stock saddle (Selle San Marco) wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world but it was certainly bearable. Doing a half-century on it didn't induce anywhere near even 25% of the pain of the Damselfly.

I found a LBS near my office that has Selle SMP testers so I'll be heading there tomorrow afterwork. I'm also intrigued by the Selle An-Atomica after doing a bit of reading up on it.

I know the measurement of my sit-bones but the center-to-center span that KnottedYet mentions? Not even sure what that means let alone how to measure it! LOL!

[KnottedYet]

sorry I was vague!

The ischial tuberosities are about 1-1.5 cm wide. The outside measurement is from the outside of one to the outside of the other. That span helps you figure out how wide the overall saddle must be (add some wiggle room for shifting around for cornering and such, like 1-2cm each side)

Center to center is the weightbearing part of the tuberosity, like the contact point, where you put the most pressure on the saddle. This is what you get if you sit on a butt-o-meter. Your c-to-c should match the saddle cheeks c-to-c, your contact points should match the engineered contact points of the saddle. (in the center of the domed portions of a Serfas Niva, for example, rather than missing the dome and hitting on the slope, thereby causing the padded dome to mash up into the soft tissues) C-to-C may only matter for saddles with topographically interesting top surfaces, not so much for flat or unpadded top surfaces where there isn't doming and grooving and cut-outs.

[Blue_Fedora]

Just wanted to update this thread. I ended up buying a Selle SMP saddle a few days ago. My first ride was a few times around the block just to get a feel for it. It felt good!

DH (who has never complained about his stock saddle) was so intrigued by the design of the SMP that the next morning he took my bike out to give the saddle a try. He ended up liking it so much that he ordered a Selle SMP for himself! He said he never realized how good a saddle could feel until he rode a different one

I have my first metric-century coming up next weekend so this morning I thought I'd do a short 10 miler to see if that short distance still felt ok. It felt SO ok that I did 28 miles and only cut it short because I was riding solo and needed to go potty!

The Selle SMP saddle rocks my world! I felt no pain at all, just pressure on the sit bones which I figure is normal given that it's a new saddle and a new-to-me saddle. For once I could actually ride while thinking about something other than my crotch!LOL! LOL! LOL!

I've learned so much from this forum - thanks everyone Oh and btw, after a full week I think the numbness in my crotch is starting to subside.