Saddles for Herpes Sufferer

[bikemom29+]

I started riding when I was dating my hubby 16 yrs. ago. Four yrs. later, (a year after we were married) I got herpes. I think my bike hubby is a carrier, he had bad shingles once. Thank goodness he has never had it. Now I have a job with huge stress, a great 10 yr. old and more outbreaks. I had to go off Valtrex because it was making me very dizzy, after years of being on and off of it. So I am trying Lysine again. I am thinking about a saddle with a huge cutout - maybe even a man's saddle. I have an old Terry butterfly that was on my old road bike. I bought a new Trek Madone so I have been riding with the Bontrager WSD saddle that came on the bike. I love the Maddie, the saddle is good in the back, but chafes the front where I have the problem. Any recommendations? What about the Selle SLR Lady Gel Flow, the Selle Glider or SLK? I can't be the only woman who rides with this problem. I can't find anything on the internet. Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[channlluv]

I like my Adamo Typhoon saddle. It might suit your needs. Riding with an outbreak must be incredibly painful. Kudos to you for getting on the bike anyway. I hope you find a saddle that works.

Roxy

Quick Google search on Adamo yielded this link:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CDcQ8wIwAg#

[Catrin]

Good for you for sticking with your biking! This last summer I tried both the Selle Italia Diva and Lady (Ldy) Gel flow saddles. The cutout for the Lady Gel flow is more narrow and shorter - and perfect for me. I suspect that it would not work for you in a breakout. I had to return the Diva as I found the cutout to be too long and too wide for me and caused certain....problems.

I've never ridden an Adamo saddle, but there are women here for whom Adamo works well - it certainly removes any problems with the nose of the saddle!

[KnottedYet]

Herpes and shingles are different viruses and different diseases, but neither makes riding a bike much fun!

Adamo saddles might be a good place to look for a super-giant cutout. I'd also look for something with either very little padding or very firm padding, to avoid chafing and prevent excess padding from bulging out into areas where you don't want contact. Be sure the saddle supports your sit-bones completely, so you don't end up weightbearing anywhere else.

I had chicken pox and am dreading the day I might have those nasty Varicella zoster cooties leap out of somnolence and give me shingles. People tell me it's just miserable. You have my sympathy!

[TsPoet]

I try not to get on the recumbent soap box. But, I just wanted to say, if you get to that point, consider a recumbent before you consider stop riding.

[GLC1968]

While I don't have a herpes problem, I did have a lot of trouble with soft tissue rubbing raw the first few years I was riding despite huge saddle cut outs.

Since you mentioned liking the rear of your Bontrager - you could try the Bontrager InForm RL WSD. It's the saddle I use on all my bikes. The 'dip' in the front is positioned just right that it makes a cutout unnecessary AND because there is no actual cut out, there are no extra edges to rub either. It's also nice and firm so there is not a lot of padding to break down or 'squish' into places it doesn't belong.

It's a seriously AWESOME saddle if it fits your anatomy.