Bontrager Inform WSD

[Skierchickie]

Can anybody who rides an Inform help me out with positioning this thing? I want to start out level, but level is kind of hard to pin down, with the bump in front, dip in the middle, and flat at the back. Do you just level the back part? The bump in front sort of throws things off, being taller (and squishier) than the back part. I tried leveling the rails, but that tilts it down more in front than what looks like would be right.

I can't wait to try this thing out. It rained tonight. So far I just toodled down the gravel driveway and back in my jeans last night. Sitting on it in the garage felt painful - not my sit bones, I don't think - seemed forward and inboard from those, but when riding down the driveway that didn't hurt. I was holding myself up against the garage wall, so I was probably too upright then. We'll see.

[kermit]

I have always tried to level a saddle by using a hard back book and a leveler. Make sure the book covers the saddle evenly and try the leveler. That's my take, I know guys that can just eyeball it, me not so much! You could also try the leveler next to the rails. For what it's worth, I have a Bontrager affinity RXL on my bike now and had to go above level with the nose. The dip gives it the optical illusion that its higher than it is. What a difference a level saddle makes!

[Skierchickie]

Thanks Kermit.

So, on yours, is the back part level (the only part that actually is flat, if it's like the Inform)? I mean, I know the procedure to level it if I know what needs to be level, but it's that bump & dip that are the problem. The bump on mine is clearly higher than the flat back part. I'm assuming the bump is taller because it squishes down when you sit on it. Or - maybe it is an optical illusion, like you said. I'll have to study it some more. Or maybe it's an Affinity / Inform difference, or because my RL has more padding than your RXL.

When I leveled the rails it was diving down in front a little.

How do you like the Affinity? And the RXL version? If the Inform works on my road bike, I may have to get an Affinity, for my touring bike, and an Evoke for the MTB. Sigh, I wish they would have a clearance on all of them.

I'm amazed at how sleek DH's new Inform RL looks compared with my Inform RL WSD. His looks racy & minimal. Mine looks like a tractor seat beside it. And theoretically his is actually 4 mm wider.

[kermit]

When I did my Specialized super duper bike fit I had an Inform with me to try. It never even made it on the bike, my fitter told me that lump would mush me into the saddle and the nose was very wide. I have heard mixed reviews (everybody is different) but the affinity RXL is very flat. The dip is just enough to be comfy for the girly parts and the right size supports my seat bones very well. I measured it up to my former SSM aspide glamour and it was exact. I have had more success with it that anything else I have tried, and I think I have tried them all. When I look at mine on the bike, the nose looks higher than the seat but my nose bump is smaller. I actually have it past level to compensate for the bump if that makes sense. Just play with it, if you feel like you are on your hands bump the nose up. Good luck.

[nscrbug]

When I did my Specialized super duper bike fit I had an Inform with me to try. It never even made it on the bike, my fitter told me that lump would mush me into the saddle and the nose was very wide. I have heard mixed reviews (everybody is different) but the affinity RXL is very flat. The dip is just enough to be comfy for the girly parts and the right size supports my seat bones very well. I measured it up to my former SSM aspide glamour and it was exact. I have had more success with it that anything else I have tried, and I think I have tried them all. When I look at mine on the bike, the nose looks higher than the seat but my nose bump is smaller. I actually have it past level to compensate for the bump if that makes sense. Just play with it, if you feel like you are on your hands bump the nose up. Good luck.

Just curious...which size Affinity RXL did you go with? And did you get the WSD version, or the men's? I stopped at my local Trek dealer this afternoon to take a look at them...and ended up taking home a WSD 154 RXL. I figure I have nothing to lose in trying it out since I can return it in 30 days if it doesn't work for me. I've just been fidgeting around way too much on my Ruby 155 lately, and today's 83-mile ride was no exception. I need to try something else to confirm if it's the saddle or not. I'll have my DH put it on tomorrow after we get back from our long ride. I don't really want to try the Affinity on a long, hot ride...which undoubtedly tomorrow's ride will be. I test it out on my Monday ride, which will be shorter.

Linda

[zoom-zoom]

Can someone tell me the difference between the Affinity and the InForm...and how they compare to the Jett and the Ruby (the InForm looks too pear-shaped and I can't find any overhead photos of the Affinity models)? I've been toying with the idea of trying a different saddle now that I have 2 bikes (that way I can put whichever one I like less on my cyclocross bike and my preferred one on my road bike). I like my Jett, but I don't love it. It worked better for me on my previous road bike, which had me somewhat more upright. I'm open to trying something new, just for sh!ts-n-giggles.

Also, how T-shaped are the various Bontrager saddles vs. Spec's saddles...?

[kermit]

I got the Affinity RXL WSD in 154. I measure 150 so I need wide. This saddle supports my seat bones perfectly and does not flex. My first ride was two hours, and I got sore, but in the right spots, not the crotch. It pretty much puts you in a spot, there's not much moving around but I am happy with the Dent. The affinity is pretty minimal padding compared to the inform. I would say the inform has twice the padding and although the dent is bigger, so is the overall saddle including the nose width. The inform is more pear shaped and the affinity is more t-shaped. If you took a ruby and aspide glamour and combined them, you get an Affinity. I hope that helps.

[zoom-zoom]

That does. The Affinity is intriguing to me. I'm thinking I may have to give it a try. I have a 150ish miler in the plans in about 5 weeks and I'd really love to find THE saddle before then.

[petitereynard]

Anybody have any new comments on the Inform RL WSD? I'm considering one.


Anyway, after reading up today about the Inform, and comparing their explanation of it with the issues I've had (always feel like my weight is on soft tissue, rather that sit bones), I might have to give it a shot. I don't want too much padding, but the dip in front might be good. Never could get used to the Terry cut-outs. The Inform R sounds too padded (I like the minimal Arione), so I'd probably go with the RL. Looked at the Affinity RXL & RL, but it sounds like it's for more of an upright position. I'm actually always more upright than I'd like, because of rolling more onto soft tissue if I try to get lower. Maybe the Inform would allow me to get into a better position? Like GLC1968 said, I ALWAYS have soft tissue pain after riding (and during).
!

Skierchickie: I just went throught the saddle search. I purchased an Inform RL last fall after I started getting soft-tissue pain on long rides. When I tried it on a new bike this spring, one that makes me ride slightly more upright, I had nothing but pain. I tried a number of other saddles, including 3 different Terrys, with no luck, so I determined to make the Inform work again. I got a new bike fit just to go around that saddle. I did the same thing Kermit did--strong piece of cardboard on top of the saddle, level on top of that, to level the saddle. I don't know why the dip is better than the cutout, but it is for me. The nose looks like it's up a bit, but the dent is level and causes no pain EVER and that's what I care about.

That said, I'm going to look at an Affinity this week. The Affinity has slightly more padding and is designed for a slightly more upright position--kind of that gray area between aggressive and upright. The salsa pistola I'm riding now doesn't encourage an aggressive position, so I'm thinking the Affinity will work better. I just got back from a week-long tour with 50-60 mile days. No soft-tissue pain, but I could only be in one spot on the Inform saddle, or I would get incredible sits-bone pain. It's not a saddle that encourages you to move around a whole lot. I can move back a little going uphill, up a little going downhill, but that's about it.

I'd like to hear how the Inform works for you--
Good luck!

[nscrbug]

I'm a little curious about what happened with the Ruby. Is it sitbone pressure? You are a very long-distance cyclist. I can't imagine putting in the miles you do. Do you just need something a little more padded to accomodate the mileage? Makes me wonder if a Jett or Alias would work.

It does seem to be sitbone pressure, but also a teeny bit of girly bits irritation too. Which is what had me wondering about the cut-out on the Ruby. So today I rode 54 miles on the Affinity RXL and it felt very strange at first. But the longer I rode, the more comfortable I got. I can't yet say that it was "perfect", nor am I ready to take it off yet, either. I'll leave it on a bit longer and see what happens next weekend during my longer rides.

[kermit]

That's how it felt for me the first two rides...different! But when the pUn did not come I was happy!

[Skierchickie]

Okay, for those who may be interested in the Inform RL WSD saddle, here is my initial review. Sorry, but very long:

Overall impression: Why do women's saddles have so darn much padding?? Sheesh! Way squishy compared to the Arione. Otherwise, similar front to back profile - just ends up wider. Same transition front to back, so that is where I initially positioned it. In the end, I can't really tell that it's squishy, and I'm not sure what the bump up front is for, since I'm behind it. Doesn't seem to cause any problems. The two plastic mystery bumps underneath the nose don't seem to cause me any problems - I saw references to those somewhere, and how your shorts can hang up on them. No issue with that at all.

Ride 1: 15 mile shakedown ride, mostly flat, with a few rollers in the middle. Saddle level from front to back (including the nose). This put the back and notch area pointing down just a bit. It was awesome for 5 miles - no soft-tissue pain at all. Couldn't even tell I had soft tissue. Probably due to the unfortunate fact that the slight downward tilt had all my weight on my hands & arms, which started to get numb & hurt a little. I'm not sure just when both feet went numb. I stopped at the half-way point and leveled the back half of the saddle (level by eyeball, and almost perfectly level using an actual level when I got home). This annoyed the soft tissue a bit, and made me wish the notch was deeper. Oh, and in both positions, I was way more comfortable in the drops that on the hoods. I seem to have more access to the hoods than I'm used to. I want to use my drops more, so that part is good. The bad part was the sit bone pain when I'd ride on the hoods. Next morning: 2 saddle sores. One existing one getting to be a bigger bump, and a second one right next to another existing spot. Grrr. However, it was crazy hot & humid, and I had mountain biked in the morning, and waded in the lake in the late afternoon, on a hike. So basically in damp shorts for a lot of the day (not the same shorts, but all damp).

Ride 2: 20 miles, mostly flat. Split the difference between the 2 positions on the first ride. Better, but 1 numb foot (and my shoe was already looser than normal, so it wasn't that). A little discomfort up front. Still pain in back when I was more upright on the hoods. Felt like I had no power. At all. Total lack of oomph. And never really comfortable on the saddle. Still with the saddle sore bumps.

Ride 3: 44 miles, flat to hilly, with one big hill. Had DH check my KOPS position, and he figured I could go back slightly. So I moved it back, maybe 5 mm, but didn't measure. Felt pretty decent for 20 miles, then started getting general discomfort. Most of it not major, except feeling like I'm right on those saddle sores.

Ride 4: 19 miles, gently rolling. After talking to LBS guy, moved the saddle back a hair more. He thought maybe I should tilt it down a hair more too, but trying to isolate one thing at a time. Starting to feel a bit better. And the sores seem less angry. Still a tad bit of hand trouble, so I'm not sure about increasing the tilt.

Ride 5: 15 miles easy with DH (who is 3/4 of the way through chemo right now, so isn't exactly hammering): No problems. No sit bone pain. The saddle still doesn't disappear, but it's better. And I can ride in the drops without squirming.

So, with 113 miles on it, it has promise. I need to get some longer rides in, which I'm not sure I'll get in before the 30-day trial is up, but I guess I'll keep it. If it doesn't work, it was a good deal, and I can probably get most of my money out of it at the annual gear swap. I may tweak it back a hair farther, but the rails are pretty short, and I don't have a whole lot left. Part of my problem could be my mtb saddle, and the fact that I'm riding that on Mondays and Thursdays, and I know it's too narrow. While I'm more upright, and don't get some of the pain during the rides, it may be irritating areas the road saddle finds later? I may talk my Monday friend to switch to road biking for a couple of weeks.

If it weren't for the $60 price difference, I probably would go for the less-padded RXL. I do think I want new shorts, but that's another can of worms.

[Skierchickie]

Last Sunday's 33 miler got really bad. First 10 miles was okay, then got gradually worse until I had pain from my hips down to my knees. DH thought maybe it was nerve pressure somewhere. Whatever it was, that was the first time I really ever wanted to just quit riding. LBS guy fixed me up with a men's Affinity 1 from his trial bin. We'll see how that goes. Only 2 short rides so far - the first one was not very good, but it was the day after the really bad ride, so I gave myself a couple days to recover. Today I didn't have time, so it was just a short ride, but it was pretty good.

[CyborgQueen]

Skierchickie - I was in the similar boat like you were. I had the Bontrager Affinity. When I first started cycling nearly two years ago, I had the Terry Butterfly Ti with the cutout on it. It was comfortable for a long while, but then when I started to change my bike into a little more aggressive position (raising the seat, lowering the handlebars, etc), sitting on the saddle seems to get more uncomfortable. It seems that when I'm in more upright, the saddle is perfect, but once I go in the drops or more tight position, my sit bones seems to kind of slide off to the side slightly.

After a long while, I decided that it's time to start saddle trials. Bontrager was the first I tried. It wasn't bad. Felt comfortable for certain amount of time, then I start to fidget. The width of the saddle was perfect. After a few more rides, I realized that the sides of it is a little too sharp for me (got a big butt), and the indentation on the back part was bothering me really bad. Returned the saddle and now I'm testing the SI Diva. In a small way, I wished I did the research before buying because it turned out to be a lot more money at the LBS than online...however, this LBS has given me so much free service (free adjustments, free fitting, and little free stuff) even though I didn't buy the bike from them. So, I think it's fair.

When I sat on it for the first time, I was already SO comfortable! I'm looking forward for my first ride with it tomorrow. Did you ever think about trying Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow (cutouts), or the Diva? A few of my women cycling friends swears on Selle Italia's products...and they're long distance cyclists.

I'm hoping that the money that I shelled out on this saddle will be worth it and thousands of miles...and for my first century.

Good luck!

[Skierchickie]

Returned the Inform last week. The Affinity I'm trying is a lot better, but haven't ridden a lot of times since putting it on. Did a 58 miler a week ago. Got quite uncomfortable on one side, and leveled it a little 1/2-way through the ride. Seemed a lot better, but the damage was done, so to speak. Tweaked the tilt part-way back again, but haven't ridden it since.

CyborgQueen: I haven't seen the SI saddles in person, so haven't really considered them. Not sure about the cutouts - none of the Terry saddles I tried with cut-outs worked for me. Maybe I'll see something when I'm downstate soon. Unfortunately, $$$ is an object at the moment. Still rooting for the Affinity, anyway. Maybe I need to avoid women's saddles, because in all my trials, the men's models have been the best.