Back in the saddle search again (or not)

[emily_in_nc]

Hope you'll get it all sorted out, NY. Chafing is a bee-yotch!

I experienced that first hand today as we did a utility ride on our Bike Friday with racks and panniers, as we just couldn't put off a trip to Walmart any longer. HATE going there, but we had a huge list of pharmacy & household type stuff that we just couldn't find elsewhere closer by or at prices we are willing to pay. It's not a fun ride for me under the best of circumstances: hilly, 14 miles each way, partly on trails, which is fine, but partly in a very narrow bike lane on a busy road with cars whizzing by, several light crossings with steep climbs right after, and a steep climb into Walmart itself, then the usual hoards of people in the parking lot and inside the store. Blech.

But what this ride did show me is just how miserable my much-beloved Sella Italia Ldy Gel Flow saddles had become for me. UGH! After two blissful days riding the Diva, I figured "how bad can it be". I wore good shorts, used chamois butter, but I still had horrible chafing. Mine is also on the right. In my case I can only attribute this to menopausal changes, as I always loved these saddles before, and now they are really intolerable! I was rubbed raw by the time we finished the 29 mile round trip.

SO, I have now two more Divas on order (a lovely white one for my white Bike Friday and a black one for my MTB). I'm just not willing to be miserable on the bike, and I found a great source of these saddles in the UK at half the price of what a bunch of places in the US are charging: Wiggle.com. They have lots of cycling gear, free shipping to the US, and no tax. The saddles are only $65-66 US each (depending on color), which is amazing. I guess because they are made in Italy, buying from the UK really makes sense in this case!

[Crankin]

Glad you found your saddle, Emily. I have alsod been successful in getting very expensive cycling gear from shops in the UK. They seem to have a plethora of small sizes and hard to find things like winter cyling shoes for road pedals. I've never paid a shipping charge. I also bought my Assos winter jacket there, for less than half of the 300.00 price.

[emily_in_nc]

Glad you found your saddle, Emily. I have alsod been successful in getting very expensive cycling gear from shops in the UK. They seem to have a plethora of small sizes and hard to find things like winter cyling shoes for road pedals. I've never paid a shipping charge. I also bought my Assos winter jacket there, for less than half of the 300.00 price.

Yes, the next time I need shorts or jerseys, I am going to check the UK shops first. I ordered the saddles yesterday and have already gotten a shipping notification. Sure, it takes a bit longer for stuff to come across the pond, but for the prices, no tax, no shipping, and (as you say), smaller sizes, it seems like a great place to at least look for gear!

[wnyrider]

I had been following this thread closely since I started to develop saddle discomfort this summer. I feel pressed time wise to find a solution since I leave in March for my cross country bike tour.
I liked the Affinity on my Ruby, except it was too narrow in the rear at 143mm. After sitting on the Specialized sitbones-meter, replaced it with a Romin Evo 168mm and loved it. Felt good for a long time. But then began getting pain and numbing. It felt like where the Romin narrows from the rear toward the nose, began compressing the nerves on my left side in the crotch during pedaling. I thought maybe the 168mm may have been too wide for me. Replaced it with the SMP Dynamic and that felt great for awhile. But, the same pain later developed. I realize that menopause is at work thinning tissues and losing natural padding. I know I swapped out with totally different styles of saddles, opposite of ny biker! So, I went back to the original Affinity and measured the area that narrows from the rear to the nose and compared it to the Romin and SMP and see that it is narrower. The Romin and SMP were the same width. I ordered a 154mm Affinity off ebay and hope that works. But now I am thinking of ordering the Diva as well, to compare, comfortwise.

I do find it feels like I have better support on a saddle with a flatter back, and having a narrower transition to the nose. I saw one photo that makes the Diva appear to have a flattish back. Emily, you probably don't actually have a caliper to measure, but even if you have a ruler with mm, could you *please* measure the area before the nose-- that would have contact with your inner thighs. I would really appreciate that.

[emily_in_nc]

I do find it feels like I have better support on a saddle with a flatter back, and having a narrower transition to the nose. I saw one photo that makes the Diva appear to have a flattish back. Emily, you probably don't actually have a caliper to measure, but even if you have a ruler with mm, could you *please* measure the area before the nose-- that would have contact with your inner thighs. I would really appreciate that.

I would be happy to, but please explain again the part you want to measure. I'm not sure I follow. Are you wanting the width behind the nose? And if so, how far back from the tip of the nose? Or have I misunderstood completely?

I do find the Diva to be pretty flat across the back.

We may have the same problem. I definitely think my saddle issue lately is due to thinning tissues and padding loss. I never had this problem before with the Ldy saddle and same Sugoi shorts. Now, those saddles are like torture devices! The only thing I've found that helps is Gold Bond lidocaine cream, but it only numbs the area for 30-60 minutes, so on a 2.5 hour ride (my usual), I have to reapply a couple of times; not too convenient!

[wnyrider]

I would be happy to, but please explain again the part you want to measure. I'm not sure I follow. Are you wanting the width behind the nose? And if so, how far back from the tip of the nose? Or have I misunderstood completely?

I do find the Diva to be pretty flat across the back.

We may have the same problem. I definitely think my saddle issue lately is due to thinning tissues and padding loss. I never had this problem before with the Ldy saddle and same Sugoi shorts. Now, those saddles are like torture devices! The only thing I've found that helps is Gold Bond lidocaine cream, but it only numbs the area for 30-60 minutes, so on a 2.5 hour ride (my usual), I have to reapply a couple of times; not too convenient!

It is right about here...

Good to hear about the flatness : ) Padded shorts are a whole other issue!

Found a shot with the Diva...

[emily_in_nc]

Okay, thanks for the great photos! I come up with about 2-5/8" across at that point, which is around 6.6675 cm. Hopefully I measured in the right place.

Let me know if you decide to try it. As I mentioned, wiggle.com has it for a really good price.