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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    northern Virginia
    Posts
    5,897

    Back in the saddle search again (or not)

    So, a quick forum search shows that I've been using the Bontrager Affinity RXL saddle for about five years now, maybe more. After a while these saddles develop a permanent indentation on either side, probably where two separate pieces of foam padding meet or something like that. Anyway I had one for a couple of years, it wore out so I replaced it, and now the second one has worn out.

    In general it's been a good saddle for me but is not perfect. I would prefer less padding in the nose and also have a bit of a chafing problem on the right side. But with the right shorts I've been able to do long rides with it without too much discomfort. This is what it looks like:

    http://trekbikes.com/us/en_US/equipm...addle/p/09729/

    Now that I am looking at getting a new saddle, it appears that Trek is phasing out the Affinity in favor or the Ajna and Yatra saddles:

    http://trekbikes.com/us/en_US/equipm...addle/p/13691/

    http://trekbikes.com/us/en_US/equipm...addle/p/13335/

    When I was at the LBS yesterday they had the Ajna in stock, and I spoke to the manager about it. But then I went home and looked online, and decided the Yatra is more likely to work for me. From what I can tell from the online photo (which of course is at an angle that makes it hard to see the shape ), the Yatra is more t-shaped. The Ajna is definitely more pear-shaped. And supposedly the Ajna is more for an aggressive riding posture, whereas the Yatra is for a more upright road-bike posture. I found this article, which is a bit old but still helpful:

    https://www.bikerumor.com/2015/06/09...namic-designs/

    So, I asked the LBS manager to order a Yatra for me, in the same width as the old Affinity. And since there are still some Affinity saddles available, he ordered one of them, too. We will try the Yatra on the bike in the shop, and if it seems okay I will do a few a test rides. If it's not okay I will get another Affinity.

    I'm hoping the Yatra does work and that the deeper divot will alleviate the "too much padding in the nose" problem.

    One concern is that I preferred the Affinity RXL -- most expensive version with carbon rails -- because it was the firmest version of Affinity available. The Yatra does not have a comparable version. For their old saddles, RXL was the "race" version with the least padding, RL was the mid-range and R was the least expensive version with the softest padding. For the new ones they are going with Pro, Elite and Comp instead of RXL, RL and R. The Yatra only comes in Comp and Elite, whereas the Ajna comes in a Pro version.

    So we shall see how it all works out. With all the changes in design and naming conventions, Trek still offers a 30-day guarantee on the Bontrager saddles (as well as all their other clothing and gear). I just hope we have good enough weather to get in some decent test rides.

    - Gray 2010 carbon WSD road bike, Rivet Independence saddle
    - Red hardtail 26" aluminum mountain bike, Bontrager Evoke WSD saddle
    - Royal blue 2018 aluminum gravel bike, Rivet Pearl saddle

    Gone but not forgotten:
    - Silver 2003 aluminum road bike
    - Two awesome worn out Juliana saddles

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    northern Virginia
    Posts
    5,897
    I don't remember my sit bone measurement -- but just the other day I had trouble remembering how to spell "reason," so I it appears that I am starting to lose my marbles . I do know that the current saddle is 144mm. I did try a couple of different 154mm saddles before the Affinity came out and was not happy with them. And way way back when I tried an original Bontrager Inform in 134 and it was utter torture. I think the bike fit guys were still getting used to the butt-o-meter when we tried that experiment.

    One interesting thing I've noticed -- the Bontrager women's road bike saddles used to come in 134, 144 and 154. The new ones are 144, 154 and 164. I guess they don't have enough female customers with narrow sit bones, and probably have had a fair number of requests for a wider option that isn't big and cushy.

    So now I'm just trying to figure out when I can have the saddle put on my bike. Trying to guess which weekend day will have better weather for a test ride while juggling various other things including the haircut that I desperately need...

    - Gray 2010 carbon WSD road bike, Rivet Independence saddle
    - Red hardtail 26" aluminum mountain bike, Bontrager Evoke WSD saddle
    - Royal blue 2018 aluminum gravel bike, Rivet Pearl saddle

    Gone but not forgotten:
    - Silver 2003 aluminum road bike
    - Two awesome worn out Juliana saddles

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    northern Virginia
    Posts
    5,897
    I've only ever tried one Specialized saddle because my LBS doesn't carry them, and the stores around here that do carry them are not very good at fitting a new saddle on a bike. And I'm never good at doing it myself. The one I tried was a Lithia and it wasn't comfortable. IIRC there was too much pressure on the edges of the cutout.

    I tried the Yatra today, on a 28-mile ride. In some ways it was better than the Affinity. The deeper divot on the Yatra -- not a full cut out but a deep indentation -- was more comfortable. My sit bones were very close to the edges of the Yatra but they were on the saddle. But I had chafing problems, especially on the right side. I have a bit of a chafing issue with the Affinity too, on the right side, but not this bad. So at the end of the ride I thought I would be returning it and ordering one of the last Affinities available. Before I put the bike in the car I took a few photos to post here in case anyone else was curious about the Yatra.

    On the way home I stopped to get a sandwich and I looked at the photos while I was eating. Oh hey, that saddle doesn't look straight on the bike. It's almost straight but not quite. And that little skew to the left might explain the chafing.

    The funny thing is that I always end up with a new saddle being skewed slightly to the left on this bike. You'd think I'd have learned to check that by now. Anyway. If the weather forecast for Wednesday holds, I will test it again then. It will be a shorter ride but better than nothing.

    And here are the photos:

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    Last edited by ny biker; 12-04-2016 at 03:25 PM.

    - Gray 2010 carbon WSD road bike, Rivet Independence saddle
    - Red hardtail 26" aluminum mountain bike, Bontrager Evoke WSD saddle
    - Royal blue 2018 aluminum gravel bike, Rivet Pearl saddle

    Gone but not forgotten:
    - Silver 2003 aluminum road bike
    - Two awesome worn out Juliana saddles

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    northern Virginia
    Posts
    5,897
    For comparison, here is the Affinity. The surface is flatter, less domed.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Side by side:

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    By the way the Yatra is also firmer than the Affinity.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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    Last edited by ny biker; 12-04-2016 at 03:44 PM.

    - Gray 2010 carbon WSD road bike, Rivet Independence saddle
    - Red hardtail 26" aluminum mountain bike, Bontrager Evoke WSD saddle
    - Royal blue 2018 aluminum gravel bike, Rivet Pearl saddle

    Gone but not forgotten:
    - Silver 2003 aluminum road bike
    - Two awesome worn out Juliana saddles

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Posts
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by ny biker View Post
    I've only ever tried one Specialized saddle because my LBS doesn't carry them, and the stores around here that do carry them are not very good at fitting a new saddle on a bike. And I'm never good at doing it myself. The one I tried was a Lithia and it wasn't comfortable. IIRC there was too much pressure on the edges of the cutout.

    I tried the Yatra today, on a 28-mile ride. In some ways it was better than the Affinity. The deeper divot on the Yatra -- not a full cut out but a deep indentation -- was more comfortable. My sit bones were very close to the edges of the Yatra but they were on the saddle. But I had chafing problems, especially on the right side. I have a bit of a chafing issue with the Affinity too, on the right side, but not this bad. So at the end of the ride I thought I would be returning it and ordering one of the last Affinities available. Before I put the bike in the car I took a few photos to post here in case anyone else was curious about the Yatra.

    On the way home I stopped to get a sandwich and I looked at the photos while I was eating. Oh hey, that saddle doesn't look straight on the bike. It's almost straight but not quite. And that little skew to the left might explain the chafing.

    The funny thing is that I always end up with a new saddle being skewed slightly to the left on this bike. You'd think I'd have learned to check that by now. Anyway. If the weather forecast for Wednesday holds, I will test it again then. It will be a shorter ride but better than nothing.

    And here are the photos:

    Click image for larger version. 

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Views:	413 
Size:	42.6 KB 
ID:	18249

    Click image for larger version. 

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Views:	370 
Size:	46.0 KB 
ID:	18250

    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	18251
    Sounds interesting! I have problems with chafing as well when I cycle - Its really killing me! I use lube to prevent this painful thing :-)

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Traveling Nomad
    Posts
    6,763
    Have you figured out your saddle, NY?

    I have been having chafing problems lately riding saddles that I used to love and worked fine for me (basically all the ones in my sig). I attribute this to some changes in my lady bits over time due to menopause. After some research, last night I decided to order a Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow, since it has a larger cutout than my other saddles, which I loved prior to going through menopause. I am hoping that the "bits" just hang into the cutout rather than getting rubbed by the edge of it, which is what I think is happening now. I considered trying a saddle with no cutout at all, but every time I've tried one of those in the past, I've gotten terrible urethral irritation and painful urination after longer rides, and that is not fun. So I've been riding a saddle with a cutout for years now.

    I have been using a combination of Doc's chamois cream and Lidocaine gel in the area that bothers me, but that only helps for about the first hour of a ride, so I have to reapply mid-ride, since my rides are typically 2.5+ hours. I used to be fine riding that kind of time without any butters, gels, etc. I would get saddles sores in the "taint" area occasionally, and while I haven't had one of those for a long time, I have burning up front, especially on the right side.

    Anyway, we shall see once it arrives (I mail ordered it from the UK since the price was much less, and free shipping to the US!) It's been a long time since I've tried a new saddle, so I am a bit nervous to change, but something has gotta give, and a new saddle is a lot less $$ than a recumbent bike (another solution I came up with).
    Emily

    2011 Jamis Dakar XC "Toto" - Selle Italia Ldy Gel Flow
    2007 Trek Pilot 5.0 WSD "Gloria" - Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow
    2004 Bike Friday Petite Pocket Crusoe - Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    northern Virginia
    Posts
    5,897
    After trying the two new Bontrager saddles (Ajna and Yatra), I gave up and ordered one of the last remaining Affinities available. I did a few rides with the Yatra and liked the cutout, but it was uncomfortable in other ways and I ended up with a saddle sore that took a while to go away. I tried the Ajna with the bike on the indoor trainer at the LBS and quickly decided it was no better than the Yatra. We concluded that the problem with both was the dome shape -- the flatter Affinity is a better shape for me. Part of me would like to look for something shaped like the Affinity but with a cutout, but a bigger part has too many other things to spend time and money on. And I've been okay with the Affinity for years now -- it's not perfect it's good enough. Now I'm deciding if I want to buy another one and save it for when this new one wears out.

    I vaguely recall trying a Selle Italia Ldy Gel Flo years ago, and it didn't work for me. But I bought it used and put it on the bike myself so the position was probably not quite right. I think Catrin liked the Diva Gel Flow? If it's the same size and shape as the Ldy Gel Flow, it sounds like it could be a good option for you. Good luck!

    - Gray 2010 carbon WSD road bike, Rivet Independence saddle
    - Red hardtail 26" aluminum mountain bike, Bontrager Evoke WSD saddle
    - Royal blue 2018 aluminum gravel bike, Rivet Pearl saddle

    Gone but not forgotten:
    - Silver 2003 aluminum road bike
    - Two awesome worn out Juliana saddles

 

 

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