Fabric Saddles

[Drago]

The Spoon feels to me like sitting edge-on a splintered plank.

The Charge Scoop isn't too bad on my botty though.

 

[mjr]

Shock news: Bike shop owner says that £225 saddle is comfy.

Now followed by more shock news: different cyclists prefer different saddles.

 

[Bollo]

I fairness to the OP, apart from the £225 carbon nonsense, the other saddles in the range aren't eye-watering in terms of price.

But, as has already been pointed out, different saddles for different @rses.

 

[smutchin]

I fitted a Fabric Scoop 'Shallow Elite' to my Defy last year. £40 from Evans.

I was never a fan of the Fizik saddle that came with the bike (an Arione, iirc) - nothing wrong with the saddle, it just wasn't the right one for me - so I decided to give the Scoop a go after a friend recommended it. And I have to say I've found it pretty much perfect. Longest single ride I've done on it so far is only 650km though, so I've yet to really put it to the test...

What I think I like most about the Scoop is that the base is quite flexy and the padding isn't too thick. It also matches the colour scheme of the bike, which is very important.

 

[KneesUp]

I am all about the sprung saddle - I don't know why they aren't more common.

I have a 'Bodyfit Classic - Spring' which was £1 from the clearance bin in Halfords - can't fault it for the price

 

[smutchin]

I am all about the sprung saddle - I don't know why they aren't more common.

Weight, for one thing. Sprung saddles do tend to be a lot heavier than unsprung. This matters to some people, not to others.

And if you're pedalling hard, it will feel more like you're riding a pogo stick than a bike. Again, this may not matter to you if you're not interested in pedalling hard.

A sprung saddle would be a good choice for an upright 'Dutch' bike, maybe not such a great choice for a head-down racer.

 

[KneesUp]

Weight, for one thing. Sprung saddles do tend to be a lot heavier than unsprung. This matters to some people, not to others.

And if you're pedalling hard, it will feel more like you're riding a pogo stick than a bike. Again, this may not matter to you if you're not interested in pedalling hard.

A sprung saddle would be a good choice for an upright 'Dutch' bike, maybe not such a great choice for a head-down racer.

It's not very heavy - perhaps two bags of crisps more than it would be without the spring, and the spring force appears to suit my weight - you don't feel it move, you just know that everything feels smoother. It has never felt like a pogo stick - I think you are thinking of the mattress sprung saddles that used to be on Raleigh Shoppers?

 

[smutchin]

I was never a fan of the Fizik saddle that came with the bike (an Arione, iirc)

Just checked and it was an Aliante Kium, which has an RRP of £105, so it just goes to show that price is no guarantee that a saddle will be a good fit.

 

[Bollo]

Just checked and it was an Aliante Kium, which has an RRP of £105, so it just goes to show that price is no guarantee that a saddle will be a good fit.

True is that! The worst saddle I ever owned was a £300+ Brooks Swift Ti on my uber-commuter. It was nasty to my bum on day one and continued to be nasty for 3 solid years and 12,000km until a rail broke. I replaced it with a £40 Aliante from my parts bin.

 

[smutchin]

I think you are thinking of the mattress sprung saddles that used to be on Raleigh Shoppers?

I was thinking of something like the Brooks B67, which weighs 850g.

 

[KneesUp]

I was thinking of something like the Brooks B67, which weighs 850g.

I'm not the sort of person to spend the thick end of £80 on a saddle that I would actually have to maintain when I can get a lighter one that I can leave out in the rain while I'm at work for £1

 

[mjr]

I was thinking of something like the Brooks B67, which weighs 850g.

To be fair, that's a wide leather hammock saddle (with the consequential fairly long extra rail along the back edge for the leather to be riveted to) and even the narrower and unsprung B17 weighs over 500g. At least you didn't go for the (sprung) B135 which tips the scales at over 1.6kg!

One pair of wire springs at the rear don't need to add much weight and add lots of comfort. Some plastic saddles even use rubber balls instead for even less weight (I've got one on the folding bike at the moment). It's not going to get near a sub-200g carbon saddle, but under 500g should be possible.

Edited to add: one reason I don't currently have a sprung saddle on my road bike is that the ride is harsh enough that the springs needed too much maintenance to keep them quiet... so I rely on the saddle padding instead. Springs on the roadsters, hybrid and folder, though.

 

[smutchin]

One pair of wire springs at the rear don't need to add much weight

Probably enough to matter to people who care about that kind of thing though.

 

[mjr]

Probably enough to matter to people who care about that kind of thing though.

Are there enough people who care about 200g to explain why saddle springs are not as common on utility/commuter bikes as @KneesUp and I think they should be, though?

If so, then the UK bike market is even more messed-up than I thought

 

[Crackle]

True is that! The worst saddle I ever owned was a £300+ Brooks Swift Ti on my uber-commuter. It was nasty to my bum on day one and continued to be nasty for 3 solid years and 12,000km until a rail broke. I replaced it with a £40 Aliante from my parts bin.

I spotted your mistake.