Should I be worried about my saddle?

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HeyWayne

New Member
Location
Bedfordshire
Been doing a bit of reading up on saddles, and in particular a piece by the late great Sheldon Brown.

He mentions a bit about 'soft tissue'.

Now, I'm of larger than average frame, so surely I'd need a bigger saddle to accommodate?

The reason I've used the word 'worried' up there is thus; When I've been riding for a while I get a little 'tender' and stand up to relieve pressure. Which is fine, but when I sit back down again I sometimes get a 'peeing' sensation in the old boy. That's not good is it?

Anyone experience anything similar or know of a remedy?
 

Landslide

Rare Migrant
The critical factor is saddle width - it must be the correct width to support your pelvic sit-bones.
If your saddle doesn't support these bones, or if it has too much soft padding on top, your sit bones won't hold the more delicate parts of your anatomy clear of the saddle, thus putting pressure on bits you'd rather weren't pressurised. :ohmy:;)
Specialized dealers should have a measuring device to establish the width of your sit-bones, this will then point you in the direction of one of their own brand saddles, but armed with this knowledge you can of course seek out other brands with saddles of similar dimensions. ;)
 

e-rider

crappy member
Location
South West
HeyWayne said:
Been doing a bit of reading up on saddles, and in particular a piece by the late great Sheldon Brown.

He mentions a bit about 'soft tissue'.

Now, I'm of larger than average frame, so surely I'd need a bigger saddle to accommodate?

The reason I've used the word 'worried' up there is thus; When I've been riding for a while I get a little 'tender' and stand up to relieve pressure. Which is fine, but when I sit back down again I sometimes get a 'peeing' sensation in the old boy. That's not good is it?

Anyone experience anything similar or know of a remedy?

No, not good at all. I'm no expert but that sounds like trouble to me; I'd look into that further and soon.
 

GrumpyGregry

Here for rides.
HeyWayne said:
Anyone experience anything similar or know of a remedy?

Yes and yes. As said above go to a spesh dealer, get your sit bones measured, get a saddle of the correct width, it doesn't have to be a spesh saddle but their BG range may be a good place to start, so you sit on your sit bones not your perineum, and ensure the saddle is fitted at the correct angle for your body. Dead level is a good start point. Let St Sheldon be your guide and the 'old man' will be a happy chap.

Have a good look at your other contact points as well, it may be a poor setup has you with too much weight on your r's and not enough on your legs and arms. Sheldon has stuff to say on this too which is a useful guide.
 
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HeyWayne

HeyWayne

New Member
Location
Bedfordshire
Happy days. My local shop - recently discovered, is a Specialized dealer.

I'm popping in on Thursday to check my set up.

Cheers dudes.
 
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HeyWayne

HeyWayne

New Member
Location
Bedfordshire
Update: I've noticed that I seem to slide forward on my current saddle, but can't see any way of tilting the saddle backwards to counter this.

Hopefully the dude in the shop will be able to rectify the sitchation.
 

g00se

Veteran
Location
Norwich
Sliding forward may be indicative of other bike setup issues (saddle too low or high, incorrect reach etc).

Ideally - or at least to start with - the saddle should be flat.

Saying all that, I slip forward on my saddle a bit and I've tried fiddling as much as I can. In the end I put it down to my saddle's back area having a bit of a slope compared to the flat nose so I'm looking to replace it in the future.
 

g00se

Veteran
Location
Norwich
Oh - saddles can be tilted, just release the allen bolt on the underside - the saddle will then be able to slide on the two rails and tilt via the loose clamp.
 

yello

Guest
Just wanted to add a caveat. Not all saddle manufacturers go by 'saddle width' being the single component to comfort, it's very much a Specialized BG thing. Not saying it's wrong, just saying there are other opinions. Have a look at what Sele An-Atomica say about sit bone width for instance. And there other quite wacky looking solutions with glowing testimonials from adoring customers.

I think it was JohnTheMonkey of this forum that pointed out that saddle shape is a factor worth looking at. Some people get on with flat saddles, others prefer narrow and sharper ridged ones, or ones with slight dips between nose and rear. It can be, sadly, a matter of trial and error. Finding the one that works for you.

Fortunately, ime&o, most people can get on with most saddles (so long as they are correctly positioned) for the majority of their riding needs (very long rides are another matter). I do think there is a tendency perhaps for some to get understandably frustrated with their saddle, ditch it and buy another before they've exhausted all set up options.
 
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HeyWayne

HeyWayne

New Member
Location
Bedfordshire
g00se said:
Oh - saddles can be tilted, just release the allen bolt on the underside - the saddle will then be able to slide on the two rails and tilt via the loose clamp.

But the base of the clamp is attached to the seatpost, so surely when I tighten it again, the seat will revert back to its previous position - albeit further forward or backward.
 

g00se

Veteran
Location
Norwich
The clamp bit that fixes the seat post to the rails is made of three parts - with the bolt going through all three pieces. The top and middle pieces clamp the saddle's bars when tightened. The bottom and middle pieces have a curved surface so the saddle tilts as you slide it - and when you tighten the bolt, serrations grip the two bits together.

Have a look here.

Cheers.
 
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