Specialized Power saddle too wide?

[Globalti]

Anybody got one of these and finding it too wide? Here are pictures of the San Marco saddle on my hooligan bike, which is extremely comfortable and the saddle on the new Roubaix, which is a good shape fore and aft but I'm thinking too wide in the middle as it causes folding and rucking up of the skin or the shorts at the very junction of thigh and groin.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions? I think I'll fit an old Charge Knife, my favourite saddle, to the Roubaix and see if it feels better. Once you've squirmed around a bit and got things settled on the saddle it seems fine but the early stages of a ride aren't comfortable.

What's the idea behind the Specialized saddle? How is it supposed to give you more power? Supposed to fit their new idea of unisex bikes? Any women on here who've tried one? How do you find it?

 

[Mo1959]

Anybody got one of these and finding it too wide? Here are pictures of the San Marco saddle on my hooligan bike, which is extremely comfortable and the saddle on the new Roubaix, which is a good shape fore and aft but I'm thinking too wide in the middle as it causes folding and rucking up of the skin or the shorts at the very junction of thigh and groin.

View attachment 510976

View attachment 510977

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions? I think I'll fit an old Charge Knife, my favourite saddle, to the Roubaix and see if it feels better. Once you've squirmed around a bit and got things settled on the saddle it seems fine but the early stages of a ride aren't comfortable.

What's the idea behind the Specialized saddle? How is it supposed to give you more power? Supposed to fit their new idea of unisex bikes? Any women on here who've tried one? How do you find it?

I don't get on well with any Specialized saddles I've tried. Don't know if the wide part of the saddle comes too far forward, but I find they rub in the crease of the groin area too. I prefer a saddle that narrows more quickly so it doesn't rub that part.

 

[raleighnut]

Get a Brooks,

 

[Blue Hills]

Am intrigued by the idea that a saddle might give you more power.

How does that work?

Personally I think cut-outs are of dubious benefit (I find differential gel is fine) and I do wonder if the attention grabbing extent of the cut-out on the second saddle has compromised/forced its design in some unhelpful way.

I also wonder about/am in awe of the undercarriage of any male who might need the cut-out on the second saddle.

I'd just try a simpler alternative saddle of same width at the back.

 

[Globalti]

I'm thinking about that cut out too. Apart from thinking it wouldn't be a good idea to ride naked I'm thinking I've never felt the need for a cut out as I'm happy taking weight on my perineal area. I'm wondering if it's actually transferring weight to the wings of the saddle, which is causing some of the discomfort in that area.

 

[Blue Hills]

I wouldn't go so far as to take weight on the perinium , i have experience of that i will save the forum the details of. Weight should be on the sit bones, hence folk need different widths at the back.
But agree that that design might put more pressure on the wings. One of my best saddles, a cheap now discontinued selle royal,has no cutout at all, just a central area that has softer gel, so there is no edge.
Many cut-outs look like knife edges to me, always remind me of those things for removing ticks.

As in this.

I'd rather hang on to my bits.

Maybe i'm lucky. If the saddle is 145 140 or so at the back and just well made and quite narrow at the front i am usually fine. A tourer of mine did come with a subtle cutout but that is less comfortable for me. Possibly because it has ended up wider near the front.

 

[Mark pallister]

Cut out works for me
I’ve a sella italia novus on 3 of my bikes and it’s the most comfortable saddle I’ve ever tried
and believe me there have been many

 

[OldShep]

Am intrigued by the idea that a saddle might give you more power.

How does that work?

Probably because it doesn’t take your breath away going into the drops
I use SMP saddles so obviously like a cut out. It does provide a recess for stuff to hang rather than experience that crushing feeling.
should be sitting on your Ischiopubuc ramus

 

[cyberknight]

i was suffering from similar , even on 130 wide saddles i kept getting saddle sores in the same area with the same symptoms of bunching and felt like i was sitting on the edge of the chamois then i moved the saddle back 5 mm and its been ok

 

[cyberknight]

 

[steveindenmark]

Did you get fitted for your saddle. The Power saddle come in different widths.

How wide is yours?

 

[Blue Hills]

i was suffering from similar , even on 130 wide saddles i kept getting saddle sores in the same area with the same symptoms of bunching and felt like i was sitting on the edge of the chamois then i moved the saddle back 5 mm and its been ok

Yes positioning can make a big difference. The perinium issue i referred to upthread was caused by a particular odd saddle i thought the work of the devil. I did try adjusting mid ride but it seemed to make little difference. I cast it aside. Later i refitted it and all was well. Not entirely sure what i did.

 

[Globalti]

Did you get fitted for your saddle. The Power saddle come in different widths.

How wide is yours?

Hard to measure accurately but just a tad under 150mm wide.

The blurb says it's designed for "aggressive attacking" riding. Surely not on an endurance bike? I think it's more to do with selling the bikes as unisex.

 

[Kestevan]

Call that a cut out?
Pah! - My new bike has been fitted (after a bike fit) with a Bontrager aeolus pro....

Now thats a cut-out.. the two halves are only joined at the extreme end of the nose.... So far I have to admit it's bloody comfortable (although longest ride has been less than 50k so far - so time will tell).

Mrs Kes has one of the spec Power jobbies and seems to like it too.

 

[Domdom1980]

I've got the same power saddle on my roubaix. When I first started using it I wasn't happy, much preferred my prologo scratch on my other bike. I've since done about 150km on the power and have found I really like it.

If it's brand new for you, might be worth giving it some time to bed in? Maybe once you get more used to it and find the right position it will be better? It's great for what seems to me like a constant hoods/drops effort/pedal stroke, and ability to move back into it when pushing uphill.