|   Which Saddle should I get? | berserker190
May 21, 2003 10:18 PM | | I go on long and short trail rides. I usually have to ride to the trail, so I want a seat that is very comfortable on road and trail. I dont care about weight. I like the sounds of the Selle Italia ProLink Gel Flow. Should I get this saddle. I want something comfortable above all. |
| WTB Speed V = Comfort. nm | slowpokeSS
May 21, 2003 10:46 PM | | . |
| Agree, WTB Speed V | Jimmy Hoffa
May 22, 2003 1:09 AM | | It comes it the "Comp" and "Race" versions. Get the higher end Race, it has Cromolly rails and only costs $45. |
| Me too, Speed V | bhutata
May 22, 2003 4:07 AM | | I might have gotten the Laser V to same some weight, but it was too expensive for me at the time. As far as I can tell, weight is the biggest difference. |
| bontrager | logbiter
May 22, 2003 6:00 AM | | I've found the bonty FS2000 model to be very comfortable. The race lite model is not nearly as comfy (narrow nose, less padding). The FS +10 is pretty similar and can be found cheap on closeout.
Titec ithys also not bad for me, but a more race oriented saddle and much firmer.
I've had both the gel and non-gel (fs 2000) version. The all leather model is going strong. The gel version lasted about a year until the stitching holding the gel part in were pretty much toast. I used some 'goop' (marine goop, basically same as carpenters/shoe/etc goop) on the threads to hold everything together.
The WTB's definitely have a good following here, but I haven't tried one since about '98.
Saddles are a very personal thing, as I've tried *many* saddles in the last 5 yrs and keep going with the bontrager.
See if you local shop will let you do a 'test' program to try some out.
good luck,
Serge |
| My new WTB Spd Race pic... | RaveOn
May 22, 2003 6:35 AM | | My best "under $50" addition. The detail quality is what you would expect from an over $100 saddle.
If you had the extra cash, go with the lighter Laser version. My new WTB Speed Race is about 100g heavier than my old WTB STK-Ti I had.
ps. Another nice surprise was that I found out the "Race" version has Gel. Only place I found this info was on the actual packaging...could not find this info online. WTB states only the Chro-Mo (race) version has this feature. |
| be fore warned | Jimmy Hoffa
May 22, 2003 6:47 AM | | The Laser is NOT as comfortable as the Speed. It is much firmer. My sit bones hurt for several days after a long ride on the Laser. For me, a seat is the one component that I'm willing to disregard weight. I guess that would make me a quasi-weight weenie! |
| Watch those seams | Steve Wolf
May 22, 2003 9:33 AM | | As previously noted everyone is different and every saddle is a bit different so you may have to try several. I finally settled on a Terry Fly. Don't skimp due to price because you can't ride very much on a sore butt. I also made the mistake of thinking you need a soft one. Not so if the fit is right. I don't like the looks of those seams, they really got me on long rides. |
| I'm still searching as well | J.S.
May 22, 2003 7:42 AM | | I'm in a similar search now. My WTB SST 2k was OK, but the rear half of the seat just didn't have adequate padding for longer rides. I decided to get a new saddle with a relief groove as a requirement.
In the last 3 weeks, I've tried the following saddles:
-WTB Laser-V: fairly well padded, but the side stitches bothered my inside thighs a LOT... major abrasion; stiched logo on nose was also very rough
-Selle Italia Prolink GelFlow: fairly comfortable, but nose flexed a lot. I could easily bend it with my hand, so I could tell it was probably too fragile for my 195lbs. It was also somewhat heavy.
-Selle Italia Max Flite Trans: extremely uncomfortable; maganese rail coating cracked if you tried under regular clamping pressure from my Thomson seatpost.
-Selle San Marco ASPide: minimalist saddle. Despite being the lightest saddle I've tried so far, it was still slightly more comfortable than my SST 2k.
So now, I'm using an ASPide saddle. I'm still shopping for something more comfortable with a comfort channel and no abrasive stitching. |
| re: Which Saddle should I get? Brooks! | cbchess
May 22, 2003 8:00 AM | | I ride a Brooks B-17 and love it. It is the best saddle on earth hands down. Once it is broken in (which is easy AND quick) you will be sitting pretty for YEARS.
check out the reviews:
http://www.mtbreview.com/reviews/Saddle/product_22663.shtml
and check out sheldon's browns website. he will put you in the right direction.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/leather.html
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html
I can not tell you how great this saddle is, I can ride all day with no discomfort at ALL. I built up a bike over the winter and the FIRST thing I bought before the frame or anything was a new Brooks saddle.
Use sheldons oil technique if you really want to speed things up during the break in period. But it is not necessary.
good luck Chris |
| re: brooks | qw
May 22, 2003 12:08 PM | | the brooks is super comfy when broken in.
but the front of the saddle is rock solid and it'll bruise ya if you riding out of the saddle and hit some rocky bumpy terrain. |
| |
