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7 responses so far ↓
I can empathize a bit with your saddle angst, only I’m not really little. It’s kind of scary imagining the permanent damage one might be causing when searing, crushing feelings ravage your nethers, not to mention distracting. I’ve probably tried out a dozen or so fancy saddles with no luck and had basically given up hope of ever really being comfortable on a bike after the first thirty minutes of pedaling.
BUT – I learned something really silly this summer and want to pass it on because it might help you and other ladies. I had tried everything as far as saddle positioning: forward, back, nose slightly up, nose slightly down, but strangely it never occurred to me to drop the seat post. Duh. I was skeptical when Scott from Outspokin Bicycles in S.C. saw me pedaling and suggested I drop my saddle one or even two centimeters (5mm at a time), but I dropped it quite a bit and I’m so glad I did! If you’re petite and there’s a chance your whole bike is too big for you, then maybe there’s a chance your saddle is still to high, and you might try this? For me it was an epiphany, where suddenly, for the first time ever, I was really very comfortable in the saddle (and still am)!
That said, are you riding the shortened ladies’ Brooks or a men’s Brooks? The ladies’ Brooks are pretty short (245mm), shorter than the very woman-specific Terry ladies’ saddles (262mm). Brook’s saddle widths are comparable to most women’s saddles. Anyway, I have a Brooks Finesse and it’s short and comfy — worth trying.
Good luck!
For $75 you can demo 11 saddles in the privacy of your own home, for a full week:
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/road-bikes/demo-saddle
If you buy a saddle from them afterwards they credit you $35 for doing the demo. Pretty good deal. No Brooks though.
Hard and short?
I know something that you could perch on…
http://www.racycles.com/cycling-equipment/equipment/saddles/fizik-ares-tt.aspx
If it’s up to fizik’s usual standard it’s gotta be somethin’. Hell tey may even do it in ‘test’ orange.
caroline — i actually had the opposite problem; my seat was too low and it was giving me serious knee problems. i’m hoping this brooks (when i finally break it in) will be THE saddle. i’m still keeping my fingers crossed though!
chris — oohhhh. if only there was a brooks!
ch15 — hmmm the size is definitely right. i’d prefer a cut out but i’ll definitely keep that one in mind. thanks!
I’m hoping to be buried with my B17.
xue — not passing it onto your grandchildren?!
Nah, I want that thing to cushion my fucked up pelvis well into the afterlife.