Saddle constants

[theprep]

For all the members with multiple bikes, I have a question :confused: . Do all your bikes have the same saddle?

I can't get comfortable on any saddle lately and I was wondering if it was because I jump around too much between different saddles and my butt just can't adjust to the slightly different contact points. I move around between:

Road 1 - Arione
Road 2 - Selle Italia Prolink Light Gelflow
Cross - Arione
MTB - Selle Italia SLK Gelflow
Fixed - Turbomatic 4

I tried to pick just one saddle and stick with it this past season. I had (3) Ariones and every thing was pretty good until they started sagging a little in the middle, which led to problems and lotsa squirming around :butt: .

Thanks for the advice.
Cheers,
Joe

[Bradford]

I split the majority of my riding between my road bike and my tandem and put Aliantes on both of them.

I find that having the same saddle makes a huge difference, especially when I ride both the bikes in the same day or when I ride back to back big days like the PMC, when I do 110 miles on my road bike on Saturday and 84 miles on the tandem on Sunday. Before having the same saddle on both bikes, it always took me a while to settle in on the saddle.

[Argos]

I try try to use the aspide on everything that is not off road. I'm surprised you use the arione for Cross. It's soooo Long. With my shorty-legs I'd hook it everytime I got on or off. My "Temp" is gonna have a Bontrager/aspide but once the aspide shows up, it's going on there. My next frame is on the way. It'll have an Aspide, too. I like points of contact to all be the same.

[Smiley]

B17 N on Fixee and MTB
B17 on tandem
Swallow on road bike

pretty much the same saddle shape for all of my bikes

[znfdl]

I use the same saddle (Koobi PRS) on all 3 of my bikes. The problem is that when my body changes and I need a new saddle, I have to change all 3 saddles.

[zap]

I have 3 different saddles between 5 bikes. None are flat and they are all close in length and width. No problems with any of them. Even the all carbon AX Lightness that Smiley admires so much.

[coylifut]

I have an Aliente on my two road bikes. my other bikes, 2-cross, 1-mtb, 1-fixe all have different saddles. I find that I can ride just about anything off road.

Argos, the length of the Airone is a non issue for cross. you can use just about any saddle for cross as long as it's fairly flat.

[pbbob]

rolls, flite and regal. no problems switching.

[Argos]

Argos, the length of the Airone is a non issue for cross. you can use just about any saddle for cross as long as it's fairly flat.

I don't know. Things get complicated when you are short! In bibshorts I'm fine, but anything heavier, like bib-knickers, I have been known to have them hook the nose of the saddle. I'm sure it is more because I suck....

[spiderman]

but have a swallow on my ottrott st
and a swift on our tandem.
i'm putting together a fixed gear
and have decided just to use the same
seatpost and saddle as my road bike
to avoid any saddle confusion for my rear end.
...if i do go with a cross bike
i think i'll switch out the swift and post from the tandem.
so my ideal bike world would include 4 bikes
and two saddles...
...what a dreamer...

[MartyE]

Bike 1) Brooks team pro
bike 2) Fizik Aliante
bike 3) Regal
bike 4) brooks b17

no real problems switching between bikes.

[Too Tall]

Tough question. My guts tell me that if a rider is racing or spending alot of hrs. on the bike that it becomes more important to have the same saddle and less as TOB (time on the bike) decreases. hehe, that sounded technical huh :rolleyes:

My reasoning is that each saddle has differences in setback, height and position. It is possible with very very careful work to makeitallwork but I've had best luck using the same saddle on all rides....well execpt for my Raleigh Tourister SWEET!!!!

[bcm119]

For me its really important to have the same position and same saddle (at the same tilt) on all bikes; otherwise I seem to hurt myself every time. Last year I trained all winter on one bike, then busted out my Klein for my first race and immediately injured myself, dropping out of the race and having to take it easy for about 4 weeks. The only difference in positon was about 1.5cm more saddle-bar drop on the race bike.

[ti_boi]

Interesting. For some reason I took off my Ti Swift and replaced it with an Aliante Ti. The pain that I had in my hips (from perhaps too wide a perch or not enough flex in the 'wings') then moved to my lower back.

I read the back pain thread and moved the Aliante forward on the seat post. Haven't gotten to ride it yet but I think any change is risky. I kept the Brooks as it has been a good saddle, but I wanted to try the Aliante. The only constant? Pain...but then I am falling apart anyway ;)

[OldDog]

One B-17 and the rest Regals. With two Regals new on the shelve for future use. They work for me.

[Ken Robb]

1 (soon to be 2) Arione, several B-17s, 1 Concor, and all work fine. I often ride in hiking shorts or Levis and boxers. I also have PI, Performance, and Castelli padded shorts which can be a bit better on longer/hotter rides.

My kinda logical guess would be that using more than one type saddle would spread the strain/irritation around provided that all models were comfortable.

When I started riding I seemed to be more sensitive to different saddles than I am now or I just found some that work well for me.

And I really can't predict by looking and measuring how comfy a saddle will be.. Are there two saddles anywhere more different-looking than an Arione and a B-17?

[dave thompson]

I've had B-17 saddles on my last 7 bikes, and one is on my soon-to-arrive Saluki. The majority on my bikes have been Serottas and the seat-bar-drop has been pretty constant on all bikes. So the B-17 suits me very well and I have no problems going from bike to bike.

[Len J]

I've had B-17 saddles on my last 7 bikes, and one is on my soon-to-arrive Saluki. The majority on my bikes have been Serottas and the seat-bar-drop has been pretty constant on all bikes. So the B-17 suits me very well and I have no problems going from bike to bike.

or at least one similarly shaped, makes it easy to duplicate positions on multiple bikes.

I have Swallows on 2 bikes and a B17N on the third.

Len

[SoCalSteve]

have Brooks B 17 Champion Specials with Ti rails.

(I have more than a few bikes)

Steve

[bironi]

I have been happy with my Rolls Ti for a few years, so one is now on all three road bikes. I like having as close to possible the same setup for each bike.

Byron

[Ray]

I have three different saddles going at the moment. Aliantes on my 2-3 road bikes - always ride these in bike shorts and my position is relatively more aggressive on these bikes. Great awesome wonderful saddle. For 25 miles or 100.

B-17 on touring bike and around town bike. More upright position on these bikes and frequently ride them in street clothes. Also good short or long.

Koobi Silvers on fixie, mtb, and cross bike. Would probably go for B-17s on the fixed and cross, but not enough setback to make it work. This saddle is sort of half way between the brooks and Aliante in width and my position on these bikes, now that I think about it, is a bit less aggressive than my road bikes but more than my tourer and town bike. Slots in there real well. Koobie works well enough with street clothes and I can ride 'em all day with bike stuff on.

-Ray

[Bradford]

or at least one similarly shaped, makes it easy to duplicate positions on multiple bikes.
That's a good point. I like to get my three bikes set up as closely to each other as possible, and when I was running three different saddles, it was impossible for me to figure out reach. Now with the same saddles, it is a snap.

[Saxon]

Flites on my Masi and Calfee and a Rolls on my CSi. It takes a ride or two for my posterior to adjust when I go from a Flite to the Rolls and back again, but no major problems.

[vaxn8r]

Flite x 6.

I try to fit my road position to the mm on each bike. Having the same saddle helps. The main reason though is why switch when it works? I guess if you haven't found that perfect fit yet it makes since to keep switching saddles around...

[rePhil]

Five Turbos. I guess I am in a rut.

[Dekonick]

3 B-17's

Have an Era that was on my steel but I am going to ditch it for another B-17.

[GoJavs]

My fleet is now full of rolls, turbos and regals. They all feel pretty similar to me. I think that's the trick. I've got my butt fooled.

Oh, yeah, I've got the B17 in the closet. I might pull it out for a Scorcher-type project. That things' hard as a rock. :crap:

[Peter]

I have three bikes with three different saddles. Two are actually the same brand and model, but one has much firmer padding. It almost feels like sitting on contoured wood vs. it's brother which feels like bubblegum. I like them both. The third is a different brand altogether and clearly LOOKS different. I remember the first day I rode it-I did a NO-NO and rode a century. It hurt a little bit but never after that day.

Anyway, I don't think we should be so fussy as to how our bikes are set up. If a seat doesn't cause you pain then you should be able to ignore the differences and adapt to each as you swap bikes. The ability to adapt is a good thing.

[Kevin]

I have the Alliante on the three bikes that I really ride. Using the same saddle on all three bikes cuts down on keeping track of measurements and makes the bikes more interchangeable for my a$$. BTW I have a Brooks Swallow on my "parade" bike.

Kevin

[theprep]

Flite x 6.

I guess if you haven't found that perfect fit yet it makes since to keep switching saddles around...

You hit the nail right on the head. I keep thinking that something has to be better than the saddle I am on right now. I thought I had it nailed with the (3) ariones until they started sagging.

I just spent $100 on the Prolink which is about 15 mm wider (145 mm) than the others I have tried. It felt OK on a 2 hour ride on Monday, and it felt better than the 1 hour ride on the Turbomatic 4 on Tuesday. I'm all over the place.

The San Marco Rever looks good, they are about 145 mm wide. I used to love WTB saddles on my MTB. Can anyone float me a loan?

Cheers,
Joe

[Spicoli]

I have issues when it comes to switching bikes, to the point that all my bike are the same size/geometry w/same bars,pedals,fricken bartape too and also with the exact same saddle. For the past I dont know how many years it has been turbomatic 4's but recently I have been experimenting with SLR's. Its funny, they can be dirty clicking or wornout messes, but they have to be set up identically or I freak out. Now try doing this with a bunch of bikes. :crap:

O.C.D., A.D.D., I've got them all, Jeff

[Gothard]

I use the Flite Evo Carbon on 2 bikes, and a Brooks Swift on a third. They all work for me. I have done centuries on the Flite Evos, not yet on the Brooks
In my case what does it is the support of the sitbones, with the saddle flexing on its whole length ( a bit like a ski) rather than softness.

[chrisroph]

I've ridden 8-10 bikes in the last year and they all wear sella max flite trans ams. This includes road bikes, a track bike, a tandem, a cross bike, and a mtn bike. I haven't found anything else that fits as well. I flirted with an alliante but, after 750 miles, took it off and went back to old reliable.

[Jeff N.]

8+ road bikes, all with Selle Italia Gel Turbomatic's. For me, no other seat feels as good, and I've tried a bunch over the years only to go back. The latest Turbomatic IV is really nice. Jeff N.