Full Carbon Saddle...Is it too slippery when seated ?

[edle]

Full Carbon Saddle...Is it too slippery when seated ?

[slidey]

I had an Arione k:1 for a while. Forget slippery, I thought it was rougher than a porcupine's back. Threw it out, and got a simple Arione.

At the time, I was 140lbs.

[Charles M]

No... Because the shape has to be dead on perfect for it to work in any case...

I've seen 100 people try unpadded carb saddles. I know 2 that kept using them.

[zap]

Full Carbon Saddle...Is it too slippery when seated ?

If it's shaped right, no.

My AX Lightness Apollo saddle is still my favorite......and it retains it's shape after many years. Those old Flite saddles (or any other light saddle with a plastic shell) become nut grabbers after a while......sort of like saddles or diapers with too much padding.

[rain dogs]

Saddles are perhaps the most personal item on a bicycle, so others' preferences should be taken with a mountain of salt....

I have a Selle Italia SLR C60 Quattro full carbon and it is hands down the best saddle I have ever owned. It's the first gen, without graphics, full carbon rails.

It is hard as hell. It is slippery. It is crazy light (76g). It is very cool temp.

Why it's the best saddle I have ever owned is for three reasons:

1. It's slippery... say good bye to chamois cream. I find there is much less friction overall because even after a long hard day of sweating, you still slide around on the thing. Not like ice out of control slipping, but just little friction.

Now, if you don't have a very good set-up, and bike fit, you're likely in trouble, but I run set-back, perfectly level saddle and fit my bike well. If you do any major nose up or down business, your arms are in for a workout, and your crotch a serious beating.

2. It's cool, cool, cool. It sounds like hyperbole, but when I ride my cross bike with an Arione, it feels like I have a heated saddle. It's astonishing the difference.

3. It's super durable. I've been using this saddle for maybe.... 4 years. It still looks brand new, nearly as good as day one. With the kms I have on it, I'd have gone through 2 standard SLR's by now on my road bike. As it is, I've gone through one SLR on a secondary ride which gets far less km.

Even though the shape is I'd say 8.5/10 (could be flatter) for my skinny ass... I love the saddle, and fear the day the bike goes down and it breaks.

*Essay cut short here*

[sparky33]

No... Because the shape has to be dead on perfect for it to work in any case...

I've seen 100 people try unpadded carb saddles. I know 2 that kept using them.

the proverbial a$$ hatchet.

[texbike]

Just use a bit of carbon paste in your shorts and on your saddle. That should eliminate most of the slipping... ;)

Texbike

[mike p]

Probably my all-time favorite saddle is the flite evolution. I find it more comfortable than the regular flite and I love regular old style flites.
That said Rain Dogs is right. It's a pretty personal thing!

Mike

[oldpotatoe]

No... Because the shape has to be dead on perfect for it to work in any case...

I've seen 100 people try unpadded carb saddles. I know 2 that kept using them.

but, but, but, they are so light!!

[regularguy412]

My buddy loves his,,, swears by it. He even liked it so much, he bought a replacement after the first one broke. ( I was behind him when he hit a big pot hole and the saddle cracked near one of the rear rail attachment points. I could hear the pop.) That's not to say that the saddle was fragile. I think the saddle clamp on his former seat post was not just 'right' for that saddle and had the rails in a bit of a bind.

Mike in AR:beer:

[rain dogs]

No... Because the shape has to be dead on perfect for it to work in any case...

I've seen 100 people try unpadded carb saddles. I know 2 that kept using them.

Hey, send them my way then. I doubt those numbers are accurate based on just the responses here, but if they are.... the market should be flooded and price used carbon saddles pretty much at "give-away" costs...

so I'm buying. Anyone got one that's flat, or a C60 Quattro, I'll gladly take it.

[jordo_99]

I go back and forth between my Romin Evo Pro (carbon rails) and a "cheap" chinese saddle I picked up for $60 shipped to the US.

Basically, if you've got a solid bike fit and a saddle that fits your riding style and body you can't go wrong with carbon.
I'd also add that road quality and chamois in my bibs will make a HUGE difference in how you feel about using a carbon saddle.

Currently, my bike fit is totally out of wack and the roads around here are terrible so I've been using the Romin Evo a lot more. Last summer I road the carbon saddle a lot and really liked it.

Edit: I didn't answer the initial question...sorry

As for the slippery-ness. Mine allows me to slide around more than my Romin Evo and all my other padded saddles but I do not slide around much unintentionally. Last summer I remember finding myself too far on the nose so I tilted it back...then found myself too far back on the saddle...finally got it just right and only certain areas of my ride would I find myself sliding at all. I'd also heard that taking a little bit of sand paper to the gloss finish of a saddle with reduce sliding but I never felt the need as I appreciated the ease of movement more than the rare annoyance of having to slide back into position once or twice per ride (on par with how I ride my Romin Evo).

[mattsbeers]

Full carbon saddles have always struck me as the trademark of one who doesn't really ride. Sure if your rides are down to the coffee shop and back that's fine.......better than no ride. But you cannot ride hard day after day and use one of those things.

[Bob Ross]

Full carbon saddles have always struck me as the trademark of one who doesn't really ride. Sure if your rides are down to the coffee shop and back that's fine.......better than no ride. But you cannot ride hard day after day and use one of those things.

First time I ever came across someone using one of those full carbon sub-100g saddles I asked him "Can you really tolerate long hard rides on that thing?"

He replied "Oh, sure, I can go out on a Saturday and do 70, 80 miles easily

...but ride Sunday? Forget about it!"

[rain dogs]

Full carbon saddles have always struck me as the trademark of one who doesn't really ride. Sure if your rides are down to the coffee shop and back that's fine.......better than no ride. But you cannot ride hard day after day and use one of those things.

Oh Really?

I shadowed the 2009 Giro d'Italia, pre-riding every stage the morning of, in front of the peloton, and would be there to watch the finish of the first 10 consecutive stages. I got there after 5 days through France and Switzerland. I left the route to ride the Milan-San Remo (298km) and actually road to Monaco, for a 340ish km day. 2866km in 16 days.

That was all on that carbon c60.

If you are comfortable making generalizations based on the majority you see, have at 'er if you feel confident doing so, but saying "you cannot ride hard day after day and use one of those things."... well, you're wrong.

maybe you cannot, but you didn't write "I cannot"

[mtechnica]

But you cannot ride hard day after day and use one of those things.

I can, some of my friends can, you can't apparently. Those saddles usually have enough flex to absorb shocks and aren't any less comfortable than other hard versions saddles like toupes or what have you IMO.

[zap]

Full carbon saddles have always struck me as the trademark of one who doesn't really ride. Sure if your rides are down to the coffee shop and back that's fine.......better than no ride. But you cannot ride hard day after day and use one of those things.

I will have to say that if for whatever reason I decide to do RAAM, the AX Lightness carbon saddle that I have would not be my choice.

But 80-120 mile rides day after day, no problem. I've never ridden more than 120 miles at one time.....get bored after 5-6 hours.

Now, that Spec Romin saddle...........that's one effed up saddle.........most painful pos I ever sat on.

You see, everyone is different.

[mtechnica]

Also fwiw some of the messengers here tried using the $50 ebay carbon saddles and one broke the rails the other sold it because that particular saddle tears up jeans. Yes he was riding the carbon saddle ~5 days a week with jeans and no bibs under them and had no complaints about the comfort.

[cyclemad]

A c60 is posted in the classifieds right now!