Competitive Cyclist Saddle Demo

[Wilkinson4]

Has anybody tried the saddle demo program that CC offers? Thoughts or opinions?

mIKE

[hookookadoo]

but have got to admit it looks like a great way to test out a lot of saddles relatively inexpensively.

[Wilkinson4]

Fine print. Not too bad if you buy one and get the credit, etc...

How does the program work? It's simple:

* A demo costs $75. This covers the cost of both the outbound and the inbound UPS Ground shipping plus a nominal fee for 7 days of saddle use.
* The kit includes 13 saddles. Try as many or as few as you want while you're in possession of the kit.
* The demo period is 7 days. We ask that you ship the kit back to us on the next business day after this 7-day period is complete.
* If you choose to purchase a saddle from us within 30 days of returning the saddle kit to us, we'll credit $35 of the demo cost towards your purchase.
* When you book your demo saddle kit, it will ship the next business day. If all kits are being demoed, our site will indicate the earliest available date a kit can ship to you and the day on which you can expect it to arrive.
* You're also welcome to visit our facility in Little Rock, sign out a saddle, and hit the wealth of beautiful roads we have here in Central Arkansas. For $75 a day you can test any of our saddles locally. We'll show you some great ride options and if you ultimately buy a saddle from us, we'll credit that $75 towards your purchase.

[bluesea]

^ Saw the fine print too. Must be me, but a seven day trial is a good way to eliminate saddles that fall into the category of automatic rejection, rather than long term commitments. Still sounds pretty good, although with a limited selection.

[LegendRider]

I've done it, but I found the test period a little too short. I needed more time and longer rides on a few of the saddles to make a solid judgment. I hate to do it because CC is forward-thinking retailer, but I have to give the program a thumbs down.

[RADaines]

I generally will not make a go/no go decision on a saddle without putting about 500 miles on it (unless it is obviously a butt killer). Until I can do some long steady rides of 50+ miles, I really can't tell. Between work schedules, home responsibilities and the weather, 7-days just isn't realistic. maybe I just haven't found the right saddle yet.

[TAW]

A friend and I tried it when we were considering new saddles. It was easy to split the cost. I thought it worked fairly well because there were some that were ruled out instantly, and you could see at least what types of saddles worked best for you. It may not give you long hours with a particular saddle, but it at least narrows down your choices and keeps you from spending a fortune buying saddles you know you won't like. :)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Saddles are so personal you're probably going to spend way more than $75 on misfires that end up sitting in your basement anyway. Splitting the demo period with a few friends sounds like an even better idea.

BBD

[fiamme red]

eBay is my saddle demo program. ;)

[Ralph]

One of our LBS (and maybe all of them) will let you buy and return saddles as long as you like. Just keep going thru their considerable inventory. You just have to keep the tags, and bring it back in saleable condition. Don't over tighten the clamp, ride it a few days, and if you don't like it, bring it back for a credit. No need to buy new, and then sale for 1/2 on E Bay.

[MattTuck]

I don't know what you can say bad about this program.

You get 13 saddles for 7 days? I mean, hopefully you can narrow it down to 3 or 4 before they even arrive at your door. And it's a little more than $10/day...

seems like a good service and not a bad value when you consider some of those saddles are probably retailing for $150 or more.

And yes, you could go buy a saddle at LBS and then return it, and buy another. But there is a huge benefit to being able to switch out saddles in rapid succession to pinpoint differences in the way they feel. Especially at the end of a ride, when you are tired. Go take a few 2-3 mile spins with 3 or 4 different saddles to see how they feel when you're not "fresh".

I don't know, complaining about this service is like getting HDTV in your house and then saying it sucks because it isn't 3D.

[LegendRider]

I don't know what you can say bad about this program.

You get 13 saddles for 7 days? I mean, hopefully you can narrow it down to 3 or 4 before they even arrive at your door. And it's a little more than $10/day...

seems like a good service and not a bad value when you consider some of those saddles are probably retailing for $150 or more.

And yes, you could go buy a saddle at LBS and then return it, and buy another. But there is a huge benefit to being able to switch out saddles in rapid succession to pinpoint differences in the way they feel. Especially at the end of a ride, when you are tired. Go take a few 2-3 mile spins with 3 or 4 different saddles to see how they feel when you're not "fresh".

I don't know, complaining about this service is like getting HDTV in your house and then saying it sucks because it isn't 3D.

I needed more time. In a seven (7) day period, I generally have a single day for a long ride or significant time to work on my bike. It's a great idea and CC is a pleasure to deal with, but the program needs to be longer - that's all. I'd pay more too.

[rugbysecondrow]

I needed more time. In a seven (7) day period, I generally have a single day for a long ride or significant time to work on my bike. It's a great idea and CC is a pleasure to deal with, but the program needs to be longer - that's all. I'd pay more too.

I bet if you wanted to pay more they would let you keep them.

As an aside, how often do you guys change saddles? Seems to be one of those things that shouldn't be that fluid.

[LegendRider]

I bet if you wanted to pay more they would let you keep them.

As an aside, how often do you guys change saddles? Seems to be one of those things that shouldn't be that fluid.

These are the saddles (that I recall) that I've tried over the years. Perhaps it shouldn't be so "fluid," but there you go...

Max Flite Gel Flow
ProLink Gel Flow
ProLink
Aliante
Rolls
Flite
Selle SMP Glider
Selle SMP Evolution
Flite
Strada
Concor Lite
ProLink Lite
SLR
Airone
Rolls Due
Specialized Alias
Avocet 02 ti

[Johnny P]

I tried it and felt it was helpful, though it is hard to try that many different saddles in one week.
JP

[rugbysecondrow]

That is a lot. I feel fortunate to have found mine pretty quickly. I don't see a Brooks B-17 on there.



These are the saddles (that I recall) that I've tried over the years. Perhaps it shouldn't be so "fluid," but there you go...

Max Flite Gel Flow
ProLink Gel Flow
ProLink
Aliante
Rolls
Flite
Selle SMP Glider
Selle SMP Evolution
Flite
Strada
Concor Lite
ProLink Lite
SLR
Airone
Rolls Due
Specialized Alias
Avocet 02 ti

[Wilkinson4]

These are the saddles (that I recall) that I've tried over the years. Perhaps it shouldn't be so "fluid," but there you go...

Max Flite Gel Flow
ProLink Gel Flow
ProLink
Aliante
Rolls
Flite
Selle SMP Glider
Selle SMP Evolution
Flite
Strada
Concor Lite
ProLink Lite
SLR
Airone
Rolls Due
Specialized Alias
Avocet 02 ti


And what have you settled on??? Ok, who has a skinny butt and what saddle do you use? I have Brooks B17 and Pro Select on a few bikes and after break in they work fine on the really long rides.

I have a Regal that is just not working for me. Had a turbo and liked the flat top. No cases of sleepy weeny (Sorry girls) but want something that feel like a good shoe when you put it on.

mIKE

[jhcakilmer]

I don't know what you can say bad about this program.

You get 13 saddles for 7 days? I mean, hopefully you can narrow it down to 3 or 4 before they even arrive at your door. And it's a little more than $10/day...

seems like a good service and not a bad value when you consider some of those saddles are probably retailing for $150 or more.

And yes, you could go buy a saddle at LBS and then return it, and buy another. But there is a huge benefit to being able to switch out saddles in rapid succession to pinpoint differences in the way they feel. Especially at the end of a ride, when you are tired. Go take a few 2-3 mile spins with 3 or 4 different saddles to see how they feel when you're not "fresh".

I don't know, complaining about this service is like getting HDTV in your house and then saying it sucks because it isn't 3D.

I'm tending to agree.....you should be able to narrow down the selection to 5-7 saddles even before they arrive. For example, I'm a pretty big guy, with wide hips (ischium), so that will help narrow down the list immediately.

I can see that it does require some time in the saddle before you know if it fits like a glove though. Still, a great ideal for allowing customers to try several saddles.

[gemship]

Fine print. Not too bad if you buy one and get the credit, etc...

How does the program work? It's simple:

* A demo costs $75. This covers the cost of both the outbound and the inbound UPS Ground shipping plus a nominal fee for 7 days of saddle use.
* The kit includes 13 saddles. Try as many or as few as you want while you're in possession of the kit.
* The demo period is 7 days. We ask that you ship the kit back to us on the next business day after this 7-day period is complete.
* If you choose to purchase a saddle from us within 30 days of returning the saddle kit to us, we'll credit $35 of the demo cost towards your purchase.
* When you book your demo saddle kit, it will ship the next business day. If all kits are being demoed, our site will indicate the earliest available date a kit can ship to you and the day on which you can expect it to arrive.
* You're also welcome to visit our facility in Little Rock, sign out a saddle, and hit the wealth of beautiful roads we have here in Central Arkansas. For $75 a day you can test any of our saddles locally. We'll show you some great ride options and if you ultimately buy a saddle from us, we'll credit that $75 towards your purchase.


It should be noted that if the above quoted is correct that your really only paying 40$ and that's less than 6$ a day so long as you buy a saddle from them. Unless I'm missing something that seems like a great deal.

[LegendRider]

And what have you settled on??? Ok, who has a skinny butt and what saddle do you use? I have Brooks B17 and Pro Select on a few bikes and after break in they work fine on the really long rides.

I have a Regal that is just not working for me. Had a turbo and liked the flat top. No cases of sleepy weeny (Sorry girls) but want something that feel like a good shoe when you put it on.

mIKE


That list was from 20 years of riding. I rode some of those saddles for quite a long time. But, I've settled on the Max Flite Gel Flow.