On Sat, 28 Jul 2018 12:48:03 -0700, Joerg
wrote:
On Friday I talked to a woman who rides very little because the saddle
causes her pain after a short time. Most likely this is a combination of
factors, the hardness of usual road bike saddles plus the fact that road
bikes have no suspension whatsoever and hard tires.
I had a different way of looking at the problem. I didn't expect to
ever find the perfect saddle. When my butt became sore, I simply
switched to a different saddle (or different saddle position), and the
sore spot moved to another part of my anatomy. I could vary the
degree of discomfort, move the location of discomfort, but never got
rid of it completely. When my pelvis fit my ancient Brooks something
saddle (about 40 years ago), I came closest to a painless saddle.
However, as I grew older, I no longer fit the Brooks saddle, and had
to retire it.
I have a small collection of saddles obtained from garage sales, flea
markets, thrift shops, bargain bins at the LBS, and mail order
specials. What I prefer these days is a Selle Royal Freeway Moderate
Men's Xsenium Brown ICS (whatever that means):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Selle-Royal-Freeway-Moderate-Mens/dp/B002VGAWBI
which I picked up in a fit of retail therapy splurging. About $40 in
the LBS bargain bin about 10 years ago. I think I also liked the
brown color as I hoped it would be better than my other black saddles
and not scorch my butt after the bicycle had been in the sun for over
an hour.
I've never bothered to ask myself, what is different about this saddle
that is lacking in others? So, I measure the surface hardness with a
hardness gauge (durometer) like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/172240656843
However, there's a problem. For hard rubber, such as tires, the
penetrator is a Shore Type A. However, for softer material, such as
padded bicycle saddles, a Type OO penetrator is best as the Type A is
pointed and sharp enough to puncture the fake leather saddle.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/yaoAAOSw2D1ZgXh8/s-l1600.jpg
I only have a Shore A penetrator, so I need to be very careful.
Saddle hardness measurements so far in the contact area for my pelvis;
Durometer Saddle
25 Selle Royal Freeway etc.
33 Vetta
35 Nashbar Velo
38 WTB Rocket
55 Selle Italia "Genuine Gel"
93 Brooks Ideale 90 (about 40 years old)
Swell. My two best saddles are the hardest and the softest, so I
can't determine if hard or soft is best. If the Brooks saddle at 93
durometer works, a saddle made from concrete, glass, or rock hard
rubber would work as well.
It's 1AM. Time to give up before I fall asleep at the keyboard.
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558