Split Saddles

A long time fairly serious biker, 100 miles a week, I have always
wondered about those split saddles and if they work or not to relieve
the numbness in the crotch area. I have tried adjusting my saddles
numerous times over the years and have never fully succeeded in ridding
myself totally of the "crotch numbness syndrome". Standing up in the
saddle every ten or fifteen minutes seems to be the only sure cure.

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to experiment at $50 bucks
a pop so would appreciate any advice, suggestions for effective brands
of models that folks would care to make.

Many thanks,
bob

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 15:24:39 +0000, Bob Gir. wrote:

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to experiment at $50 bucks
a pop so would appreciate any advice

find a LBS that will let you test saddles for a week or so and let you
return minus a small restock fee. All you have to do is ask.

I personally find the split ones uncomfortable, but others rave about
them. Saddle fit is really personal.

I perfer a hard leather saddle like a Brooks because since you don't sink
into it, the saddle doesn't come up and squish your danglies.

:P

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 15:24:39 GMT, "Bob Gir."
wrote:

A long time fairly serious biker, 100 miles a week, I have always
wondered about those split saddles and if they work or not to relieve
the numbness in the crotch area. I have tried adjusting my saddles
numerous times over the years and have never fully succeeded in ridding
myself totally of the "crotch numbness syndrome". Standing up in the
saddle every ten or fifteen minutes seems to be the only sure cure.

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to experiment at $50 bucks
a pop so would appreciate any advice, suggestions for effective brands
of models that folks would care to make.

Many thanks,
bob

I've never had bad problems with numbness, but I'd get it maybe half
of my rides. I've been having good luck with the Koobi saddles. Au
Enduro and its earlier version, the Silver.

http://www.koobi.com/

They do offer a 30 day test period if you buy from them.

maxo wrote:
find a LBS that will let you test saddles for a week or so and let you
return minus a small restock fee. All you have to do is ask.

hahaha.. better yet find one that will give you free seats. just ask.
--
david reuteler

In article ,
Dan Daniel wrote:

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 15:24:39 GMT, "Bob Gir."
wrote:

A long time fairly serious biker, 100 miles a week, I have always
wondered about those split saddles and if they work or not to relieve
the numbness in the crotch area. I have tried adjusting my saddles
numerous times over the years and have never fully succeeded in ridding
myself totally of the "crotch numbness syndrome". Standing up in the
saddle every ten or fifteen minutes seems to be the only sure cure.

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to experiment at $50 bucks
a pop so would appreciate any advice, suggestions for effective brands
of models that folks would care to make.

Many thanks,
bob

I've never had bad problems with numbness, but I'd get it maybe half
of my rides. I've been having good luck with the Koobi saddles. Au
Enduro and its earlier version, the Silver.

http://www.koobi.com/

They do offer a 30 day test period if you buy from them.

Thanks, Dan, I'll check them out. bob

"David Reuteler" wrote in message
...
maxo wrote:
find a LBS that will let you test saddles for a week or so and let you
return minus a small restock fee. All you have to do is ask.

hahaha.. better yet find one that will give you free seats. just ask.
--
david reuteler


Don't laugh so fast. Maybe not free, but my LBS will let a customer trial a
seat for 10% of the retail price. That's a pretty good deal.

Ride on whatever you fit on,
Don

27 Jun 2004 16:47:57 GMT,
, David Reuteler
wrote:

maxo wrote:
find a LBS that will let you test saddles for a week or so and let you
return minus a small restock fee. All you have to do is ask.

hahaha.. better yet find one that will give you free seats. just ask.

The LBS where I've bought Brooks saddles lets you exchange any saddle
within a week as long as it's not damaged. There's no restocking fee.
They've just opened their third store so that policy hasn't hurt their
business.
--
zk

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 16:09:51 GMT, maxo wrote:

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 15:24:39 +0000, Bob Gir. wrote:

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to experiment at $50 bucks
a pop so would appreciate any advice

find a LBS that will let you test saddles for a week or so and let you
return minus a small restock fee. All you have to do is ask.

I personally find the split ones uncomfortable, but others rave about
them. Saddle fit is really personal.

I perfer a hard leather saddle like a Brooks because since you don't sink
into it, the saddle doesn't come up and squish your danglies.

:P

Sometimes I think that this is why the Koobi saddles have worked for
me. The top of the saddle is very flat so I don't sink in a way that
puts pressure in the middle. Maybe the split is doing nothing and the
fit for me results from other parts of its shape.

I couldn't get the Brooks B17 to work for me. Saddles are very
personal this way.

In article ,
says...
A long time fairly serious biker, 100 miles a week, I have always
wondered about those split saddles and if they work or not to relieve
the numbness in the crotch area. I have tried adjusting my saddles

YES!

numerous times over the years and have never fully succeeded in ridding
myself totally of the "crotch numbness syndrome". Standing up in the
saddle every ten or fifteen minutes seems to be the only sure cure.

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to experiment at $50 bucks
a pop so would appreciate any advice, suggestions for effective brands
of models that folks would care to make.

I'm on my 6th different saddle, a Koobi Au Enduro, trying to find the
one which I don't need to think about, and it seems to be the best so
far, though I only have a few miles on it.

I've tried the following:

The oem Fuji saddle. Probably nice if you're a lightweight and won't
sink into the padding. My daughter really likes it on the old 10-speed
I had set up as a beater bike, which she claimed as her own after one
ride.

An older version of the Specialized Body Geometry wide model. It was
great when sitting up, but when down on the drops or aerobars, it put
pressure where it shouldn't be, causing numbness. Rode this one a lot
when I was getting back into cycling, but when I starting riding faster
and entering races, it became less nice than it was as a touring saddle.

A newer Specialized BG-2 Sport. No numbness, but for some reason, it
gave me sore sit bones. Never quite figured out why, but finally gave
up on it after quite a few miles and adjustments.

A Trek Women's saddle (don't recall the exact model). It was pretty
good, but just a bit too soft, and short front-to-back.

A Koobi Xenon. A very firm (they rate it an 8 out of 10 on their
firmness scale), wide, flat saddle. Would probably be great for someone
who rides a lot, but it seemed unlikely that I would get used to it when
I only ride a few hours per week. I may keep it around as a race
saddle, since it has Ti rails and is pretty light.

A Koobi Au Enduro. Same shape as the Xenon, but with just a bit thicker
and softer padding. Only one ride on it so far, but it felt REALLY
good. I'll know a lot more next weekend after a 70-miler.

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).

"Bob Gir." wrote in message ...
A long time fairly serious biker, 100 miles a week, I have always
wondered about those split saddles and if they work or not to relieve
the numbness in the crotch area. I have tried adjusting my saddles
numerous times over the years and have never fully succeeded in ridding
myself totally of the "crotch numbness syndrome". Standing up in the
saddle every ten or fifteen minutes seems to be the only sure cure.

These saddles ain't cheap and I don't want to experiment at $50 bucks
a pop so would appreciate any advice, suggestions for effective brands
of models that folks would care to make.

Many thanks,
bob

I have a Koobi on our tandem and get along well with it, although my
main ride has a Brooks, which I find a bit more comfortable. If
numbness is your problem, a Koobi might be the best bet. I believe
that if you buy through their website, they have a 30 day demo ride
program.
Smokey