# Help me escape from saddle hell !



## ed4000 (Aug 10, 2013)

Just got a new '14 Cannondale Synapse Carbon. Love the bike, hate the Prologo Nago Evo saddle it came with. On recommendation of LBS , bought a Selle SMP Glider. (Hey with a new bike, what's a couple hundred more to slide under the wife radar?) Anyways, he said he had the most luck with that saddle fitting everyone, and he's somewhat of a guru around town. Got good fitting on bike, but didn't measure sit bones. Selle SMP classes sizes by waist size, and with that I'm ok, but the saddle just feels narrow, like riding a dull hatchet. Guru says gotta break it and my sit-bones in and get used to it, it's wide enough (136) for anyone my size. I like the shape and feel of the saddle (it's a little hard for me though- but I don't think that's the problem). I've ridden it about 10 times now, 25-50 miles each ride. 250miles total over the last 3 weeks. still hurts, feels like my sit bones are hanging partially over the sides. It's better when I'm in the drops, but the more upright (I like the hoods and bars best) I get the more it hurts. Tried adjusting (on guru's advice) seat forward a bit and tilt a couple degrees. 
Went on short trip to beach, killing some time on a rainy day I go to a shop there (Specialized dealer), and shoot the breeze and tell them my problem. They put me on the Assometer and come up with 131mm sit bone width, say I'm in small percentage of males with that wide of space and need at least 155 or so wide saddle. They say my guru is nuts. 
Bought a cheap used 155 Specialized Riva and put it on my old beater bike, it feels much better width wise than the SMP, but haven't tried it on longer ride, or on new bike, because I'll mess up the set-up on the SMP and to be honest, not quite sure how to change out the saddle on the new one. Plus I really want to like the SMP saddle, it looks so darn cool, except for the width and maybe the hardness a little. I think I would be happier with a SMP Pro or Avant or something wider to try, but guru doesn't keep anything but the glider. He says specialized assometer is a gimmick and the glider is plenty wide, and I'm not sitting on sit-bones but on the narrower part in front of them. Maybe so, but in my mind only when I'm more aero, and I'm old (55) and not flexible and like to ride upright a lot. 
So....is that enough time to break in and know the glider won't work? Is guru nuts? I'd just order a wider SMP online, but they are so expensive I'd probably lose money even re-selling it, and I'll have to deal with the wrath of the guru at some point too.... thanks!


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## nhluhr (Sep 9, 2010)

Do you just need somebody to call you an idiot or point fingers and laugh to set you straight? The proof is in the pudding. Your _guru's_ insistence on the narrow seat is OBVIOUSLY wrong since you are here posting about saddle discomfort. There are a ton of older "guru" types out there in the business and somehow they achieve this guru status because nobody cares to correct them but damnit, your "guru" is dead wrong. In what world does it make any sense whatsoever to correlate saddle width to waist size? Did you even stop to think about that? Why not correlate saddle size to what the saddle goes on.... your ass.

Quit torturing yourself with vanity and put the comfortable seat on your new bike so you can go ride and enjoy it.


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## ed4000 (Aug 10, 2013)

Thanks for the helpful advice. I guess I should have cut to the chase a bit more. 
1. I like the SMP better shape wise and don't want to give up on it until I know it will never work. The comfortable seat was just a cheap trial for width, but I want something with more cut-out for the long haul.
2. anyone else find that the Selle SMP line works for them in a much narrower size than the Specialized Assometer suggests?
3. If so, did it take time to break in and get comfortable? If so, how long?
4. The world that waist size correlates to saddle width is the Selle SMP world, this is the only measurement they use on their website. They must know something about their research & business I would think and aren't just total idiots.
Steve Hogg seems to agree on this also in his article on SMP's. 
Thanks


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

If Hogg's and the guru say it's true, it must be true. I disagree, then again, I'm no 'expert'. :wink5:

The problem with some 'experts' is they lose a level of objectivity and start thinking what they've had experience/ success with is a magic bullet. Trouble is, we're not all built or ride the same.

Personally, after enduring 250 miles of pain, I'd chuck the SMP and work with the Specialized folks on a saddle and proper set up for your riding style. If you reread your first post, you've already honed in on a couple of of key points.

First, if your sit bones aren't supporting your weight, the saddles contours are wrong for you and second, HOW you ride (more aero/ more upright) dictates what saddle you should be using. 

These are, of course, just two points. There are other pertinent factors, thus the need to take some time to hunt down that perfect saddle.

HTH, and good luck!


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## MikeWMass (Oct 15, 2011)

In my (admittedly limited) experience, the only saddles that have ever "broken in" were Brooks or Ideal leather saddles. The current saddles may wear out, but they don't seem to change much until they do.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

I have to admit I skimmed the thread.

It doesn't sound like you played with fore/aft adjustment of your Selle. (FWIW, I don't think it's a very attractive saddle.) I love the saddles on my road and older mountain bikes, but if I slid them back on the rails some, I'd hate them.

If you otherwise like your fit, don't monkey with the seatpost height. But, here's a link I like on bike fit; he spends most of the first half talking about saddle setup.
How to Fit a Bicycle

Anyway, not every saddle works for every rider. So the Glider may simply not work for you. But, see if sliding it forward and maybe bringing it back toward level helps. You shouldn't have to fight to be in the right place on the saddle. (And, it has to exist in the first place.)

I actually think that Specialized's Ass-o-meter is a good idea, though I haven't tried it. I guess I should - since I know that I ride the narrow size, I could see if it gives me the right result.


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## UrbanPrimitive (Jun 14, 2009)

I prefer to select saddles based on mustache length. In the past I used a slab of granite. Now that I'm shaving, I have to settle for duct taping some kittens together on the seatpost.

In all seriousness, a lot of professional fitting is a combination of generalized past experience and hokus-pocus to make it look all sciencey. Seriously. The best fitters I've seen use a pair of sticks, a measuring tape, and get _lots_ of feedback from the rider. That said, they're just as fallible as anyone else. Everyone has a bad day and everyone screws up from time to time. The best of us admit it when it happens, learn from it, and try to do better next time. Even two people with nearly identical limb lengths and hip measurements will have different fit needs. It sounds like your fitter isn't remembering that.

It's true that butts have to break in. Most saddles, however, don't. The typical rule when selecting saddles (including Brooks and their infamous break in period) is that it should be comfortable from the start. If it needs to break in, it should start as "reasonably comfortable" and break in until it feels "so good it's naughty". If you've already found another saddle that feels significantly more comfortable chances are pretty darn good that saddle is better suited to your anatomy. Run with it. Buy as many as you can. Keep a spare in your car. Attach one to your keychain. Take one to bed, just in case.

Do what works. Don't suffer for another 250 miles because your fitter is being stubborn.


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## jimbo08 (Aug 28, 2013)

I work in a Specialized shop, and truly believe in the BG Assometer fitting. It is a good stating point. But your butt will tell you what fits and what doesn't in the end.
through circumstance I switched my a comfortable Specialized Toupe Gel on my C50 Colnago to a SMP Dynamic. It took there rides with a few adjustments to get it right, but boy is it ever comfortable now!
tried a Venge with a Romin saddle, and that is what I will put on my new Venge. It is all very personal. When I got the SMP I just looked at the size recommendations for each saddle, and since I am 5'10" ans 225 lbs., I presume I needed the larger sized saddle. Seemed to work out that way in reality. Love it, now that it is adjusted through some experimentation.


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## Newnan3 (Jul 8, 2011)

I have relatively narrow hips but i use a 143 Specialized Toupe. Before that I had a 136 Selle Italia. The 143 definitely works better for me.


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## beshannon (Oct 21, 2013)

I recently had a bike fit/new bike setup and was sized for a 155. It feels good on my mountain bike but when I tried the same saddle on my road bike it felt narrow. I put a 168 on my road bike and love it.

Go with what you like, not what someone tells you to like


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## ed4000 (Aug 10, 2013)

Thanks for the input guys, that's what I was looking for. Sounds like the SMP glider needing to be "broken in" is basically not going to happen and the guru bit about sit bone width not mattering on it, basically a load of crap. I replaced it with the Specialized Riva 155 I had and did 50 miles yesterday and it was so much better. 
Before the new bike and the SMP glider, I had been riding 143's so it wasn't too much worse since I was on saddles that were also too narrow before, I just knew it should be better that that, especially for $250+. Glad I got the measurement, I'm an assometer believer now also. I'm just going to stick with the Riva for now, and maybe try some other wider saddles like the wider Specialized Romins and Avatar, and maybe a Selle Italia Man Gel Flow if I can pick up one cheap on ebay or something. Probably ditch the whole SMP thing, unless I get an opportunity to try the Avant or Pro without having to buy it first. Still don't understand why they don't address sit bone width on their website and use the stupid waist measurement to pick between their saddles. Thanks everyone!


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