Selle SMP discussion

Depends on your leg length. And femur length really.
If it feels right, it probably is, if it feels wrong, try moving it forward/back.

I've always found riding a low cadence up a steepish hill and powering from the saddle to be a good test of if something works. Then try forward/back to see how it feels.
That or video yourself.

Also important is being able to support your upper body if unweighted from the handlebars.
So on the turbo, or road if confident. Take your hands off the bars a little and see if you can hold the position.

Steve Hogg is good as ever.
https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/05/seat-set-back-for-road-bikes/

Pain.

I approximate to be honest. Steve Hogg says that you run it about a cm more forward than something else. So I just play with it at 0.5cm increments. Eventually it comes together. I am fussy as hell so I really do notice the difference between the 0.5cm.

My problem is that even with an inline its really forward rendering my carradice qr useless.

I'm just wondering about hip angle and bar height, which differs between the Serotta and the Talbot, the 'rotta is 0.5cm shorter on the top tube, but much lower at the front, which is actually quite a bit more comfortable (which I don't actually understand if I'm honest).

I wonder if it has something to do with the fact you can open your hip angle more, as your sit bones are slightly further up rather than just back, if that makes sense i.e. easier to roll forward if you bum is up rather than just back.

Hmm, I think I might have worked this one out - Nitto M106 on the Serotta have a 78mm reach, the Ergosum Ltd on the Dalsniba are 89mm, same lever shape on both but the Dalsnibba is around 1.5cm more reach.

Saddle to bar distance is absolutely bang on the same for both bikes (although the Serotta bars are lower).

If there's pressure on the front, move it a little forward.

Two quotes from Mr. Pearce's piece...

"Consider the origin of the aesthetics of most traditional saddles: they are made to look like Italian men’s dress shoes: long, slender, slightly phallic, covered in leather, pointy. Traditional saddles must be narrow, because a wide saddle means you have a wide ass, which means you are slow. In the old world, a saddle should be narrow, slender and sleek, barely noticeable, a silhouette under the rider. A seat is a leather perch upon which to conduct symphonies of pain and suffering."

and

"Cycling has a history of participants who make aesthetic choices, and as a sport it has an unusually high appeal to the artistic type. We don’t see many football players drooling over carbon fiber or worrying if their shorts match up with their tan lines. Riders sometimes make equipment choices based on how things look rather than how they perform."

This man is American I take it? and in my eyes Yanks are cycling heretics that have brought nought but uglyness to our beautiful sport.

Having said that I wouldn't mind trying one of these SMP saddles just so that I can have an informed opinion if nothing else, after all cycling is bloated with 'snake oil' products.

I ride San Marco Concor light saddles of which there are two sub-types one with reinforcing and one without. The un-reinforced variant is quite concave (banana shaped) and allied with the none slip embroidery keeps you locked in rather nicely. Also I've had Flites with cut-outs, didn't notice anything special about that except more creaking noises.

So the unique selling point is the Concord shaped nose? is that concept really making a difference?

The one thing I do agree with Mr. Pearce on is padding. Shape -> padding everytime.

Aesthetics are great but sometimes something's gotta give. If you can't cycle at all on a beautiful saddle...well...

(I don't particularly like the look of my SMP Pro but the carriage has never been happier)

No, the dropped nose has little effect (imo) as you tend to sit much further back on an SMP.
The key is in the two narrow supporting channels and the curve/drop near the back - shaped to fit your ischiopubic ramus which is what you actually sit on when in anything aproaching a vaguely performance orientated fit, rather than the iscial tuberosities / sit bones that everyone thinks they sit on (unless you ride a sit up and beg bike)

the dropped nose has little effect (imo)

Cool, so all they have to do is market a straight nosed variant and they'd have a winner.

i'm half inclined to hack-saw off the nose of my cheap carbon fake. Because it really is ugly : /

The dropped nose is handy when riding out of the saddle I find...

But not a necessity.

no - it doesnt feel like my bones are supported.

It feels like I need to be sat further back on the saddle, but if I was Id be hanging off the back. Then again, this is how I feel on every saddle..

I tried tilting it up and then moving it back as well and still got chaffage on the inner upper sides of my thighs.

Have you tried different widths?

I tried 143 avatar (hips not supported at back cos narrow) then 150 Regal (width OK but no cutout...ouch!) Then SMP trek (width OK but nose too wide and too soft so got saddle sores in inner thigh) then selle SMP pro (wide at rear, narrow at front) width OK, front OK. Yay!

Normally sitting too far back = saddle too narrow. Which model are you on? I eyed up some in the local shop to compare ;)

It feels like I need to be sat further back on the saddle, but if I was Id be hanging off the back. Then again, this is how I feel on every saddle..

Your sitbones should pretty much be on the rear edge of the saddle, it usually take a while to relaxed and actually sit differently on the middle.

im was on a 140mm slr super flow, which is the widest saddle I had tried and was the most comfortable saddle I managed to find thus far. (still makes me numb after a while)

My smp is the dynamic, which I think is one of the wider ones?

@edscoble
I feel fairly far back on the saddle already, just some of me seems to be resting on my upper inner thigh near pelvic bone but not quite..

I had a dynamic in my hand in the bike shop, it definitely felt narrower than a pro, at the front where cutout is and at the back. Though as Ed says, you sit differently on them, so the widest end doesn't matter as much as "normal" saddles, the tapering etc. does.

Have a read here, there's a picture comparison with your superflow and noticed how it shapes differently :)

http://biketestreviews.com/saddles-part-5-selle-italia-slr-superflow/

I have strange hip shapes though, I need the narrow front end of the SMP to support my front hip part with no rubbing, the bump to support the roundness of my hip and the wider end of the SMP to support the wider rear end.

Tx obama!

My smp is the dynamic, which I think is one of the wider ones?

I think it's the same as the Composit, but padded.

Got the extra from Lordgun, prompt delivery would buy again etc. first trial run today seems encouraging comfort in the sitting area was good, though felt slightly wide at the front, causing some slight rubbing on thighs, gonna try a little more nose down for the commute home see if that moves things in the right direction. Basically just guessed as to initial test position especially as I needed to move the seatpost down about half an inch.

My fake SMP is going really well. Have done a few long rides now, all with bib shorts, but not overly padded ones (castelli velocissimo). Really comfortable, I've not had to tweak it too much at all. A little height adjustment and very slight angle adjustments. All good.

Will now sell all my old saddles to fund a Gen-u-wine SMP. Probably a composit, or a dynamic.
One thing Selle SMP could improve upon is clearer model designation to help navigate to the required saddle.

One thing Selle SMP could improve upon is clearer model designation to help navigate to the required saddle.

indeed, make it clearer to tell which shape is similar to what saddle

The we keep you cycling
videos kinda bunch up the "families", as does steve hogg though, iirc.