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@starfish&coffee
Bought fake SMP, spent 10-15 hours using it with my Tacx trainer. First thoughts:
1) Even the first rudimentary installation has been a great improvement on my previous flat saddles. After shifting around a bit I've found an OK position and is left with really good overall comfort – save for two tiny parallel spots of aching/pain where, presumably, the ischial ramus bones joins with the respective edges. Colby Pearse writes that discomfort will dissipate as your nerve-endings toughen up. So I reckon I should wait with fine-tuning the set up until that aching disappears?
2) I had the same experience that @dammit describes really well in this post; the SMP has led to less of me leaning on my wrists in order to hold my gooch off the seat. However, since this is the first time I’ve sat on a completely smooth carbon saddle I occasionally catch myself gripping the bars to compensate for unexpected sliding. Presumably just a beginner error.
3) If I’m not mistaken then the thick chamois on my Assos Cento goes a long way to negate the benefit of the cutout. (As compared to how the SMP feels with my other shorts). The Cento padding just sort of blocks the perineum from properly sinking into the cutout.
Fuck… in my effort to troubleshoot my gooch issues I went all out and bought the thickest padding there was, to solve for X sort of, then I moved onto trying new saddles. Now I’ll probably never use the £180 Centos much….. Just leaving this out there to prevent others making the same mistake.
I guess my future lies in finding a sweet spot where an SMP model with a certain amount of padding (Dynamic or Drakon?) will compensate for only buying shorts with relatively thin pads from now on. And where the cover will provide enough friction top hold my ass in the right place.