Selle SMP discussion

I have two Pro which are mid level padding (bit like Specialized level 3 padding) so no need to for padded short/underwear to go to work.

I think my rear hips may be too wide for a Dynamic, Hogg recommends the Lite209 for women but £££

So my left hip is happier on my tourer (5.2 cm setback VS 4.5 relative to BB, less forward angle, saddle level with bars) compared to the Gazelle track iron (how low can you go bars 8 cm lower than saddle).

Interesting as the saddles are the same, so perhaps it's my lower back or angle where issue originates. Or I am just getting old.

My carbon copy arrived from China this morning. The finish of the saddle is good, construction seems solid, though of note is that the tops of the rails aren't perfectly flat. That said, it looks to clamp fine on my daily's seat post, and first impressions is that even with no padding and wearing some Levi's commuter jeans it's the most comfortable perch I've had the pleasure to lay my gooch atop. Looking forward to putting some proper miles in soon

Mine also have arrived too.

The SMP Full Carbon fake is exactly the same shape as my SMP Composit.

The biggest difference is that the carbon, despite being made with exactly the same shape, is much thicker than the Composit that also have a carbon shell (with steel rail and leather cover), the Composit flex noticably in the middle that give a bit of cushioning, whether the fake Full Carbon have no flex whatsoever.

I would need to compare it to the real Full Carbon version.

I lol'd at 100% made in Italy.

Would definitely be interesting to see how the legit Full Carbon flexes in comparison. I imagine the carbon rails will take up the slack a little compared to steel.

the Composit flex noticably in the middle that give a bit of cushioning, whether the fake Full Carbon have no flex whatsoever

I'd guess that the real Full Carbon would be pretty rigid too; sounds about the same as my Toupe Pro/Expert (Pro - no flex, Expert - quite a bit of flex)

According to Steve Hogg, the carbon rail version offer more comfort than the steel rail equative due to the nature of carbon.

I didn't realise there's a saddle in the brown envelope, as it was so light.

Will have to put it on the fixed road bike once I stripped everything off it's weight.

Let's see if they want to make me one with a Ritchey WCS logo, just because...

For a while I was running either a Rolls or a Turbo on all my bikes and getting on quite well but I was finding a day in the saddle often left me with sore spots. More recently I seem to have been suffering wore with these sore spots, I think that because the Rolls and Turbo are quite fat saddles they pinch some skin at the tops of my legs when I sit down on them.

I recently borrowed a San Marco Ponza from work and I've been trying it on my commuting bike for about a week. Being a narrower/slimmer saddle it seems to have reduced/resolved this pinching problem but even on the 4 mile commute I feel a bit of pressure on my pereneum which I never really felt with the Turbo or Rolls.

Should I try some more conventional saddles (there is a version of the Ponza that has a cutout) before I jump into something like an SMP?

If it's only the soft tissues that get too much pressure, then the cut out version could work for you.

Go to a big chain shop to order one in, so you can return it before the 28 days return policy expired (Evans/Cycle Surgery).

Composit with stainless rails ordered last night from bike24.de. Still £10.00 cheaper than planet x. Will offer my thoughts v Selle Italia SLR Superflow when it arrives.

So, my Composit arrived today. Very very well made and seems to be a lot narrower than my 130 Superflow. Also, when they say no padding, they mean exactly that. Very very light too at 200g.
Looks so euro with the Italian flag on the back.
Can't wait to take it for a ride.

When mounting this saddles did you mount them more forward and lower than what you usually run, or exactly the same? I am struggling to get the fit right on my dynamic.

Have you seen Adamos?

Yes, as you tend to sit further back on the saddle (at least I do) and the rails are very long.
Mine came forward (inline post) and down. The angle is also quite critical - the centre section should slope upwards very slightly.

Have a read of the Steve Hogg page on SMP's - loads of good info there.

Cheers I have. I think I have it sorted but am not sure how far back I should be sitting. Should the butt bones be on the upper lip of the rear of the seat. I do tend to move around a lot forward and back, so am wondering if I should move it forward and be more locked in, so to speak.

Hm good one...I think mine are planted in the middle of the upwards sweep at the back of the saddle. But it may depend on your hip bones shape...what feels best?

At the moment my bones are at the upper end of the saddle at the back. I may stick with that on the ride for a couple of days and see what happens. My last saddle was 8cm behind the BB and this is no different. I was expecting to be around 7cm ish, given Steve Hogg's page on saddles

It's definitely not too narrow? Sometimes people sit very backwards if the saddle is a bit narrow.

If it's balance/knee angle, then perhaps setback as you say may explain position.

(not that I know exactly what I am doing...£200 bike fits or a different bike...hm.... :))

Messed around a bit and ended up about 1 cm down from the brooks and about 1.5 cm forward.

Got a bit of backache but not too bad.

Should the butt bones be on the upper lip of the rear of the seat.

Yup, or close enough, recommendation is 10-15mm fore, can be more if necessary.

1 cm down from the brooks

The reason why is that when you sat on the Brooks, it sag enough that you're sitting a little lower, thus because plastic saddle doesn't sag as much, you won't need it to be as high as the Brooks.

For reference purpose, this is how I set mine up, bicycle have a standard 73 degrees seat tube (60cm CTT);

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Cheers Ed, I tried it slightly forward and it didnt work, but the butt bones right near the top did.

Keep playing with it, it took me a good 800 miles to finally "sink" into the saddle comfortably.

I keep wondering if I should have just got a slimmer canbium as that somehow took care of my shoulder ache (the only saddle where it happened). I also run the bars quite high so that may not be helping as much.

Went out for a proper ride on the full crabon. No numbness at all, the shape is great. However still need to get used to the lack of padding, didn't help that I couldn't coast and relieve the weight every so often. Going to try tilt it down another degree too.

Good to know, it does look like you need padded short with it to take advantage of.

New touring saddle on ultralight tourer soon.