Retro looking saddle which is comfy

[widowmaker]

Hi all

After returning to road biking recently after many years on my MTB, I am enjoying the experience greatly but for one thing - the saddle is not at all comfortable and after a few miles :shock:

The current saddle is a Reydel GTi from the 80's.

I am looking for some advice, I am looking for a retro either looking of genuine retro saddle which is comfortable, as usual in these times of recession money is not too plentiful so a fairly limited budget, and needs to be black, so I can draw up a short-list.

Thanks in advance

 

[hamster]

San Marco Regal or Rolls would be my choice.

The Regal is known in pro circles as the Belgian sofa...

 

[widowmaker]

San Marco Regal or Rolls would be my choice.

The Regal is known in pro circles as the Beligan sofa...

Thanks, ill have a little search for one, I cant continue with my current saddle, my voice is getting too high pitched

 

[Jonny69]

Depends where your current one is getting you. Decide if it's getting your bum bones or your perineum. If it's getting your perineum then it's too narrow at the front and you want a saddle with a wider more curved bridge. If it's getting your bum bones then you probably want one that is wider and flatter at the back with a bit of padding.

I used to ride most of my miles on a Flite titanium, but it's very narrow at the front and beat the crap out of my perineum on longer rides. I've upgraded that one to a San Marco Regal which is pretty much the same saddle but wider and more curved at the front and I think it's going to solve my problems. there's also the Brooks B17 route and I love my Brooks because it spreads the load out very effectively.

And also don't discount padded shorts. You can get padded undershorts which you wear instead of pants and they make a massive difference.

I don't think you need to go as far as slippery bum cream or chamois wax. Some of the guys on another forum I use are always banging on about slathering their parts in slime before long rides despite wearing bib shorts from the expensive end of the range. I just don't think you need all this stuff if your saddle fits well. By all means get a lightweight saddle shaped like a blade for racing, but for daily use it's just unnecessary punishment imo.

 

[rienster]

Retro looking I'd say Rolls or Regal. My current (modern) favorite is the Fizik Aliante. Will try the Versus version soon. Very comfy on longer rides.
But its very personal. I've been very tempted to try one of these: http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 0s204p2668
If anyone has experience with these, please let me know.

 

[widowmaker]

Yes its my perineum that's taking the beating

Maybe its a lot to expect comfort going from my wide-ass MTB one though

 

[clubby]

San Marco Concor. My retro Colnago came with one and it looks weird, but is actually really comfy.

 

[Jonny69]

The Charge Spoon gets good reviews too, but I haven't tried one.

 

[Mr Panda]

I'm using a Charge Spoon at the moment on my Flying Scot. It's extremely comfortable (for me) and you can pick them up for around £15, in fact Wiggle were selling them new for £15 a few months back

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

I use Turbomatic I, II, III and IVs on all my bikes. A goodly number of Tour riders used them BiTD.