Day 327 - Saddle Sore

When cycling it should be no surprise that you spend a good deal of time sat in the saddle and as such this is a key piece of bike furniture which should, I feel receive more attention than I've given it to date.

In the 11 months that I have owned my Specialized Crosstrail Sport Disc, I have spent 4 saddle sore days rolling over 1100 miles of potholed Devon lanes. In that time, I've just assumed that bikes are naturally uncomfortable and one just has to get on with it. The Crosstrail comes with a Specialized BodyGeometry Targa Sport 155mm saddle .. this is the larger of the two versions available and retails for around £35. More recently, now averaging 20 miles a ride, I've been finding it to be far from comfortable and when I saw one of my favoured eBay sellers with a new Prologo Nago Evo X10 Pro T 2.0 for sale, I wondered whether this would be a suitable replacement. This saddle was said to have come Christmas Day on a Felt F5x cyclo cross bike and was removed and replaced with his own saddle before the bike left the house.

Prologo Nago Evo X10 Pro T 2.0 Saddle

After a bit of on-line research, I learned that this saddle is very versatile, being recommended for both MTB and road bikes. It thus seemed the perfect match for my hybrid. Also, at a retail price of £135, I felt, I would certainly notice an improvement in quality and comfort over Specialized's standard offering. Yes, it was a bit of a punt but with a low maximum bid placed, it seemed a safe bet and if I won the auction, it would be a low cost option to test out how a quality seat performs. I am now the proud owner of a new X10 Pro for less than the price of a Targa Sport! Don't you just love eBay ;)

My Crosstrail was in need of a service, its gears were missing badly, so I thought I'd get it serviced before fitting the new saddle. Monday this week the service was completed and Tuesday was the day I set about fitting the saddle. Our first real outing was on this Thursday's AVP evening ride. The X10 is a little narrower than the Targa and so I initially thought it would take a bit of getting used to, but no, I found it surprisingly comfortable. It provided cushioning support where needed and a reduced friction surface resulting in a smother ride and less effort required when moving out of the saddle to make steep climbs. So far, I am very impressed and pleased with my punt of a purchase.

I'm now keen to have a look at my Roubaix, as I've never found that very comfortable either. I don't think, in this instance, that it is the quality of saddle which is at fault, but rather its positioning. The Roubaix has a BG Toupe RBX Sport saddle retailing for around £90 and looks very similar to the X10 in design. What I feel is needed, however, is for me to move it forward a few cms so that I connect better with the padded area.

So, as I get more familiar with my bikes, I'm starting to understand what works and what does not and what needs to be changed. I am even considering a professional bike fix for me on the Roubaix, before that is, I embark on my year of sportifs, as I feel I'm still not getting the best performance I can from it. I will keep you posted on whether I go ahead with this and on any results of me making those fine saddle adjustments.