A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Bill Reynolds
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A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by Bill Reynolds »

I was not going to message on here again as l did some year's ago ....about the popping up of the saddle problems message's all the time! However on the rare times l come onto this forum l look in at this section, and there they are again...A bit of history, l am a life long motorcyclist as well as a cyclist. Being a motorcyclist means you usually get dope's running into you, like l have been. I have whole body problems as a result. Five years or so after my last bad accident l found my usually comfortable Brooks B17 to be too painfull to ride as my right sit-bone..(my right leg had the contact with the Austin Maxi that ran into me) was making a nice ride...a pain! This started a search for a comfortable saddle. Most so called 'gel saddles' sit on a bone hard plastic base!! So after while you get to feel the base. I am currently....(2021)...awaiting a second Hernia repair...l have to wear a hernia double truss...with strapping going under my groin...(winces!)...l will tell you out there, straight up...buy a Hobson split saddle...American made! They have a adjustable gap in the middle so your tender bits are resting on air. Now l suppose all the nay sayers will turn up!...My finding are based on my decade old injuries, the above saddle make's riding fun, or you can stick with that bone hard Brooks that hurts your tender parts....Have fun learning the hard way.
Jdsk
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by Jdsk »

This sort of thing?

Image

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HOBSON-Pro-Hub-Saddle-Black/dp/B000QU3TK2

Jonathan

NB First review...
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Paulatic
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by Paulatic »

Yes that’s the one ‘Randal bill hill' is our Bill.
Bill Reynolds wrote:the above saddle make's riding fun, or you can stick with that bone hard Brooks that hurts your tender parts...

I think the review fails in mentioning many other saddles are available other than Brookes and of course Hobson's choice. Another point to consider is Bill buys 44” waist trousers and this might mean he has to sit on a saddle a little different to a lot of us.
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pjclinch
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by pjclinch »

Bill Reynolds wrote:Now l suppose all the nay sayers will turn up!...My finding are based on my decade old injuries, the above saddle make's riding fun, or you can stick with that bone hard Brooks that hurts your tender parts....Have fun learning the hard way.


But my B17s are (a) not bone hard and (b) don't hurt any of my parts at all. I wouldn't try and dispute it might not be right for you, or that it wasn't worth your while investigating alternatives, but saddles are very personal... even when they have adjustable bits.

Adjustment is always finite, and is very unlikely to cover the full range of possible saddle shapes that at least somebody finds ideal.
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Bill Reynolds
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by Bill Reynolds »

Who in the hell is ...'Randal Hill Bill'... and this ...'Paulatic'... who does not know my waist size, but infers l am fat?! Maybe he should read my message properly and note l am good as well disabled ...(and on Disability Living Allowance)..and in pain thanks what happened in 1975....The Hobson saddles are the only thing that lets me continuing cycling, then again maybe he is having a sly joke...??!...
Bill Reynolds
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by Bill Reynolds »

.....I would like to thank.... JDSK....above for showing the sort of saddle l have in mind. You ladies out there can not see the adjusting thumb wheel that sits between the two saddles, this adjusts the two saddles to match your personal sit bone area! Ironicaly just last night my wife was using our exersise cycle while watching ...Youtube....on Netflix... and hobbled off the PLASTIC HARD PAN so called ..Jel Saddle...after finishing! This is what people get after the normal type of saddle with a one piece of material gives you. I feel its up to you what you do, but l am glad l had the gumption to get out of the Brooks type mindset that is too often shown on this type of forum by men who are stuck in a rut....
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by Paulatic »

Bill Reynolds wrote:Who in the hell is ...'Randal Hill Bill'... .

Randal a hill Bill rides a saddle similar to yours and rides along a canal Warwick to Stratford on Avon to visit a daughter just like you do.

Bill Reynolds wrote:and this ...'Paulatic'... who does not know my waist size, but infers l am fat?! Maybe he should read my message properly and note l am good as well disabled ...(and on Disability Living Allowance)..and in pain thanks what happened in 1975....The Hobson saddles are the only thing that lets me continuing cycling, then again maybe he is having a sly joke...??!...


Bill I was very careful not to call you fat and stuck to the facts you and Bill Randall have given in your writing. I do not feel it’s fair to any reader looking for a saddle recommendation and reading your experience of the saddle. Without some insight into some of the reasons that saddle suits you.
Thank you for the further insight.
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Slowroad
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by Slowroad »

Guys - are you all guys?
And are you really arguing on the Women's Cycling Interests forum?
:lol: :lol: :lol:
(PS - Yes, a really important topic for cyclists whatever gender and the OP did intend it to be of use to women too, as it is. But still!)
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pjclinch
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by pjclinch »

Bill Reynolds wrote:... the Brooks type mindset that is too often shown on this type of forum by men who are stuck in a rut....


For touring I use a recumbent with a big padded chair, considerably more off-beam than your saddle.

But round town I ride a Brooks, not because I'm "stuck in a rut" but because they work for me. To say again, saddles are personal. I know not everyone likes Brooks, as my wife hates them. In return, I despise the Spesh BG ones she likes. Another female friend who had a Spesh BG was amazed at how much more comfortable she found my B17 when she borrowed my bike, and so on. Anyone saying they've found a saddle they can unreservedly recommend to anyone is almost certainly being over-optimistic.

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Bill Reynolds
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by Bill Reynolds »

The sole reason l sent in this message... (and the previous long lasting one) is every time l look into this forum l come on this section, as its the nearest thing to the ...dumped disabled section...that used to be on this forum! I then find the usual messages from women concerning saddle types...As the Hobson saddle is rather far out as saddles go, l thought that people/woman who were having problems with the usual type of saddle that is favioured on this forum, would know there are other types of saddle's available, if only the complainer was prepared to search them out!? My wife has brought one of those strange wrist watches that count your steps, etc. Part of her new regime is sitting on my stationary cycle watching Youtube, for a time unknown to me! Its the usual primative gel/lump of plastic base...she winces everytime she gets off the cycle, l am NOT having you on there!!...Look on this message as a possible public help message of ...hope?? Also note when l joined this forum, and my merge message count, as l only come on here when l have something worthy to say.....
Bill Reynolds
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by Bill Reynolds »

Hello cyclists with uncomfortable bottoms! Well, its May 2022 and recently l tried a new saddle on my Dahon Vitesse folding cycle, ...a seat, and l mean...A SEAT....Its called a ....BIKE SEAT COMFORT WIDE BICYCLE SADDLE...it is in effect a wide seat with a depression for your tail bone! They cost around £25 and l have seen them on Amazon. No doubt the pundits will 'poo-hoo' them, but at the end of the day, its YOUR comfort that matters, go on....try one, what have you got to loose, apart from a sore botty..!?
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by pjclinch »

Bill Reynolds wrote: 15 May 2022, 10:03am Hello cyclists with uncomfortable bottoms! Well, its May 2022 and recently l tried a new saddle on my Dahon Vitesse folding cycle, ...a seat, and l mean...A SEAT....Its called a ....BIKE SEAT COMFORT WIDE BICYCLE SADDLE...it is in effect a wide seat with a depression for your tail bone! They cost around £25 and l have seen them on Amazon. No doubt the pundits will 'poo-hoo' them, but at the end of the day, its YOUR comfort that matters, go on....try one, what have you got to loose, apart from a sore botty..!?
If you like it, that's great. What have I got to lose myself? well, about £25 since my existing saddles are comfortable as they are and I'm not keen to fix something that ain't broke.

Out of interest, how does this new one stack up against your previous recommended saddle, and why did you feel the need to change that?

Pete.
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Bill Reynolds
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by Bill Reynolds »

Thanks for your reply, Pete... but I don't really know why you replied to a message aimed at women who might have problems with normal saddles. In your message you tell us your happy with your own saddles...that's great! But I was not insisting that you spend £25 if you don't want to move to a new saddle, I was offering a solution to the many woman on this section who keep asking a important message that keeping cropping up.. My new saddle only cost me twenty five pounds, it may work better than my split saddle, but as my wife say's...."nothing ventured...nothing gained"...!!
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by pjclinch »

Bill Reynolds wrote: 18 May 2022, 5:20pm Thanks for your reply, Pete... but I don't really know why you replied to a message aimed at women who might have problems with normal saddles. In your message you tell us your happy with your own saddles...that's great! But I was not insisting that you spend £25 if you don't want to move to a new saddle, I was offering a solution to the many woman on this section who keep asking a important message that keeping cropping up.. My new saddle only cost me twenty five pounds, it may work better than my split saddle, but as my wife say's...."nothing ventured...nothing gained"...!!
Bill, the reason I was replying was to further point out that saddles are very much an individual thing, and that is irrespective of whether the users are women or men (or, I'd imagine, transitioning). So your individual recommendation for a particular saddle doesn't really make for much more useful information than "try everything you can". In other words, this is very unlikely to be a "comfortable saddle for all", while almost certainly being a comfortable saddle for some. I could be wrong in inferring you're a bloke, but if you are I do wonder why you think your experience is of particular value to "women who might have problems with normal saddles"?

As for the £25, you specifically suggested readers try one of these and asked what folk had to lose, and I pointed out I'd stand to lose £25. Just answering your quite specific question.

Beyond that there is the issue that you started off saying how excellent you'd found a different alternative to the mainstream... but despite singing its praises you appear to have decided to change it for something else. So I was wondering if you'd found your original suggestion to be not as good in the long term as you'd initially found it. That could be useful info for people looking outside the mainstream too.

In summary, any saddle (be it one with an established following or something experimental) is going to suit some people but not others. Just because anyone finds the Brand X Super to be wonderful doesn't mean another random bottom will be happy on it. It not only depends on personal anatomy but riding position, usage profile and plain personal preference too.

Pete.
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Bill Reynolds
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Re: A possibly comfortable saddle...for all...

Post by Bill Reynolds »

The heading of this series of messages to women, who suffer pain while hoping to enjoy cycling while sitting on saddle's of various designs and body materials, includes the word....'possibly'..... The writer of these messages is not a expert on saddles, or cycling in general, but suffers deep pain in my hip area sitting down in any situation, so I felt sorry for all of the women out there searching for a possible saddle that might... JUST... suit their lower body. I am NOT interested in making a issue of the subject, if women cyclists out there read my efforts and it helps them...... GREAT!.......
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