I haven’t experienced saddle sores. But I have ridden some miles on a pretty sore butt. I think surviving a 90-hour ride over 750 miles will require that I have a saddle I can live with. So I’ve been focussing on saddle comfort a lot lately.
This weekend I am trying a new saddle. Actually, it’s a very old saddle. A 1980s vintage Brooks Professional. I rode it today on the Winters ride and it felt pretty good.
This saddle replaces my latest, also a Brooks Pro, which is newer, prettier, and tougher. You tend not to see Brooks saddles on carbon bikes. Brooks Pros weigh a ton, in bike terms anyway. Three times as much as the first saddle I had on the Ibis (Fizik).
I got my Brooks Pro by trading someone. I gave him my Selle Anatomica, which is yet another saddle I tried on this bike. He in turn put that on a tandem for his wife, and she loves it. I modified that saddle every way I could and never really took to it.
The Fizik, mentioned above, looked really good on the bike. It’s light, aerodynamic, has titanium rails. And it was really good for rides up to about 70 miles. But that’s about it. I remember standing much of the last 40 miles of the Davis Double Century last year. One day after getting sore on a ride to Folsom this past March, I had enough. I put the newer Brooks on and started trying to break it in. I rode it on the Fleche and other rides. It’s a hard damn saddle. On the other hand, it’s better than the Fizik. The Fizik got more painful as the ride went on. The Brooks was hard right off the bat, but never got worse during a ride.
I have high hopes for this old Brooks Rick is lending me. I guess a 250 mile ride will be a good test. Of course, I’ve also been experimenting with riding shorts and chamois. But that’s another story.