Nat’s trying a new saddle to move from “sores” to “soars”

My beloved road bike, Ethyl, is now twelve years old. Twelve years of a fair amount of cycling.

I was so pleased with my MS Bike Tour I didn’t want to talk about the downside. Mild irritation in the crease of my left inner thigh Day 1 turned into a full blown saddle sore Day 2. I had a tear about the length of my thumb that took a week to heal.

I had used chamois cream and wore good bibs. I wasn’t completely surprised it happened. Lately that one spot got a bit hot on even the shortest rides.

Michel has been gently cajoling me for years to upgrade my saddle. It’s the first customization most cyclists make, investing in a better saddle for a more comfortable ride.

My posture on the bike is not terribly aggressive. I adopt closer to a touring profile rather than a racing postures. My handlebars are even with my saddle so no need for a shorter saddle snout.

I was dropping Michel’s bike off for new tires at To Wheels so I asked Andrew for a recommendation.

We looked at my current saddle size. It had been working for me until this year.

There are many choices to make. My goal was to get as narrow a profile as possible to reduce how much my legs rub against the side of the saddle.

I settled on Specialized’s Women’s Romin Evo Comp with MIMIC. Andrew recommended going up from a 143 mm to a 155mm for how most folks sit and the geometry.

It was about $150 Canadian, taxes in. There are plenty of more advanced and expensive options but I’m not that kind of athlete.

Once home, I had a bit of a challenge getting my old saddle off the bike. It was quite rusted on.

After failing to loosen the fastener I sprayed it with WD-40 because, in my heart of hearts, I’m an engineer. Engineers know if something isn’t moving, and it should, always try WD-40.

The magic juice loosened everything up and I was able to swap saddles. I had remembered to measure the distance from my bars to my saddle and recreated the geometry of my set up.

I hopped on my bike for a quick rip around my neighbourhood. It definitely felt weird. To be fair, my old saddle was worn out and my butt is used to that. Andrew had warned me it would take a few weeks to adjust to it as well as for the saddle to break in. He also reassured me that for the first 30 days I could bring it back for exchange if the size or style didn’t work for me.

I seem to have installed it far enough back and straight. Yay!

So here’s to soaring along without hot spots. I’m giving it a good test today as I try a 100 km Populaire .