 
Cycling Saddles
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Cycling saddles are important because if you choose the wrong one you'll beSore most every time you ride. Make sure it has a narrow nose and a standard-width back. If the nose is too wide it will rub the insides of your thighs. Avoid extra-narrow mountain bike saddles; they allow mountain bike riders toslip their weight easily behind the saddle on steep downhills but theloss of contact area can become painful quickly. There are wider cycling saddlesfor women, whose pelvis is shaped differently.
Surprisingly, feeling the padding of a saddle for softness does not saymuch about whether the saddle is comfortable. Cycling saddles usually consist ofa hard shell, padded with foam with a flexible plastic cover. Thethickness of the foam padding does not make a lot of difference forcomfort because there are only two small contact points where bone meetsthe saddle. Even gel padding is only marginally better than foam. It'smore important whether the plastic shell is completely rigid, which isnot good, or whether it is flexible and held in shape by the two railsthat the saddle is mounted on, especially if these rails are themselvesflexible.
Some people swear by leather Brooks saddles, which work by the sameprinciple except that the leather stretches more than plastic and so therail mounting needs to be re-tightened occasionally. The leather needsto be rubbed frequently with oil at first so it is soft enough to changeits shape to adjust to the shape of your pelvis, and must be protectedfrom rain. Once you get past the initial months it's said to be theperfect saddle, but I prefer not to go through all the trouble.
One of the best saddles I have used is the regular racing Flite, whichhas next to no padding but a flexible shell and soft Titanium rails. Inormally avoid the Titanium hype but this is a really useful application. Titanium is much softer than steel. Unfortunately you can't adjust the tension, so after a couple of years it sags and becomes unusable.
The saddle height is very important. If it's too low, you have much lessstrength when pedaling, and if it's too high you'll rub your thighssore. Adjust the height until you can pedal backwards with the heels ofyour shoes on the pedals, with fully stretched knees but still touchingthe pedal when the pedal is in the bottom position, without rocking yourhips. The position must be exact to about five millimeters (1/5 inch). Iprefer the standard angle where a bar laid on the nose and back of thesaddle, parallel to the top tube, is horizontal, but some people preferthe nose slightly up or down.
Content by Thomas Driemeyer, www.bitrot.deEdited by Reg Gupton, gupton@growthseminars.com
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