11/25/2023 0 Comments Best endurance saddle“We are working on a more robust decision tree to help riders make that decision, but ultimately it comes down to letting people ride the saddle for five to seven days-that is the true test.”įinding a shape of saddle that works for is very dependent on your riding experience. “How can you work out which saddle you need? It is a complicated question to answer,” Garrett admits. Saddles need to be the correct width and shape to provide support to the appropriate areas so that relief can be given elsewhere for comfort. How can you find the right saddle for you? “It’s not one size saddle fits you and one size fits you, it’s more complicated than that, and has a lot to do with your personal anatomy and your riding position,” says Garrett. Specialized’s Beyond Gender ethos applies to saddles. “We want to make clear that when a man or woman goes to pick a saddle, they don’t have to choose a cutout or one with Mimic technology,” says Garrett. We’re trying to protect soft tissue health in both genders, it’s just way more important for women.” “It’s really interesting that two of our biggest technology platforms were based on 100% input from women and turned into products that guys love,” Garrett says. Instead of a cut out hole with sides that create a harsh edge, Mimic uses multi-layered materials to minimise soft tissue swelling and offer comfort. The answer could well be a Specialized saddle with Mimic technology. “The biggest question that women have with saddles is: do I need a cutout or do I not need a cutout?” Emma says. This is a video on the science behind Mimic technology from a couple of years ago. Soft tissue health is incredibly important in saddle design and the fact that women vary a lot more than men do makes finding a comfortable and supportive saddle tricky. It doesn’t hurt the bones sitting on them for prolonged periods and so cutouts ensure you are just sitting on your pelvis.”īut this solution isn’t so effective for everyone, particularly women, which is why Specialized pushed the boundaries and came back with an alternative that it called Mimic technology. “Saddle design is all about soft tissue health. You are unsupported in the soft tissue areas and this helps protect all the nerves and arteries that run between your sit bones and it aids blood flow. “The idea of having a cut out there is so you don’t have anything pushing back on that soft tissue. “But it could be that the saddle is too wide and the rider wants to sit further forward so that they don’t feel too much support-you can have too much support for sure.” Noses: long or short? If the handlebars are too far away, riders also may just tease themselves forward to take some of the tension off an extended reach. “If a saddle is too high, some riders will tend to sneak forward because that gives you more bend in your knee at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Finding yourself sitting far forward on the saddle could be a positional issue or down to having the wrong saddle, Garrett says. Sitting in the saddle you’re not glued to an exact position. But having a saddle with a wide channel allows you to sit as far forward and still have really good bone support.” “If you have a long nose saddle you will run into a situation where you’re putting a lot of pressure where you don’t want to. As you shift into an aggressive riding position, with a low front end, your pelvis rotates forward. Garrett explains: “When sitting in the commuter position you’re really upright. How do you ride?Īs well as your personal anatomy, different riding positions affect where pressure is applied and this means different support focuses from the saddle are required. We sat down (virtually) with Specialized’s Saddle Product Manager Garrett Getter and Associate Product Manager Emma Boutcher to understand these considerations and the science behind recent saddle developments to send you searching in the right direction.
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