If you’ve ever experienced numbness or pain down below when riding your bike, then this is the video for you.
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00:00If you've ever experienced numbness or pain down below when riding your bike
00:05then this is the video for you. Today I'm going to talk you through all the
00:10different types of saddles and what exactly they mean for your comfort when
00:14riding your bike and I'm especially going to focus on whether you need to
00:17consider getting a cut out.
00:21There's so much information out there available on saddles so we've partnered
00:30with Specialized to help explain the differences and the design principles
00:34between different seats. Thanks to its body geometry design principle
00:38Specialized has become a global leader when it comes to saddles and this is for
00:44good reason. Body geometry is informed by thousands of bike fit data sets and this
00:49allows Specialized to identify problems that riders are having and then design
00:54solutions for them and those solutions are these saddles. Now in today's video
00:58I'm going to focus on the Specialized Power Saddle, the Specialized Roman Evo
01:02and the Specialized Phenom and that's because these three saddles encompass a
01:07very broad swathe of saddle design and all of them demonstrate different design
01:12principles that help riders become more comfortable. Before we jump into exactly
01:23how different saddles affect your riding experience and whether you need a cut
01:27out or not we actually need to understand what all the different parts
01:30of the saddles do. This is because all the different parts have quite a
01:34determined effect on how comfortable you'll feel and on your riding
01:38experience. Now I often hear lots of riders say that saddle looks so
01:43uncomfortable because it's hard and thin. Now I can promise you that there are
01:48many determining factors in a saddles comfort not just its squishiness.
01:52Starting at the back you have your saddles flare and this is how far the
01:56sides drop off and how steeply they go down. Now saddles can have more flare or
02:01less flare and we have example of saddles here that have both. Then there's
02:07the shelf this is what your sit bones sit on. Now saddles come in a variety of
02:11different widths everything from a hundred and thirty mil all the way
02:15through to a hundred and fifty five mil so there really is a seat for everybody's
02:19bottoms. The upper of a saddle is usually made from a foam or a gel with a
02:24varying level of density however recently brands have started doing
02:28something which is really cool and 3d printing the upper of the saddle. Now
02:33this the specialized power with mirror technology is a great example of that
02:38and it allows brands to sort of tailor the saddle that bit more to a rider's
02:42fit. For example the front of the saddle can be squishier to add comfort in the
02:47soft tissue area whilst the area where the sit bones sit the shelf is that bit
02:52denser to provide more support. Then there's a cut out or lack of cut out as
02:58the case may be but it's common for most saddles to be available in EZer
03:03designs. And then you need to consider the nose as well some saddles have a
03:07very long nose and some saddles have a much shorter nose and this can have a
03:11big impact on how comfortable you find a saddle. Then the final piece of the
03:17puzzle is the saddles profile. Now saddles can either be completely flat or
03:22they can have a curve this is known as a kickback and you can see that this Roman
03:27Evo has a good demonstration of that here.
03:35To work out exactly what type of saddle you need you need to ask yourself a
03:40couple of different questions. The first one revolves around your position on the
03:45bike and how long you ride your bike for whilst the second one you need to ask
03:49yourself do you already experience any saddle discomfort because that can help
03:54you pinpoint exactly what's going wrong. Ask yourself what is your preferred
03:59position on the bike is it being tucked in on the drops and in a really slammed
04:03position or is it riding on the hoods or the tops in a slightly more relaxed one.
04:08Then take a note of how far below your saddle height your handlebars sit
04:13because this will determine how far forward you have to roll in which to
04:17access your preferred position and this will apply pressure from the saddle. Now
04:22this will be increased or decreased depending on your position with more
04:26pressure being applied when you get onto the drops and less pressure being
04:30applied when you're sitting on the tops. Sometimes riders find that when they
04:35assume this position they kind of have to move around quite a lot to get
04:38comfortable or they can't hold it for a very long time and then when they do
04:42hold it they find they start to experience numbness down below. For this
04:47reason the power saddle is a very popular saddle amongst amateurs and
04:52world tour pros alike and if I compare it to the Roman Evo here you can
04:57actually see just how much shorter the nose of this saddle is. Now having a
05:03short nose people find that comfortable for quite a few reasons but the main one
05:07is that if you have a long nose you can sit on it when you roll forward and it
05:12can inhibit you from finding your preferred position or even apply
05:16pressure when you're tilted or rotated forward whereas when it's chopped off
05:20that's not there to apply that pressure so it works as a really useful pressure
05:25relief. However not all riders like to have a saddle with a short nose because
05:30you might be the type of rider that likes to move around on their saddle
05:33when they're assuming different positions. In this case you're going to
05:37need to look for a saddle range which has a high amount of variety because
05:40you'll want something with a long nose but also with a cutout to relieve
05:45pressure when you assume that forward position. So going back to that second
05:50question we need to ask ourselves is are we already experiencing any pain or
05:55discomfort from our saddle because actually identifying and isolating that
05:59pain can be a really useful diagnostic tool in helping us understand exactly
06:04what shape and design saddle suits us the best. For example if you are
06:10experiencing numbness you should definitely try a saddle with a shorter
06:14nose and with a cutout. Now cutouts help relieve pressure down below in your soft
06:19tissue area and most importantly help improve blood flow so they should really
06:23work quite nicely to remove some of that numbing feeling you might be
06:27experiencing. If you're experiencing pinching you should consider getting a
06:31saddle with a greater amount of flare this is how steeply it falls away from
06:36the top of the saddle. Now this supports your body as it goes away rather than
06:41creating a shelf which perfectly flat saddles can do which can pinch your skin.
06:45Also if you're experiencing lower back pain when you're riding your bike
06:50consider getting one with a greater amount of kickback. This is because if
06:55you're riding a flat saddle and you've got back pain your glutes actually have
06:59to tense up to support your back rather than being able to put out the wattage
07:03you require when you're cycling along. By having a kickback that does the role
07:08that your glutes are currently playing and supports your lower back not only
07:12making you more comfortable but giving you access to some more watts. There's a
07:16reason Peter Sagan loves the saddle with a high amount of kickback. Finally if you
07:23feel discomfort through your sit bones after a couple of hours of riding it's a
07:27sign that you're potentially not being supported enough by your saddle and in
07:31this case you might want to look at going for a wider option. Now specialised
07:36ranges all have a massive variety and this Phenom that I'm holding in my hand
07:40here is a really wide 168 mil so there is truly something for everyone. The
07:46place to start however is to measure your sit bones. Now there are guides to
07:50this online but your best bet is absolutely going into a store and asking
07:55for some help because it is a little bit tricky.
08:01A lot of time has been spent discussing saddle soreness amongst men and for that
08:09reason saddle technology has advanced as a solution. However solutions like
08:14cutouts to relieve pressure aren't necessarily going to work as well for
08:18women. Now I'm absolutely not best placed to discuss this so I'm going to hand
08:23over to Michelle to help explain the ins and outs of it. I've yet to lead a
08:29beginner women's ride or be part of a women's cycling Facebook or Whatsapp
08:33group where conversation isn't at some point dominated by talk about saddle
08:38discomfort. Former British cycling physio Phil Burt put it very very well when he
08:43said to me there are more varied presentations of soft tissue among women
08:48than men and as a result it can be harder for women sometimes to find the
08:52right saddle. That doesn't mean that it is impossible there are very many women
08:57saddles out there as well as some unisex saddles that some women will find
09:01very comfortable. As an example the Specialized Power saddle was initially
09:06developed with Evelyn Stevens when she was riding for Bells Dolmans. It was a
09:10saddle designed to help her get into an aerodynamic tucked position with a
09:14forward rotation without soft tissue discomfort. It just so happened that many
09:20men found they also got on with that saddle which is how it became known as a
09:24unisex saddle. For some women the cutout can become a problem however and this is
09:29predominantly caused by the harsh border of the edge of the cutout. Now
09:34recognizing this as a problem Specialized uses body geometry data and
09:38it developed what it calls mimic technology. This is a soft insert which
09:43mimics the biological entities of soft tissue. This layer is designed to provide
09:49the comfort of a pressure relief channel or cutout without the danger of falling
09:53into the recess. So all the principles that Rupert already described earlier in
09:59this video, listening to your body, working out where you're currently
10:03experiencing pain and using that as a tool to inform your future saddle
10:06choices applies. If the saddle cutout feels that it's not roomy enough look
10:11for a cutout that is much wider. If you're finding that you're falling into
10:15it then something like mimic technology might well be the answer for you. One
10:20other thing that women should be aware of is that because of the basic
10:24biological requirements of childbirth in general women have wider hips and also
10:29wider sit bones. Now the reason that you want to have a saddle that is wide
10:33enough at the rear is that you want to provide enough support for your sit
10:36bones. If there isn't enough support for your sit bones what can happen is the
10:40pelvis twists very slightly and this can create issues that would effectively
10:44mimic a leg length discrepancy which means that one leg is having to stretch
10:48further to reach the pedals than the other and that can have a ricochet
10:53effect throughout your bike fit. To find out if your saddle is wide enough for
10:58your sit bones many local bike shops will have a tool that allow you to
11:01measure this and then choose the saddle accordingly. So there you go those are
11:06the things I think are really important if you are considering buying a women's
11:09saddle or looking for one that will help you alleviate pain you're experiencing.
11:14So do you need a cutout saddle? Well as this video has probably shown you there's a lot
11:21at play when it comes to finding the right saddle for your riding. However I
11:25hope this video has helped you determine exactly what type you need and whether
11:30you do need a cutout saddle. If you have any further questions do leave them in
11:35the comments section below and I'll do my best to answer them for you and if
11:39you have found this video useful give us a thumbs up and do subscribe to the
11:43channel it really does help us out. Now I'll be back soon with some more great
11:47tech content and I'll see you then.