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 varying
02:24level of density however recently brands have started doing something which is
02:28really cool and 3d printing the upper of the saddle. Now this the Specialized
02:34Power with mirror technology is a great example of that and it allows brands to
02:39sort of tailor the saddle that bit more to a riders fit. For example the front of
02:44the saddle can be squishier to add comfort in the soft tissue area whilst
02:49the area where the sit bones sit the shelf is that bit denser to provide more
02:54support. Then there's a cutout or lack of cutout as the case may be but it's
03:00common for most saddles to be available in ESA designs. And then you need to
03:04consider the nose as well some saddles have a very long nose and some saddles
03:09have a much shorter nose and this can have a big impact on how comfortable you
03:14find a saddle. Then the final piece of the puzzle is the saddles profile. Now
03:20saddles can either be completely flat or they can have a curve this is known as a
03:24kickback and you can see that this Roman Evo has a good demonstration of that
03:30here. To work out exactly what type of saddle you need you need to ask yourself
03:40a couple of different questions. The first one revolves around your position
03:44on the bike and how long you ride your bike for whilst the second one you need
03:49to ask yourself do you already experience any saddle discomfort because
03:54that can help you pinpoint exactly what's going wrong. Ask yourself what is
03:58your preferred position on the bike is it being tucked in on the drops and in a
04:03really slam position or is it riding on the hoods or the tops in a slightly more
04:07relaxed one. Then take a note of how far below your saddle height your handlebars
04:12sit because 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 actually
04:57see just how much shorter the nose of this saddle is. Now having a short nose
05:03people find that comfortable for quite a few reasons but the main one is that if
05:08you have a long nose you can sit on it when you roll forward and it can inhibit
05:13you from finding your preferred position or even apply pressure when you're
05:17tilted or rotated forward whereas when it's chopped off that's not there to
05:21apply that pressure so it works as a really useful pressure relief. However
05:26not all riders like to have a saddle with a short nose because you might be
05:30the type of rider that likes to move around on their saddle when they're
05:34assuming different positions. In this case you're going to need to look for a
05:37saddle range which has a high amount of variety because you'll want something
05:41with a long nose but also with a cutout to relieve pressure when you assume that
05:47forward position. So going back to that second question we need to ask
05:52ourselves is are we already experiencing any pain or discomfort from our saddle
05:57because actually identifying and isolating that pain can be a really
06:01useful diagnostic tool in helping us understand exactly what shape and design
06:06saddle suits us the best. For example if you are experiencing numbness you should
06:11definitely try a saddle with a shorter nose and with a cutout. Now cutouts
06:17help relieve pressure down below in your soft tissue area and most
06:20importantly help improve blood flow so they should really work quite nicely to
06:24remove some of that numbing feeling you might be experiencing. If you're
06:29experiencing pinching you should consider getting a saddle with a greater
06:32amount of flare. This is how steeply it falls away from the top of the saddle.
06:37Now this supports your body as it goes away rather than creating a shelf which
06:42perfectly flat saddles can do which can pinch your skin. Also if you're
06:47experiencing lower back pain when you're riding your bike consider getting one
06:51with a greater amount of kickback. This is because if you're riding a flat
06:56saddle and you've got back pain your glutes actually have to tense up to
07:00support your back rather than being able to put out the wattage you require when
07:04you're cycling along. By having a kickback that does the role that your
07:08glutes are currently playing and supports your lower back not only making
07:12you 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 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 Specialized
07:36Rangers 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.
07:58A 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 cut
08:14outs 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 very
09:02comfortable. 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
10:16it 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
10:45mimic 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
11:06things 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
11:20lot at 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.