London Fixed-gear and Single-speed SJS Cycles

haven't calmed down yet then :-)

the wider team pro is much more comfortable than the swallow/swift.
but the rails don't allow the saddle to move as far back which is why i'm not swapping my ti swift for one.
i have a steel team pro that i used for the dynamo with cheap shorts and udder creme 130 miles with no problem.

try some assos creme before you ditch the saddle though as this will stop the friction. also padded shorts vary massively from a thin bit of foam to a proper long distance pad like the assos mille (which i have) cannondale/assos/descente/gore/nike/castelli etc use good chamois pads but expect to pay £40+ for anything decent.

Nalini bibs £15, if you're into that kind of thing..
http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=C8185

nimbles

as a slight expansion on the HTFU theme if it's been a while since you've done that distance then i think you would have had some discomfort whatever saddle you were using.

There is a degree of 'conditioning' the extremities to longer distances. Perspiration can compound this and stuff like nappy cream or chamois butter acts as a barrier to prevent salty abrasions

+1

Even after a fortnight's holiday I have to recondition my arse for a week before I'm back to a comfortable commute.

3 pictures.

Well if you are looking for someone to sell it to, I'm your man. PM me a price, and I'll see if I can afford it.

Ghost car!!

yeah i think greasy slag only crashed cos of those ghost cars on that bend - spooky

i dreamed about cycling all night... and kick my wife twice... and now my legs are not talking to me

+1 it's too easy to blame the gear, Nimmo. if you get another saddle and do 5 hour rides it'll still hurt until you do more riding, it's as simple as that. I know you've not these distances before, or this kind of time in the saddle.

be thankful you even got there at all, for a novice you did really well and you should be happy with the achievement.

STFU HTFU PTFO GTFOTC

Fantastic ride yesterday. Jonny, cheers for organising that, top ride and a beautiful day for it! Greasy hope you're back on the bike soon.

yeah, well, thanks for all the advice, you may be right, as i haven't done THAT kind of distance before, it's true. BUT, i regularly do 15-25 miles, and the saddle kills me on that too.
and yesterday, it wasn't just discomfort, it was actually having to get off the bike every 2 miles and jump around in pain - as Prav will confirm.
it just doesn't seem quite right to me. i will get some better padded shorts, yes, but i shouldn't need to cream up my buttocks just to do 20 miles, now should i?

i've been suspecting for a few weeks that the swallow is not for me, i mgith be too heavy for it -it does bend like a fucker when i sit on it

cheers - are they any good then?

I just buy used ones off ebay to try them out. If they fit, keep them. If not, put them back on ebay. Found the SLRs my new fave over Selle Italia Flite but you really need to find out which saddle shape matches your arse. Generally the popular ones are Brooks, Flite, San Marco Rolls, SLR and the Fizik Arione. Most others are just cheaper/expensive variations on those shapes and styles.

Saddle positioning is also key. If it is the right saddle in the wrong place you will do yourself no favours. Trial and error.

I don't know. I don't like bibs.
But they are a reputable brand and so damn cheap it'd be a good starting point.

weedio:

james if you want to borrow a well broken in team pro to try you are more than welcome to.
when buying shorts try to find a picture of the pad some are very rudimentary, just a bit of foam. i think you get what you pay for.
having forked out for a pair of assos i will not be buying cheap shorts again. just ordered some adidas adistar bibs as they were recommended to me along with the cannondale carbon bibs.

Nice shooting PeterD, saves me going on the ride :)

@ Gabes, I see you managed to get your Hed3 sorted, I took those pictures of the pump that fits and the valve 90 degree bend adaptor thing (which you don't need if you just get the right kind of track pump) - but forgot to send them to you !! (been busy!!)

Did you get any Hed3 autosteer ?

nice video peterd
@nimbles,on sat i was running a slr, which i took the padding off, so just a hard carbon shell, my jockey y-fronts and a pair of the same trousers you were wearing (endura humvees) with no padding and my arse was fine.
as hippy said, i think different saddles suit different arses.

this is all very well, but I'm starting to remember the insults the fat train bitch was getting..

heh!

what like "you need a damn good riding"???

Up to a point a hard saddle is more comfortable. Certain parts of your anatomy are out of the way/recessed due to their delicate nature. As soon as you start padding things out to any great extent you allow areas that would normally not make contact with what you are sitting on bear some of your weight.

I have run an old SLR stripped of padding for a while and loved it - did the 2005 L2B on it with an old pair of cut down jeans and got zero bum trouble, my friends who had gel saddle covers on already very soft wide padded saddles and padded shorts had to stop every 5 or 10 miles for an arse break.

I also think that folk who have cycled for a few years naturally tend to shift about on the saddle quite a bit, where as newcomers tend to sit in one position - this can also add to the arse trauma.


Thank you.

Tynan (Professor of Arseology)


- - - - - -

Next week: Balls.

cheers, but not sure when i'll be seeing you next - i just looked up the team pro, and the Ti version costs more than the swallow anyway! crazy money...

i'd be interested to try it, for sure, just not sure if my arse is a brooks arse

Can we do balls early? PLeeeease Professor tynan?

Tynan will be releasing a short educational film on the subject, Broke Arse Mounting

nimbles, i have a fizik arioni you are welcome to try that for a while. quite a few pro's swear by them

I've got a Selle Italia Trans Am you could try. It's wider than their normal saddles and has a cut out middle, ti/carbon rails. It's a bit wide for me but you could test it. I've got white Spesh Toupe as well but you'd have to buy that one :)

sounds like an interesting selection to try there, i'll have to come to west drinks next week. although hippy never goes anymore, right?

yeah, and you might even get your helmet back of prav.

no, my children will just have to grow up fatherless. courtesy of Prav.

I'm waiting for the results of the paternity test... pah!

I'm usually out elsewhere on Thursdays and I'll be off the bike a lot this week and next so you'll need to come to me ;)

mohammed must go to the (man) mountain

Cool video PeterD

On the subject of saddles/arses, saddle height can also make a difference. Too high, and your hips rock, therefore adding to friction.

Of course, this won't hinder everyone. Having sucked jonny's wheel here and there yesterday, he's all high saddle - rocking hips - pointed toes, but hasn't mentioned anything nasty. He's probably got guitar player's callouses on his sit bones, but what he does in the privacy of his own home is his business.

According to the bigger picture, I've got an SLRse, just like hippy. Makes sense really. We're clearly cut from the same cloth.

yeah, great video PeterD


i can't come to the hippy, i'll just wait at the top of one of the surrey hills until he goes past

well yes. i've been tweaking my position for months now, as i can't quite get comfortable on the bike. i'm not sure how comfortable i have a right to expect to be, but i also have a nagging doubt that i haven't got it yet. check out my arse in the above video - how's my position? do my hips ROCK? or is it just that i'm swinging to damn low?

analyse me, the footage is there to do it

You, of all people, should know the inherent dangers of early balls.

Earlier on I thought it looked perfect - maybe so perfect that you stay in exactly the same spot all day and get a pressure sore/blister.

But then at about 3.35, I can see your hips rocking a little, and your toes are pointing down the whole way round the pedal stroke.

So it might be worth dropping the saddle 5mm for an experiment.

But like I mentioned, jonny has the feet of a ballerina and the hips of a fish, so it might be the people-lie-about-how-comfortable-they-are-when-they're-actually-heavy-and-outmoded saddle that's the biggest problem ;)

Thanks for agreeing to take part in the shoot, I know you insist you don't want paying but if I could just cover your medical bills ?

child bearing hips??

I've got those - I used to be the only boy that exited those waterchute things at the lido with bruised hip bones. Fucking freak.

does this mean I'm 'best boy' or will I be 'key grip'

This is the best article I have read on the right saddle height.
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

jonny's saddle though, is taken from a 17th century rocking horse.

it's made of pearwood, or something.

i don't stay in the same spot all day -way too painful. i constantly shift around, trying to find the spot that's less uncomfortable.

interesting that you say i should drop it 5mm, i'll certainly try that. i guess if it's too high there'll be too much weight on my arse?

get a hold of yourself man.

Dunno really. I think 5mm is enough to feel some difference, but not so much that you'll get fucked up by the change.

If your saddle's high enough to make your hips rock, and your toe-down feet are 'resisting' the stretch to any degree, it's basically turning your sit bones into pestles and your saddle into a mortar.

If it's too high you should notice your hips rocking. With a saddle to high you are forced to stretch the foot down and rock arse side to side to get the damn pedals around. This = bad.
What's the saddle tilt like? Is it dead flat, down or up at the front?
Also, is the saddle nose aligned dead straight with the top tube? Generally, most people are more comfortable with the saddle pointed a smidge to one side or the other. My S-Works, for example has the saddle ever so slightly twisted left.

thats 'cos you only have one ball