It's all in the saddle..

The more miles I've been putting into the bike - and the niggles were starting up again. First my back, then my knee, and the worse bit - saddle sores. Eek! Like any endurance sport, the more miles you put in, that's when you start noticing those annoying pain. Leave them for too long and pretty soon you'll realise you're down with an injury and have to take time off. With the summer racing season around the corner, I needed a solution - and a quick one too. 


Being a big believer of getting the right fit on the bike, I kept on asking my coach if I looked alright on the bike. Everything looked fine - stem length was right, seat height was right, fore/aft distance was right, cleats were in the right position- but those niggles were a constant nag. I didn't want to sound too whiney, but yet it was a constant bother. And with the increased number of miles on my new training program - it was a love hate relationship with my bike. 

"Specialized test saddles" (got mine from BikeNow)

Well the saddle sores were a sign - and I knew it had something to do with the saddle. I had read on the internet once how the wrong saddle could be a cause for back pain as well. With the new Specialized test saddles in store at BikeNow, manager James Storer soon got me onto an ass-o-meter to find the right width saddle. 


The cool thing about the test saddles were that they had the standard sizes printed up the top - 130cm, 143 cm and 155 cm.  And within each size, there were various different types of saddles too - some with longer noses, some with more gel padding, and some which were a lot more racier. Once I had the correct width sorted out, I started testing out the saddles one after another. The knee pain and back pain immediately went away!! Brilliant! Now it was about finding the most comfortable one. With my racing, I spend a lot of my time in the drops and hence the nose length and width mattered a lot too. After a couple of weeks of trying -I've finally found my perfect one!  And just like that, with a snap of the fingers, my longer rides were a lot more nicer and a lot more fun too. 


Finding the right saddle is like finding the perfect running shoe. My perfect running shoe may not be your perfect one. I've got really flat feet, whereas you might have a really high arch. Just like shoes, you can't really read reviews about saddles and randomly pick one. Ok, sometimes you might be lucky - especially if you're a guy as a lot of saddles are catered to the boys. The first thing that riders normally question is their bike fit, but very rarely is the correct fitting saddle a point of contention. If the saddle is somewhat comfortable, most riders would settle for it - and it isn't till the long rides that the niggles become an issue. 


Well, I certainly learnt a number of things throughout this process: did you know that a saddle too narrow can force you to lean onto one side and aggrevate one knee? or not support your pelvis and start pushing on pressure points that cause back pain? or a nose too wide that starts causing chafing around those important bits? 


Different brands would work for different riders and just like runners, every rider would have their favourite saddle brand and type. It's cool that Specialized do test saddles with the try before you buy approach. Just like walking into a shoe store and trying out a pair of runners. And certainly, the guys at BikeNow for being ever so patient in helping me get the right fit. So if you're going through that finding the right saddle for your bike, I'd certainly recommend trying out one of those test saddles. It's certainly made a world of difference for me - I used to dread those long training rides, but definitely looking forward to the 100-k-er this weekend!