Short nose saddles vs. classic saddles

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DaveS
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Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:26 pm
Location: Loveland Colorado

by DaveS

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Sat Dec 07, 2019 2:57 pm
DaveS wrote:
Sat Dec 07, 2019 2:24 pm
The saddle shouldn't be used to control the bike in corners. That's what handlebars are for.

The bars are for initiating and maintaining a lean via countersteer. Even if you don't realize it, the rest of your body is shifting weight and utilizing stabilization techniques.
Perhaps, but there is no reason to do anything deliberate with your butt or thighs to descend quickly and safely. Any saddle that's comfortable will also work for descending.

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naylor343
Posts: 483
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:46 pm
Location: Haute-Ariege, Midi-Pyrenees

by naylor343

Arione to pro stealth, no change to control on descents. If anything it is better as on really long descents, up to 20km+ you can stay low and in the drops with more comfort.

andreas
Posts: 296
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2014 10:21 pm

by andreas

I have relatively narrow width between my seat bones, so saddles like Romin are extremely painful to me.
Been using Selle San Marco Aspide Carbon Aspide Carbon FX and Selle Italia Flow SLR Carbonio kit for many years, which I find fairly similar.
But the nose has caused some numbness issues on long rides when in the dropbars.

So I tried Specialized Power, which gave me hamstring issues because of my big legs. Tried to aquire the ARC version which is supposedly narrower, but it wasn't available here so I ended up ordering the Selle San Marco Shortfit Carbon FX, which I have been extremely happy with for this season. My only complaint is that it should be available in some livelier colors like the Supacaz color schemes https://supacaz.com/category/saddles/ .

Wingnut
Posts: 2196
Joined: Sat Jun 23, 2007 12:41 am

by Wingnut

naylor343 wrote:
Sat Dec 07, 2019 5:07 pm
Arione to pro stealth, no change to control on descents. If anything it is better as on really long descents, up to 20km+ you can stay low and in the drops with more comfort.
I like the look of the full carbon Pro Stealth but seems pricey compared to the Berk etc saddles...

SandwichNP
Posts: 61
Joined: Sat Nov 16, 2019 3:22 pm

by SandwichNP

To you people that are more knowledgable than I...are there more differences in these short nosed saddles besides having a shorter nose? Are they flatter or have higher tails?

Just curious as I search for saddles if I need to find a "power" style saddle, or if a saddle with a good profile that has a shorter nose will work.

BdaGhisallo
Posts: 3261
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:38 pm

by BdaGhisallo

SandwichNP wrote:
Wed Dec 11, 2019 7:16 pm
To you people that are more knowledgable than I...are there more differences in these short nosed saddles besides having a shorter nose? Are they flatter or have higher tails?

Just curious as I search for saddles if I need to find a "power" style saddle, or if a saddle with a good profile that has a shorter nose will work.
Short nosed saddle have as much variation in the shape and dimensions as do normal length traditional saddles. Some are flatter (Spec Power) and some are more rounded in the back (Spec Power Arc & Fizik Vento Argo). Some have narrow noses (Spec Power) and some have very wide noses (Pro Stealth).

As with any other saddle hunt, you're best off narrowing down potential options based on characteristics you and your backside like or don't like and then doing some experimenting.

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petert123
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Location: London, UK

by petert123

BdaGhisallo wrote:
Wed Dec 11, 2019 8:21 pm
Short nosed saddle have as much variation in the shape and dimensions as do normal length traditional saddles. Some are flatter (Spec Power) and some are more rounded in the back (Spec Power Arc & Fizik Vento Argo). Some have narrow noses (Spec Power) and some have very wide noses (Pro Stealth).
Would tend to agree with this, from my earlier post in this thread I've now returned the Fizik Vento - think it was just a too big a step, back was too wide for me, plus the nose seemed much wider also.

Patb095
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 11:32 pm

by Patb095

BdaGhisallo wrote:
SandwichNP wrote:
Wed Dec 11, 2019 7:16 pm
To you people that are more knowledgable than I...are there more differences in these short nosed saddles besides having a shorter nose? Are they flatter or have higher tails?

Just curious as I search for saddles if I need to find a "power" style saddle, or if a saddle with a good profile that has a shorter nose will work.
Short nosed saddle have as much variation in the shape and dimensions as do normal length traditional saddles. Some are flatter (Spec Power) and some are more rounded in the back (Spec Power Arc & Fizik Vento Argo). Some have narrow noses (Spec Power) and some have very wide noses (Pro Stealth).

As with any other saddle hunt, you're best off narrowing down potential options based on characteristics you and your backside like or don't like and then doing some experimenting.

That’s right and there’s nothing more personal than the choice of a saddle on a bike.


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Philbar72
Posts: 185
Joined: Tue Sep 17, 2013 9:47 am

by Philbar72

pro stealth user here. its better than the power series as it allows you to move around slightly, but also on the drops and in a position where you are on the rivet and descending it really gives you a lot of stability. its such a good design.

i had a specialized power saddle, and outer edges were a bit rough on my bits and bobs.

i also use a pro falcon on the climbing bike, and its also decent. the most comfortable liege bastogne liege i've ever done was on this saddle.

ND4SPD
Posts: 168
Joined: Sat May 19, 2018 4:10 am

by ND4SPD

JayDee81 wrote:
Fri Dec 06, 2019 3:49 pm
SP-01 142 is currently on my bike and it is worse than these two saddle for me, but it does dampen vibrations and rough road very good.
What don't you like on SP-01 142?
JayDee81 wrote:
Fri Dec 06, 2019 3:49 pm
Dimension 143 is sitting next to my bike and tomorrow I am going to test it for the first time, so I can give some feedback after that.
Give us feedback :)
bikeboy1tr wrote:
Sat Dec 07, 2019 3:22 pm
I am not sure if the SMP is in that class of shortnose saddles with the way the nose drops downward.
I think it's somewhere between short nose and classic.

PrimO
Posts: 144
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:49 pm

by PrimO

I went from using Prologo Kappa PAS on all my bikes to Prologo Dimension (143) on all of them. I had been using the kappa for years but last year started to suffer from numbness on longer rides and so started researching a new saddle and came across the Dimension. Its 35mm shorter than the Kappa but the same width although has a slightly flatter profile and considerably thinner padding. I bought one used on ebay and tried it out and loved it and in the following months bought two more for my other road bikes. I can now cycle for hours with zero numbness issues. It also weighed in approx 80g less than the Kappa which is always a good thing.

I have an Aliexpress copy of the Pro stealth on my fixed tail 29er and get on very well with it also however my MTB rides are usually only an hour or two at most.

Js2
Posts: 194
Joined: Mon May 08, 2017 6:55 pm

by Js2

HShimada wrote:
Sat Dec 07, 2019 8:14 am
I found that I use the tip of the saddle way more than I realize. Especially noticed when I tried an S-Works Power saddle. I wanted to move forwards once in a while and it wasn't there. Very happy with the more classic "Romin Evo"
same here. The power was really good for the first 2 weeks, then it went to hell for me. Back to the romin evo

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JayDee81
Posts: 407
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:45 pm
Location: Czech Republic

by JayDee81

So I've done a 2.5 h ride outside and 3 rides on trainer 1.3 h long on the Dimension saddle. I am gonna try it once more outside, but so far I can say that it isn't for me. I've played with the tilt and fore aft position a bit and couldn't get it to work. It causes me perineal pressure after 10+ minutes which makes my parts numb and also is pretty hard on my sitting bones after some 30+ minutes. The perineal pressure was problem both outside and on trainer, while the sit bones problem I have only on the trainer.

Dannnnn
Posts: 230
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2018 1:00 pm

by Dannnnn

Love my S-Works Power.
Brilliant for running aggressive positions without causing pain/numbness etc

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Smitty2k1
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2019 9:15 pm

by Smitty2k1

PrimO wrote:
Fri Dec 13, 2019 4:43 pm
I went from using Prologo Kappa PAS on all my bikes to Prologo Dimension (143) on all of them. I had been using the kappa for years but last year started to suffer from numbness on longer rides and so started researching a new saddle and came across the Dimension. Its 35mm shorter than the Kappa but the same width although has a slightly flatter profile and considerably thinner padding. I bought one used on ebay and tried it out and loved it and in the following months bought two more for my other road bikes. I can now cycle for hours with zero numbness issues. It also weighed in approx 80g less than the Kappa which is always a good thing.

I have an Aliexpress copy of the Pro stealth on my fixed tail 29er and get on very well with it also however my MTB rides are usually only an hour or two at most.
Can you share a link to the aliexpress one you bought? I always have the hardest time finding things on that site. Interested in trying out some new saddles without dropping serious money.

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