Does it exist?

In the past 10 years:
SDG Belair Cromo X3:Comfortable, horrendous creak, fell apart
SDG Belair Ti:Comfortable, horrendous creak, fell apart
Fizik Gobi XM X2:Horrifically uncomfortable, rail snapped
Sunline V1:Rail snapped
Charge Spoon:Horrendous creak, not very comfortable
Charge Scoop:Comfortable, horrendous creak
WTB something or other(I forget):Very uncomfortable

Probably several others I have forgotten about.

Tried all the tricks, greasing rails, taping rails, different seatposts, correct torque, correct angle/position, had backside measured for correct fit.

Whilst comfort is a personal thing, why do most saddles (that are not that cheap) either creak or fall apart? Has anyone had success with any newer brands like Ergon? The Belair’s are really comfortable for me, are the newer models just as creaky, do they still fall apart?

What saddles are you riding these days?

I find specialized saddles both comfy and well made.

I find specialized saddles both comfy and well made.

Any particular model?

Best saddle I ever had was a Syncros AM saddle, still running after 5 Yrs, no rips or tears and super comfy with no creaking. I just condition the leather a few times a year.

spesh here also. Phenom for me. They have a bum-o-meter to sit on to get the right width at dealers.

155mm henge at present. and a old alium on my tourer.

bum-o-meter

😆

need a new saddle may have a look at Spesh’s options

Legends are left untouched…at most they are refined.

Flite titanium – I have about 5 of them ..

tang – Member
spesh here also. Phenom for me. They have a bum-o-meter to sit on to get the right width at dealers.

Bum-o-meters need to be operated by fully qualified arseologists

People that have tried the flite Ti, how does it compare to a fizik Gobi?

I reckon the flite would look awesome on my Ritchey but I don’t want to sacrifice any comfort!

My Gobi XM is certainly more comfy than my old Flite Ti (10 years old). There’s more flex in the main shell and the padding is a bit softer. Better shape too.

I am using ISM’s on all the bikes now – revelation in comfort IMO

everyone – Member

People that have tried the flite Ti, how does it compare to a fizik Gobi?

I reckon the flite would look awesome on my Ritchey but I don’t want to sacrifice any comfort!

I’ve had both. Found both comfortable, but the Gobi a bit more so. Gobi was on a bike that was stolen, would have bought another to go on the replacement, however the SDG Duster that it came with has been fine so have not seen fit to replace with another Gobi yet, or the 16 year old Flite I have in the shed (which is earmarked for my new CX).

For reference also spent a fair bit of time on a SDG BelAir which I did not get on with. Never had a noticeable problem with saddle creak on any of my saddles.

I’ve somehow ended up with Bontrager Evoke saddles on two of my bikes.

They don’t look very comfy or sophisticated (quite firm in fact) but they’ve actually pretty unobtrusive and sturdy, don’t creak and don’t knacker waterproof shorts (no raised stitching).

Spesh Body Geometry for me. I’ve got an Avatar Comp on my road bike and whatever it is that came with my Stumpjumper when I bought it (no name on it, but it’s a Spesh BG one).

Or a WTB Rocket saddle; the one I had was really comfy, but quite lardy (it was really cheap though).

2nd for WTB rocket. Like an armchair pushed onto the back of it. Heavy but my arse thanks me.

OP I have nothing to add except I am glad it’s not just me.

On my road bike I have had similar issues. The original Madison Prime was dead comfy. However when I snapped the rails on my 2nd one I thought I’d try something else. Didn’t get on with a Charge Spoon that I had lying around the garage (dunno why it was always fine on the MTB).

My LBS arsologist measured me and recommended a Ti railed Spesh Toupe. The first one lasted about 6 weeks before the underside plastic / carbon support split either side of the cutout. Similar thing happened to the replacement Toupe after 4 weeks, so LBS recommended I try a Spesh Romin. This fared better in that it took about 3 months to split that one in a similar manner.

Next I demo’d a Fizik something but that was really uncomfortable. Finally I demo’d a Fabric Scoop. This was a keeper. But to add insult to injury I managed to get done by a speeding camera driving to the LBS to return the Fizik and pick up the demo Scoop (yes I guess I should have ridden but in my defence I was short of time and my closest decent LBS is over 30 mins drive away)…

I won’t recommend Selle Italia C2 Gel Flow saddles.Currently on my third one as the previous two have rails that couldn’t handle 12 stone. If this one breaks, which I am expecting, I think i’ll be looking at a Spesh saddle, from looking at this thread.

A Brooks Colt has lasted me for 12 years on my Audax bike and a Brooks B17 a similar time on another road bike

Bum-o-meters need to be operated by fully qualified arseologists

Plenty of those in one of my LBS.

I’ve had both. Found both comfortable, but the Gobi a bit more so.

Not going to lie, I was definitely hoping that you’d say the flite was superior in every way! I might get one just to see.

everyone – Member

I’ve had both. Found both comfortable, but the Gobi a bit more so.

Not going to lie, I was definitely hoping that you’d say the flite was superior in every way! I might get one just to see.

Would be rude not to try one.

TBH after coming off the BelAir the Gobi felt like a favorite armchair so this may have skewed my comparison with the Flite which has always just felt good. Both the Gobi and Flite were/are the standard models, no fancy gel padding or carbon rails. Not sure if the Flite would look ‘right’ on my Zesty, hence if I did replace the Duster I’d buy another Gobi (and the Flite will have a home soon anyway).

Legends are left untouched…at most they are refined.

Like it! I had one of those on my Zaskar LE 1997, it was the business!!!

I don’t get on with saddles that are multi-panel or have grippy material so the scoop feels really nice but the creaking sounds like something catastrophic has happened!

Interesting that people rave about the Gobi saddles but sadly they don’t work at all for me and crippled me on rides longer than 10 mins.

Lots seem to like Specialized in terms of comfort but sounds like they drop to bits too?

Anyone out there used the Ergon saddles? Some say their build quality is superb.

Great opinions and input, keep ’em coming.

I never got on with mine on my road bike and it was fine on my mtb (before my gobi).

My bank account (and bank manager) dislike you!

IME if you put some grease in the rail entry points on the scoop the creeking disappears

I have had no trouble at all with SDG Bel Air Ti. Have had a few on various bikes over the last >10 years I guess. Only get dumped when the kevlar corners wear out and the insides fall out but this usually takes a few years which I don’t find unacceptable.

I like my superstar Hex, but never heard of anyone else that uses one…..

Chose wisely otherwise scarring occurs and erectile problems will arise.

No more smashing the curves and turns on your ladies body..

IME if you put some grease in the rail entry points on the scoop the creeking disappears

Tried that, didn’t make any difference. Shouldn’t have to do that though should we? It’s either a dodgy design or poor build quality.

Only happened on one and I’m running 3 scoops.

Only happened on one and I’m running 3 scoops.

1 in 3 creak, not very good odds! Wonder why some creak so badly and others don’t at all when they all come from the same factory.