So I need a road saddle to replace the charge spoon I have fitted to my road bike as it's making me sore .
Do you have any recommendations on saddles to look at ?
Regards
Steve
Spoons and scoops on my MTB's and knife's on my road bikes. Like the spoon but a little less material for ones junk to chafe on.
How about a fork though to go with the knife and spoon?
Get your cheeks measured at a Spesh dealer, and try the appropriate width Phenom.
Flashy.... Does that really work or is it more of a gimmick ?
I need to do something as the spoon is not ideal .
Worked for me.
Very comfy.
Your cheeks may vary.
I use Spoons on all my bikes - mtb, cross and road. They just work for me.
I moved from a Spoon to one of the new Fizik Aliantes.
The Specialized measurement system had me on a 143mm, but Fizik's system had me on a 155mm, so I got the 155mm 'Open' Aliante which has the channel in the middle. Works great, would swear I'm quicker overall as I can rotate further forward and get more aero, but maybe that's just post-purchase confirmation bias 😉
The cheaper Aliantes are the Versus or the VX I think, don't come in different widths but I got on pretty well with the Versus on my hire bike in Mallorca, in as much as I spent 5 hours on it without noticing it.
Flashy…. Does that really work or is it more of a gimmick ?
It led to me buying the most uncomfortable saddle I've ever owned. I use Spoons and Scoops. Both good.
Charge spoons on my MTBs, and Madison Flux on my road bike.
They're essentially the same saddle, but the Flux doesn't have the raised stitching Logo.
Over 1500 miles in, and no signs of wear at all (which is more than can be said for the Spoons - but they do get a lot of mud and grit thrown at them)
Spoon on one of my mtbs but phenoms on everything else including road bikes and I'm comfortable. Spesh 143s pretty much all work for me though worth noting that the current phenom doesn't works as well as the older one on my road bike as it's a bit less padded. Fine off road though.
Have you checked the angle & position? Might just need a slight tweak.
I use a spoon for both road & MTB & it's been fine. I even suffered no ill effects doing 111miles at the Taunton Flyer.
Wot PronceJohn says, but substitute Taunton Flyer for Dunwich Dynamo.
WTB Volt on the touring bike and a spoon on the MTB for me. My touring bike is a little more upright than most road bikes though
C2 saddle, Selle Itallia
I have a spoon on my MTB and a Selle Italia SLR gel flow 130 on my road bike. Note that the spoon is almost nothing like the SLR Flow 130 (it hasn't a cut out, and is 145mm wide). I get away with it because my mountainbikes a single speed so I'm rarely in the saddle pedaling for a minute at a time and the saddle is just there to pad out the seatpost a bit. Also you can compensate for a wide saddle by shuffling forwards a bit, but this put more pressure on your notcher, not great really.
There's 3 things that make a saddle fit, or not.
Width - as flashy says, the width of your sit bones tends to dictate this (but it's not the only thing, it's still possible to buy a specialized saddle that wont fit you based on width alone).
Cut out - your flexibility to an extent dictates this, short hip flexors pull your pelvis forward and your notcher into the saddle, which needs relieving with a cut out to compensate.
Shape - some are flat front to back (like the SLR), some have a dip in the middle (like the Flite), generally roadies prefer the latter as it's more supportive, MTBers prefer them flatter to shuffle about on.
The only real way to figure it out is to buy some off ebay and try them until you work out what width, cut out and shape suit you. On the plus side once you've figured out what shape you want then buying really comfy saddles becomes easy! I know anything flat, narrow and with a cut out will probably fit my arse and notcher perfectly.
For reference I'm a big heavy bloke but can touch the floor with my palms when 'touching my toes', yet ride a saddle that would probably imply a skinny person with less flexibility, so you can't really guess it.
Thanks for the replies .
I can ride all day on my MTB fitted with a spoon as like you say you tend to shuffle about and stand up etc .
I'm ok on it for around 30-40 miles on the road bike but after that I can feel it starting to rub and I have to stand up a bit.
I'm not sure if it's level either to be honest, this is made harder by the fact that the stupid d fuse sestpost is the one bolt model which doesn't have much adjustability as the top model ( which would cost me around £100)
I'm going to go into a shop and get measured properly and get a decent saddle .
I had a specialised secteur that had a pretty comfy saddle bit again had never done long distance on it .
I can touch the floor with my fingers when bending over but can't put my palms flat !
I can touch the floor with my fingers when bending over but can’t put my palms flat !
To be fair, today I can do it with my right hand only as there's a great big swollen lump on my left hamstring, might have pulled it a smidgen!
I like Spoons but prefer the 143mm Specialized Toupe on my road bike and a 143mm Specialized Avatar on my tourer/gravel bike
spoon shallow on cx bike, spoon radius on MTB. I had a scoop which was comfy but found that the stitching was damaging my shorts so much prefer the smooth top on the Fabric saddles.
As an alternative, have you looked at your choice of shorts / chamois? I find that makes more of a difference to my all-day comfort than the saddle.
I have always thought that saddle materials make as much difference as shape .I have spoons on a couple of mtbs and although the shape is ok,I always think they are short grabbers so would never use one on any high mileage rides. For me it's got to be a smooth(usually a selle italia) material on the big days,road or off road.
Fizik Aliante on all my road/ CX/ gravel bikes - some are full carbon, some are metal, all are comfy. Gobi on MTBs.
I've just come back from a mainly road tour of Wales on my cross bike, 5 days of 6hrs+ in the saddle. Slapped my old Fizik (Gobi I think) MTB saddle on before I went as I realised it's the most comfortable one I've ever used & the only saddle never to give me any discomfort! Worked a treat. Really not convinced of the necessity of a "road" saddle now! (had a spoon before FTW which was OK but could definitely feel it after a long day in the saddle)
basically what you're saying is it doesn't really fit but as you're not using it that much you don't really notice!I can ride all day on my MTB fitted with a spoon as like you say you tend to shuffle about and stand up etc .
+1 don't need to spend mega-bucks though, the decent DHB one is fine for me!As an alternative, have you looked at your choice of shorts / chamois? I find that makes more of a difference to my all-day comfort than the saddle.
Fabric scoop shallow or brooks c15. I have a spoon on my HT and find these two on my road bikes suit my sit bones
As an alternative, have you looked at your choice of shorts / chamois? I find that makes more of a difference to my all-day comfort than the saddle.
In true are fashion I would disagree as it's all about the saddle for me and only use padded shorts on rides > 100km. (When I was road riding regularly)
I have a Fabric Scoop Pro shallow in my road bike. Great saddle.
Original Flite Titanium or Aliante have similar scoop as the Spoon
I find the Spoon very comfy but it's a bit of a lump. I've a Charge Knife on both my mountain bikes now. What a discovery, after years and years of struggling to find the right saddle I thankfully no longer have an ass like a baboon 🙂