Always used 143mm saddles, usually quite flat, never worn under shorts but suppose my bum got used to it. After a hiatus, back in the saddle now.
Swapped my charge spoon for a fabric scoop and omg that’s uncomfortable.

The pressure down before is uncomfortable at best, so drawn to a phenom with the channel down the centre.
Any users here? Even better if have used a charge spoon too. Like the shape of the spoon but definitely want the relief channel the phenom offers.

Yes. Borrowed a bike with one on. Liked it.

far more comfortable than the spoon on there previously.

We have them on a few bikes. They are very comfy however that’s from a female point of view. Also got a few Henge ones which are also quite good

Do they do a try before you buy?

Depends on your personal arse shape, TBH. Worth getting a test run on one, if Spesh will let you. Ergon saddles are similar.

@martinhutch

bikerevivesheffield
Full Member
Do they do a try before you buy?

The specialized stores used to let you swap them if it wasn’t working out. Don’t know if they still do though.

I use 143 Phenoms on my MTBs. Similar to a Spoon but they last a lot longer. I find that the padding on Spoons (and the Gusset / Madison equivalents) just stops providing any support after a year or so

I have an old worn 152 Phenom on one bike and two 143s, which I re-covered in kangaroo leather (one with a channel and one without).

They last very well.

I don’t wear chamois and I don’t have any issues. That said I probably wouldn’t care if I was sitting on a plank.

Yes, I have the 143 in chameleon to match my bike 🙂
really comfy, no chamois

edit: the carbon rails are oval and you may need to change the clamps as well

@bikerevivessheffield

I’m sure you’ll find this recent thread interesting:

Specialized Phenom vs. Specialized Power Arc

I believe Specialized allow you to return a saddle within 30 days of purchase (presumably it can’t be trashed!) if it’s not comfortable.

At least that is what I was told by my local Specialized dealer (though I do live in Canada so it may be different in other countries)

Yes, I have the 143 in chameleon to match my bike 🙂
really comfy, no chamois

That’s because the chameleon ones were the extra fancy elaston padding! I briefly owned a chameleon elaston Phenom, snapped it up cheap online but don’t think I ever sat on it, sent it back. Wish I hadn’t now 😖

Specialized have a fitting service for saddles I believe. I’ve always had a specialized saddle, currently using an avatar with the channel or groove in the middle. I will buy another one to replace it at some point.

Longtime fan of the phenom 143mm. Not the cheapest saddle out there but works really well for me.

Also, beware the people that say its similar to the charge spoon, tried one and it was agony yet the phenom is easily the comfiest saddle I’ve had despite the obvious similarities in design.

As others have said, its trail and error. The phenom may work for you, it may not.

I too have the chameleon version…Best road seat I’ve tried

I like my Phenom, I managed to get a ti railed one in a sale bin at the Edinburgh bike Co-op as it was missing it’s packaging.

Phenom 143 on my Roubaix Comp…. the best saddle I’ve had (got) … very comfortable.

I’ve got a Phenom on one bike, 155 Large I think (went to LBS to get measured, how very dare they) and one of those red Fabric Line Elite Shallows that comes in a 142 in large. The Phenom is pretty good from memory, I’ll be sitting on it for first time in over 2 years tomorrow so I might have a different opinion in 24hrs.. which is amazing seeing as its pretty much a thin strip of plastic based saddle.
I wanted to like the Fabric but tbh it is complete torture after about an hour. I’ve put up with it for a year and a half to get my money’s worth but writing this I think its time it went. I guess Fabric sizing is a vanity thing for folks who don’t want to admit they are wide-of-beam, and I was in denial when I bought it.
So maybe the moral is, go to your LBS for a proper measure… I’d tried the DIY methods for measuring and had decided I was defo a medium…

fabric scoop and omg that’s uncomfortable

Mine was too beyond say 3 hours. I read that this does happen with saddles having a rounded shape.

Swapped for an Ergon SM which is both flatter and has a relief channel, so I can’t say which (or both) of the features sorted it out. So maybe do look at shape in addition to channels.

The ergon SM looks interesting – assume the medium size of 142/143 saddle usually works ?

Also, beware the people that say its similar to the charge spoon, tried one and it was agony yet the phenom is easily the comfiest saddle I’ve had despite the obvious similarities in design.

Identical experience except I don’t find the designs to be that ‘similar’. Phenom is shorter, flat platform , smoother, with an effective long relief channel and gigantic cutout. Spoon = none of those things and is a much more rounded platform with a round and slightly raised nose, no cutout, and a different ‘relief channel’ which seemed to relieve none of the pain for me. ymmv

I’ve decided that ‘taper’ is my defining comfort factor, I think I can deal with most other shapes but a gradual taper from nose to tail is a no-no, I need ‘T’ shaped saddles. I think P7eaven’s ‘shelves away’ comment achieves the same thing.

Out on a Fizik Antares yesterday ‘T’ shaped and was mostly good, could have done with a cut-out.

Out on a Prologo Scratch in the afternoon, which I want to love as Pot-luck-bikekit sent me the carbon version by mistake. It feels great but gradually gets more and more uncomfortable where the inside/back of the hamstring hits the taper.

Next step is to order a Phenom and compare, it doesn’t look very tapered but if it ‘shelves away’ like the Power Arc does then it could be a winner

Optical illusion noted in that last illustration where the Phenom look longer. It’s 15mm shorter than the Charge Spoon (265mm vs 280mm). I moved the layers around (not exact measurement, I guessed the 15mm difference):

Before I found the Phenom worked well for me I’d also had some success with Fizik Gobi XM, but the Phenom is more of an all-dayer IME

I’m envious of those for whom the Spoon/Flux works as it’s nice looking, plentiful used examples, hardwearing, inexpensive (or used to be?) and also comes in brown/tan!

Used to love my fizik Gobi

@13thfloormonk

I didn’t really know what to expect from a Phenom but generally got along with Spesh Body Geometry saddles of a few types over the years. Which convinced me to take a low-risk punt on a newish used one. It felt quite firm the first week but any discomfort/aching was confined to the sit bone area so I took that as a positive, ie that I was ‘breaking in’ (rather than being broken) to the new position (coming from an SDG Bel Air)

After a few weeks intermittent riding the saddle thankfully began to ‘disappear’ and now (over a year later) I don’t give it a thought it’s just ace. It’s so nice to not feel beaten up but ready and fresh to ride again the next day. Hope it works out the same for you.

@grimeo

I guess Fabric sizing is a vanity thing for folks who don’t want to admit they are wide-of-beam

Maybe, yet I’m a hefty get. Isn’t it the distance between the sit-bones that count, not the volume of meatflesh? Mines a medium. Have tried 155 and even 175 (Spesh Sonoma)in the past for that reason (also for a more upright cargo bike) but I do way better in general on my Phenom which is 143

I used a Phenom for quite a while on my mountain bike after using the Alias on various bikes for years. I did find it very comfortable but be aware that the square, hard nose can cause considerable damage to your coccyx if you mistime a landing. The sort of pain that makes it very difficult to sit for several weeks – ask me how I know!

The ergon SM looks interesting – assume the medium size of 142/143 saddle usually works ?

I measured my sit bone width using the “sit on a piece of cardboard” technique, then entered it into the calculator on their site.

Aaagh can’t find any local to go look at that are the right size and in stock 😭
Maybe try ergon instead

I’ve got one here I’ll not be using due to my bad experience. You’re quite welcome to try it out, it’s a 143, if you like it then a suitable contribution to the DEC will seal the deal. I’m only in Chezvegas! Direct message me if interested.

So I’ve got the Phenom on one bike, went for a 3hr+ last weekend, and a new Ergon SM Pro on the other, first ride last night, 1.5hr. Phenom is good as ever, butt hurts a bit after an hour or so of the ride but far less than other saddles. Ergon firmer than I was expecting but didn’t notice it too much. Bit of the usual butt ache. So not much between the two in my experience

Right so an update:
Bought an ergon SM sport, was underwhelmed initially on ride one but furniture it was there so assume it was ok.
Got a phenom 155 and 143 to try

Best still is an sdg Bel air 2 on my fully rigid bootzipper! Need to find a second one!