By Greg Conderacci
They’re heavy. They’re expensive. They creak. They stretch until they become unusable. Sometimes, parts break (ALWAYS at the worst time).
So why do so many ultra-endurance cyclists ride Selle Anatomica saddles?
They’re comfortable.
Eventually, the comfort-enhancing cut down the center of this flexible leather saddle dwindles to a mere slit. And that’s not so comfortable for You Know What.
The solution is to cut the saddle. I used a Dremel with a cutting wheel to restore the gap and then used a Dremel grinding stone to bevel the edges. I didn’t even have to take it off the bike. Now the saddle feels like it did when it was new.
Greg Conderacci is a marketing consultant and a former Wall Street Journal reporter, non-profit entrepreneur, and investment bank chief marketing officer. In Getting UP!, he brings you the same skills he teaches at a top graduate school and Fortune 500 companies. Lots of people promise better performance … Greg proves it. Using his energy techniques, in 2015 he rode a bicycle across America in just 18 days — averaging 150 miles a day.
buy a different saddle and avoid all of this!
There is a reason your Selle Anatomica saddle is not comfortable…it is badly in need of adjustment.
Get your 6 mm hex adjustor, it is the one that fits into the bolt at the front of the saddle. It should JUST pass through the slit between the left and right side of the saddle, ideally touching on both sides, at its narrowest point toward the back.
Yours saddle sides are far too close in they area. It even looks like the leather has risen where one side has touched the other.
When the saddle leather is too loose, the hammock effect of the comfortable saddle area is too slack, resulting in the metal frame being too “high” in relationship. When I can feel the metal in the front once or twice per year, I stop and make a quick 1/2 or 3/4 revolution adjustment of the front bolt solving the problem.
Also, when the saddle leather is too slack, the gap size of the slit in the front is also too narrow. If the saddle were adjusted as described above, you would most likely not have to cut the leather to widen the slit.
Your saddle has much room for adjustment. Note the large amount of threads on the bolt at the top of the slit. When the saddle is adjusted as far as possible, there are no threads visible here.
You can get longer bolts from Selle Anatomica. You can also get replacement leather for your frame, it is hard to tell whether your frame is damaged by a lack of adjustment as well as having aesthetic changes.
Cyclists who keep their saddle properly adjusted love it. As Coach Darryl, I am an independent bike fitter. I sell is the Selle Anatomica saddle since many bike stores do not have it. I have sold over 200 of them with very few returns, just one return in 2017 and another in 2019.
As an owner of SA saddles for 7 years, I agree with Darryl’s observation.
Compared with the 21 other saddles I’ve tried — no exaggeration — my Selle Anatomica has been the most comfortable, even with some numbness from time-to-time. That’s a small price to pay for its heavy weight.
I weigh 175 pounds and want to put a Selle Anatomica on my touring bike, which one should I get?
How does the leather hold up to rain? or do I need a saddle cover?
How long do these Selle Anatomic saddles generally lasts?
Thanks guys
I’ve had this saddle for over 7 years and about 20,000 miles. I weigh a bit less than you– 5 pounds and it’s an X saddle. SA sells “saddle sauce” which I think protects it in the rain. I probably have 2500 life left.
BTW, the adjustment bolt broke last year and was replaced promptly and without cost. The original had a design flaw. Customer service has always been good.
Go to its website for more selleanatomica.com
SEVERAL Selle Anatomicas have been on my singles and tandems for years. Great product. We use Rivet saddles on the current tandem. The Rivet is quite similar to the Selle Anatomica, and worth a try.