Yes, I know- opening myself up to all manner of possibilities here, LOL!
Short story, used Prologo Dimensions for last few years with good effect (143mm), but recently decided to give Fizik Vento Argo a go. I’ve often wondered if my sit bones (~120mm), would be happier on a slightly wider saddle.
Curiously, Fizik fit system recommends a 150mm saddle, so I’ve got a test saddle. Fitted it to the turbo and matched height and setback to the Dimension (measured from 70mm width of both).
Did a ride on turbo last night and all was good, although I felt a little too much weight on hands. Not much, but taking hands off bar at reasonable effort felt like I was sliding forward a little bit. So… I adjusted the tilt slightly tonight, and the weight distribution felt better, and I did a fairly hard 1hr.
I could feel a little tightness in the top of my hamstrings right where they meet backside, but didn’t affect the ride too much. Afterwards however…ouch! I was barely able to bend my legs past a point and walking downstairs was comical!
Still sore/ tight now. Any ideas? The saddle feels like it is supporting my sit bones a little better than the Dimension. I work with 760mm saddle height for my 860mm inside leg. Is the pain caused by some dynamic with my sit bone position now, and there’s some adaptation to be had re the hamstrings?
I’ve had some similar issues in the past. I find that more triangular saddles (ie those that are wider in the waist) can cause this pain, and that it’s exacerbated by harder riding, possibly due to more hamstring recruitment. I personally found the Vento Argo to be way too wide in the midsection for my liking, and that a more “T” shaped saddle was much better. I’m currently on a 150mm Vento Antares, and I find it to be much better in this regard: it has a narrower nose then a sudden pronounced flare, rather than a more “delta” shape when viewed from above. YMMV as always with saddles.
I’ll also mention that I found the Fizik saddle width recommendations super weird. Per the docs that came with my Vento Antares they assign saddle width based on a kind of watts/kilo measure, on the theory that the more power you’re putting out the less weight you put on the saddle and therefore the narrower your saddle should be. A Retul fit suggested a 145mm saddle for me, I tried both 140 and 150 in the Antares and preferred the latter. FWIW Wout Van Aert rides a 150mm saddle, so the whole “more watts=narrower saddle” concept may have some flaws!
Hi Drew. Thanks for that personal feedback- makes interesting reading for sure.
Given the discomfort I felt last night, I was expecting to wake-up this morning in a right old state. Surprisingly, the hamstring pain has subsided almost completely which is really weird! I did do some stretching last night before bed which might have helped (I’m guilty of practically NEVER doing any stretching).
I certainly agree that the Vento is probably the broadest saddle I’ve ever tried, but on the other hand, it’s not like I’m coming off a completely different saddle (ie a T-shaped saddle etc). The Prologo Dimensions I’ve been using on x3 bikes aren’t a million miles away from the shape of the Vento, and certainly fit into the "V"shaped, snub nose family. Vento is for sure slightly wider though. Given how the previous evening’s trial I didn;t suffer the same discomfort, I’d say your theory of effort being a factor certainly makes sense. Other than the level of effort, the only other difference last night was bringing the nose of the saddle up maybe 0.5 to 1 deg to stop that feeling of sliding off the front when hands-off bars. The texture of the Vento didn;t help there either, as it’s super slippery.
I’ll probably try another session tonight and see how the hamstrings react. Cheers!
After re-assessing the saddle position, I’m thinking maybe I was a little over-zealous with regards the tilt. Angled the nose back down a degree, and didn’t get the same pain after an hour reasonable effort.