Dirt
March 9th, 2008, 08:27 PM
I've made fun of the Specialized ass-o-meter since it first came out. I've got the mentality of an 8th grader, so pretty much anything that has to do with anyone's butt is funny.
My 300 year old WTB saddle was well past its retirement time. I'd worn through the leather in three places and the gel was showing.
I was tempted by Specialized saddles because they have so many different widths and shapes to choose from and a meathod by which to select that is more scientific than "Buy it, try it and if you don't like it you're SOL."
The ass-o-meter is actually a little board that has some memory foam on it. You sit on it and your sits bones leave an impression. The sales jock or jockette is able to then get an idea of how far apart your sits bones are so that you can find a saddle that fits them perfectly. My butt is slightly on the narrow range for what fits a 143mm saddle. That basically meant that I had almost the entire selection of saddles from which to choose.
My first instinct was to get the coolest and most expensive racergeek saddle and give that a whirl. Eventually I'll probably do that, but I thought I'd be cautious for the following reasons.
I wasn't 100% sure if the fit was gonna like the shape, so I liked the idea of spending $95 instead of $165; and
I would look like a total FRED with Paolo Bettini world championship saddle under my fat ass
I ended up getting the Phenom Gel saddle with chromo rails isntead of ti. It looks a little weird. the fat nose kind of makes it look like it is from the Ron Jeremy collection. I don't really care what it looks like. I care a lot more about what it rides like.
I took the bike out today and it felt awesome. The extra gel on the nose made it super comfortable and I can seriously see spending long hours in this saddle. I liked this thing enough that I probably will go back and buy the ligher version of it when I'm ready for the next saddle.
Thanks BikerMiker for your help with this. Arsenio at Citybikes was a huge help. I'm 100% sold on Specialized's fit process. It is an added bonus that I get to make ass jokes. :D
Pete
My 300 year old WTB saddle was well past its retirement time. I'd worn through the leather in three places and the gel was showing.
I was tempted by Specialized saddles because they have so many different widths and shapes to choose from and a meathod by which to select that is more scientific than "Buy it, try it and if you don't like it you're SOL."
The ass-o-meter is actually a little board that has some memory foam on it. You sit on it and your sits bones leave an impression. The sales jock or jockette is able to then get an idea of how far apart your sits bones are so that you can find a saddle that fits them perfectly. My butt is slightly on the narrow range for what fits a 143mm saddle. That basically meant that I had almost the entire selection of saddles from which to choose.
My first instinct was to get the coolest and most expensive racergeek saddle and give that a whirl. Eventually I'll probably do that, but I thought I'd be cautious for the following reasons.
I wasn't 100% sure if the fit was gonna like the shape, so I liked the idea of spending $95 instead of $165; and
I would look like a total FRED with Paolo Bettini world championship saddle under my fat ass
I ended up getting the Phenom Gel saddle with chromo rails isntead of ti. It looks a little weird. the fat nose kind of makes it look like it is from the Ron Jeremy collection. I don't really care what it looks like. I care a lot more about what it rides like.
I took the bike out today and it felt awesome. The extra gel on the nose made it super comfortable and I can seriously see spending long hours in this saddle. I liked this thing enough that I probably will go back and buy the ligher version of it when I'm ready for the next saddle.
Thanks BikerMiker for your help with this. Arsenio at Citybikes was a huge help. I'm 100% sold on Specialized's fit process. It is an added bonus that I get to make ass jokes. :D
Pete