Coach’s Corner: Saddle needs attention

Don’t Let a Problem With One Critical Component Ruin Your Epic Cycling Adventure

Our Coach’s Corner series is your chance to have your biggest cycling questions answered. Coach Darryl MacKenzie. In these short Q&As, Coach Darryl speaks from his 35+ years of cycling and coaching experience to help you become a stronger, smarter cyclist.

Ambitious Cyclist:

Coach, I am preparing for a big cycling adventure that will have me in the saddle for long hours over many days. I am giving a lot of thought to preparing myself and my bike so everything will go as planned. What might I be forgetting?

Coach Darryl:

Many cyclists dream of pedaling a major cycling adventure. For some, it's a first century or maybe a double. But it could also be an epic tour like the 500-mile San Francisco-to-Los Angeles Pacific Coast Highway beauty. Or even a cross-state, cross-country or cross-continent(!) epic challenge that unfolds over days or weeks.

Whatever the mission, an unexpected issue could ruin a well-planned adventure.

I know a cyclist who planned and trained for months to pedal the 2,700-mile (4,345-kilometer) Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Banff, Alberta, to the Mexican border, only to use the wrong bike and end up with a slew of mechanical problems.

I’m not alone — the folks at Selle Anatomica have heard many such stories. Cyclists tend to watch the wear and tear on many bike components but often miss a critical one — their saddle. It’s understandable, especially if you already have a sturdy saddle. After all, I have one bike with a Selle Anatomica saddle that’s over a decade old. They hold up!   

But they don’t last forever, and issues crop up if you don’t tend to your saddle. One cyclist lost a saddle rivet and had to ship the whole saddle for a free replacement. Another cyclist gradually bent their saddle rails over years of riding and needed replacement rails (something most manufacturers won’t do, unlike Selle Anatomica).

If the saddle is older, though, it might be best to simply replace it before a big ride. A replacement costs much less than the hassle of getting stranded in the middle of a thousand-mile journey. Many riders in this situation incur rush shipping fees to get a replacement anyway. Plus, they may find that a saddle in installed in a mid-ride rush isn’t quite in the position they’re used to. A new saddle, which hasn’t had its tension fully extended, will make for a much more comfortable ride for your epic adventure.

So, before you set out on that exciting journey, don’t forget to make sure your saddle is as ambitious as you are.

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