I’ve been having terrible fit issues and I think I’m finally getting to the bottom of it. I’m having some residual pain circled in red. I think it may be this Specialized Romin evo mimic saddle 155. Anyone had this happen with this saddle? It feels like it’s impinging on my hamstring. Any suggestions for a different saddle that might lessen this? I always used a 143 well before the whole sit bone measuring
but several bike fitters said I should be on a 155.
Saddles come in different shapes.
Those sharp edges are common on flatter saddles, you might find more luck with one that has “curved” in the marketing spiel.
Saddle fit varies by person. Could be the saddle shape, I don’t get enough support from saddles that are rounded on the sides, and am not comfortable on saddles that sweep upward too much at the back. Figured that out after a couple years on the wrong width saddles.
Check the saddle location, too…it’s not too high or too far forward is it? If your leg angle is too vertical you’ll rub places that aren’t meant to be in contact. Are you sitting on the right part of the saddle (not too far back)?
Maybe they were human and made a minor error.
If the pokey part of the latest saddle aesthetic is poking you, then the answer seems easy.
one very important thing that is easy to get just a little of is the centering of the saddle on a round seat post. If it only lightly off center then one side will likely rub. That would tend to indicate the side is too far forward and the saddle is slightly pointed to the otehr side. I found a quick trick to centre a saddle using a dry wall square you can run the straight edge through the center of the saddle and through the center of the top cap bolt on the steerer. Place the square end on the back of your saddle… it takes a second to fiddle with but it is the best way I have found to center a saddle. This is the case when one side rubs.
155 mm is really wide if you actually measured the bits you actually sit on (the pubic rami going up to ischial tuberosities). The shop has just roughly measured the very widest part of you and assumed you will sit on them. Most road cyclists lean much further forward due to the nature of a road bike so don’t really sit fully on the ischial tuberosities. This means you need a narrower saddle.
Bike fitter Colby explains it better here (you don’t need an SMP saddle to benefit).
If you look at SMPs range, they don’t really have many saddles in the road category at 155 mm wide. Common sizes are around 130 mm.
Thanks I don’t ride road. Only XC.
Are you in a forward leaning position to produce power like a road bike? Your picture would indicate so (bars equal to or lower in height than the saddle).
If yes it still applies.
If you are a slow recreational up right mountain biker maybe you can get away with a wide saddle. But if you are on Trainerroad I’m going to assume you are in a performance position and need a saddle to match.
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It seems obvious to ask, but have you tried a 143 again?
I found the Romin Mirror saddle to have a very sharp edge where the 3D printed top meets the plastic base. That alone made it a no-go for me.
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I had the same problem using flatish saddles, then I remembered my first road bike (eroica style) had a Selle Italia Turbo Saddle that I got along perfectly, so I searched something similar but more modern and started using a San Marco Concor Racing and it was perfect, I’m also using a Concor dynamic and it’s great so I’m guessing that anything without “wings” like those on flatish saddles will be fine for me.
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Yeah true! Ok I’ll maybe try a 143 again. I had a power pro with mirror before all this started maybe I’ll try one again.
No yet, I sold them all. I had a power pro with mirror on both bikes before this saga started.
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If that was comfortable before your head was turned by the recommendation for the 155, going back to the 143 doesn’t sound like a bad plan really.
It is possible for any one rider to try dozens of saddles before finding one that suits them. If you already found yours in the 143, then I would say any proposed change to that should be on a trial basis before fully making the jump.