Cobb Saddle???
I've been using Fizik ariones for about 4-5 years - first the arione carbon, then the tri2 (hated the original tri). I find them reasonably comfortable, but every once in a while, I get large boils/cysts down where it's really painful that send me off to the doctor to have them drained. Since it's the beginning of the year, I thought now might be a good time to try a new saddle. Considering either a Cobb v-flow plus or SHC170. I ride at 79-80 degrees, with a 12cm drop to the pads, and tend to ride forward on the saddle. This year my A race is probably Vineman full the last weekend in July. I guess I'm especially interested int he SHC170 since it is narrow without too much padding like the arione.
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My saddle journey went like this:
Stock / Arione / ISM Adamo / VFlow Max.
The ISM was incredible, the VFlow was heavenly.
Mr. John Cobb knows what he's doing. He makes a great product & has the customer service to back it up if you don't like it.
I was on the Adamo, which he designed, and when I was fit by John, he put me on the Max, and it's been night & day.
Don't be afraid to email him or give him a ring, but I'd imagine the SHC is not for the long haul, especially if you are over 130lbs or so.
Your best bet is really to get to a shop that has many & try them out, or try somewhere like competitive cyclist who will ship you a box of 10 saddles and give you a week to try them. Saddles are a mighty personal affair & reasonably hard to recommend to you.
Me and the boys love my V Flow
Jim and the twins love my split saddle Selle SMP. Zero contact down the center.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/categ...plus-12667
hello,
i ride the newest saddle, the SHC 170. prior to that i tried the V-flow max and v-flow plus.
i am 156.0lbs and 5'8". the max was too wide, the plus was very good, but the SHC 170 is awesome and doesn't weigh as much as the other seats. i rode IMAZ a few weeks ago and the seat was great.. my brother is 6'2'' and he really likes the max seat. so depends on your size. on my bike the seat is tilted down 2.7degrees and that works great for me.
the other secret when riding cobb saddles, is to not wear bike shorts with too big a pad. in fact, ride with as little pad as possible. the seats are designed to nestle your groin region so that the main pressure points are properly supported, while giving you proper leg clearance, etc. the minute you put a pad in between, you screw with all the design principles of the seat.
these are cobb's recommendations and with his 180 day guarantee, you can try the above until you find the correct set up. i doubt you'll need to go elsewhere to find the correct seat.
good luck!!
GH
I have been using the Adamo Race for a couple of years and I'm very pleased with it. No bike saddle is ever going to be really comfortable and that's just the nature of the beast. I tried the Cobb V-Flow Max and I didn't like it at all (and it was professionally fit). That's just my N=1 experience.
I'm somewhat with Chris G on this one though, I had no notable saddle specific discomfort after 112 in tri shorts on the Max, but I didn't feel like I had been on a lazyboy for the past 5 hours either. Thats to be expected, all and all a big improvement over my previous saddles. One other note, from everything I've heard, the Max nose width is narrower than the Adamos, which is why a lot of people seem to like it, heard of a lot of people who complained of chaffing due the width of the Adamo. I also know a lot of people who swear by the Adamo. With the Cobbs at least, you can try any of them out for what, 90 days? And return them with no questions asked, no matter how many miles you've put on them within that time. Worth a shot.
I am curently using the V Flow Plus on my tri bike and like it. I have had no issues and after sitting on a skinny bike seat for several hours, no bike seat is going to feel like you were sitting on the couch. I have an ISM on my road bike and have had no issues, although I am replacing it soon with the Cobb SHC 170. The width of the Adamo didn't really bother me but I live in a very hilly area so I am always shifting forward and backward on the saddle. The Cobb saddles just offer more options in postition. With the Adamo you are pretty much stuck in one place.
I love my V-flow Max. I loved it even more when I found chamois cream I liked.
I had heard so many good things about the Cobb saddles that I took Cobb up on his 180 day guarantee and rode a V Flow Plus for about 200 miles worth of training. It was so painful I couldn't stay aero for more than about 3 minutes at a time. I tried different saddles angles, moving it forward and backward and nothing worked. I returned it and am back on my Profile Design Tri Stryke, which while not exactly luxurious, did allow me to complete several 100+ mile rides with no numbness or sores this year. I have since resigned myself to the fact that sitting on a bike for 5 hours is never going to be comfortable, but just needs to be tolerable.
I got a V-Flow Max (I'm 6'1", 205#) and love it. I actually bought a 2nd one for my tri bike that came with an ISM Adamo racing seat but just seemed too wide for me. I actually convinced 5 of my friends to buy a Cobb seat and they were all happy with their decision.
My Cobb SHC170 just got delivered by FedEx Home Delivery. I am going for a Retul bike fit on Monday so I will probably wait until then and let the tech put it on. I thought Cobb had a 90 day return policy, either I was wrong or they changed it. A letter in the box states their is a 6 month money back guarantee. You can't beat that.