Over 5000 Miles With The Bisaddle

I have a question and a testimonial for you. I am a committed cyclist and ride both day-long tours, club rides and races. I successfully underwent surgery for prostate cancer in 2007. After being cleared to resume physical activities, I began cycling again with a traditional saddle, only to suffer complications and wind up back in the emergency room. I fortunately found the BiSaddle, which has worked beautifully. I would not have otherwise been able to resume riding.

Since last summer, I have ridden over 5000 miles with the Bisaddle, completed one century and numerous similar rides, and successfully completed in over a half dozen races. I’ve been using your foam saddle with the aluminum frame, which is vastly lighter than the steel frame model and, frankly, much more comfortable than the elastomer saddle. My question is whether you plan to produce an even lighter model, perhaps using carbon fiber instead of plastic in the “hard” part of the saddle. I love the Bisaddle, but even the foam/aluminum model weighs 2-3 times more than a conventional saddle. [inventor's answer and question: a) The foam /aluminum BiSaddle is the best we can provide without additional financing, and b) what percentage of the overall weight of a bicycle should be available for a comfortable and healthful saddle?]

Two additional comments, based on experience. A new user of the BiSaddle definitely needs to fine tune the fit over the course of 100+ miles. You also need several hundred miles to get used to the fit. You lose some balance control without a horn, but this is something you can consciously work on. I have flat, low-traffic stretches on my routes where I ride without hands purely to develop my sense of balance using the BiSaddle. Finally, the fabric of your shorts affects how well the BiSaddle works. Cycling shorts with slick finishes don’t work very well with the BiSaddle – you slip around too much, I’ve found. The finish of many brands – Pearl Izumi, for example – are not slick and work quite well.

Thanks for producing the BiSaddle – it’s a great product.

---P S, Boston, MA