| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : MAY 10, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| PERSONAL BUSINESS
Saddles That Go Beyond Comfort The bike seats bear such names as Liberator and feature strategically placed shock-absorbing gel or a groove cut down the middle. Despite the seats' unusual appearance, thousands of cyclists swear by them--and not just for their ride. The saddles, which sell for $15 to $140, are designed to relieve pressure on the perineum. Women who ride long distances on conventional narrow seats often complain of chafing and irritation. For men, pressure on the perineum, where arteries and nerves are located, may lead to sexual dysfunction. TESTER SEATS. If you're shopping for a new saddle, remember that the one that works for your friend may be a miserable fit for you. So ask to try out a few tester seats to see which one fits best. One popular model is the $45 Terry Men's Liberator. It's padded on the sides and back and has a hole in the center. Terry adapted the design from its 1996 Women's Liberator model, which is hollowed out for ventilation. Another big seller, the Specialized Body Geometry saddle ($40), has a channel in the center, rather than a hole. Other brisk-selling saddles are the $70 San Marco Race day series, and the $60 Selle Royal Lookin 2004. Both use compressible gel. Boston urologist Dr. Irwin Goldstein says, however, that as long as a saddle has a nose--the case with most of the new designs--it isn't safe. Goldstein helped raise the bike-seat alarm in an August 1997 article in Bicycling magazine, where he claimed that 100,000 cyclists in the U.S. have been rendered impotent because of prolonged pressure. One saddle of the type Goldstein might approve of is the ABS Dual Action Seat ($140). Its odd, nose-less design lets you swivel left and right as you pedal. But I can't figure out how to sit on it, much less ride it. I prefer the $50 Selle Italia Flite Titanium. A hard, slim saddle, it's definitely a candidate for Goldstein's no-no list. But it does the job for me. By Roy Furchgott _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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Bikes for Achy Boomers PHOTO: GT's Mechanical Gear Changer PHOTO: Shimano Auto-D Electronic System Saddles That Go Beyond Comfort TABLE: The Bottom Line PHOTO: Specialized Body Geometry Bicycle Seat PHOTO: Terry Men's Liberator Bicycle Seat INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
