THE SADDLE QUESTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2210, 9 July 1896, Page 37

THE SADDLE QUESTION.

("Holophote M.D." in Cycling.)

The saddle question is a burning one, and w& do not wonder at even the editorial wisdom decliuißg the responsibility of giving advice on the subject. So long as the anatomy of individuals continues to vary, so long will there be diversity of opinion as to the most comfortable seat on a cycle. Advice can therefore be only given on general principles, while riders of peculiar build will have to trust. to the trial of experience to find out the ideal saddle. The main cause of discomfort aud galling,, however, is undoubtedly friction, and tha great point, ' therefore, is to discover the causes of undue friction and avoid it. Large saddles with elastic springs are the chief causes of friction. We u«e the word large relatively, for what is a suitable size to an ample pelvis would be Urge to a man with small bones, and vice versa. Tbe first point, therefore, is to choose the smallest saddle relatively to the size of the pelvis. The next is to avoid elastic springs, which afford to the inexperienced a delusive prospect of comfort and luxury. Have a care also that the tension of the saddle is correct, so as to avoid sagging. Spiral springs, low tea* sion, and an ample surface for friction are the three worst combinations for , long-distanoe ridiDg, and these are tho very points the beginner generally provides himself with in his first saddle, until experience teaches him wisdom. The peak of the saddle also should be narrow. All these points, in our opinion, are ably carried out in Brooke's B 10 saddle, which, after long tritl, we have come to look upon as the ideal seat for all-round work. A rider who has been accustomed to luxurious springs and a broad seat will not at fint take kindly to that which we recommend, and probably for weeks he will fall to recoguiss its virtues, and mayba he will be tempted to give It up in diiguit ; but let him persevere, and ho will have his reward in finding a seat that will not only not gall, but will improve his pace and style of riding. The peakleM saddle, to our mind, tikes away the sense of being mounted astride on one's steed, and gives one the feeling of being seated on a stool. As for the air cushion, the peouliar wobbly feeling of being seated on one of these is, to our minds, disagreeable la the extreme, and somewhat unsportsmanlike, though we defer to tkoie whose opinion of these eccentric contrivances is totally different. In our opinion the elaborate pains taken, by means of iUustra* tiom of tha bony pelvis, to convince us that peakless saddles are lolentifloally the only safe and rational ones to tide ate quite nnneceasarj,

except as advertisements ; and whatever dangers may acorue from badly selected saddles, we are ready to uphold the peaked saddle, properly constructed and well chosen, to be the most manly,the moßt suitable, ths s&foit, and in the end most comfortable Beat for oyolists. Some difficulty must bs always encountered at Srst in suiting the saddle to the rider ; but as a nils that which holds out ' to the beginner the greatest comfort usually tarns out to be the most unsuitable from every point of view, while the best and fittest seat in the long run is one to which the rider mnafa train himself afc flcst by patience, self-denial, and perseverance.