Garth, not oddball, I've discovered the same problem at a dodderring 53. I
am a bit less squeamish about the aesthetical conflict between classic bike
and new-fangles saddle, so I so far have found several off-topic items that
help quite a bit to alleviate the (lack of) pain. What I have not tried is
the Selle An-Atomica saddle, which is an evolution of a cut-out Brooks.
They have classic side skirts that would prevent peeping at your seatpost.
Actually they have several lines of product. One is actually a cutout
Brooks, and for $45 they'll modify your saddle that you send them. Their
primary design adds support to the cutout leather shell. A lot of
interesting thinking on their websites. As I say, I haven't tried one yet.
Here's the link: http://mcmwin.com/
Ken Freeman Ann Arbor, MI
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Bianca Pratorius Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2006 5:48 PM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Anatomic saddle that looks somewhat like old classics?
Here is an oddball question. I honestly hope someone has an answer to solve this dilemma. Years ago, I could ride my old Brooks type seats without a problem. When the snazzy new-style saddles appeared, I tried them too. By new-style I mean Concor, Cinelli, and Rolls. I happily used them up until last year, when I started getting the dreaded penis numbness. When you are 50, things that wouldn't normally worry you start to. I felt that the numbing was dangerous and perhaps preventable. I read roadbikereview.com and found a new Terry Fly gellissima at my doorstep. I use a low position in the drops to give me an advantage against stronger riders and to aid in the draft, so the cut out gellissima seemed to instantly alieve 80% of the problem of numbing. So far I have only bought one of these monstrosities and placed it on one bike. The problem now is that my other bikes are not getting ridden because I instantly miss the comfort that the new technology brings, but I can't stand to look at an old bike with a modern seat. I have found what I believe is the biggest problem visually with modern seats. They have no side curtains which politely hide the clamp and give delicate graceful lines to the seat. If someone makes an anatomic seat with a center depression but polite old fashioned side curtains I would like to know about it. I know that the Swallow also is missing curtains but the Swallow redeems itself by appearing to have had curtains that were trimmed away. Modern seats have a straight line that shoots directly from the rear protuberance to the nose. The Swallow has a different line which seems to swoop down from the cut out to the nose.
Garth Libre in Miami Fl