Selle SMP

[brawlo]

I started off with the Extra to give the shape a try. Nice feel but as mentioned earlier, the gloss wears off after a few k's. From there I got a Dynamic at a good price and liked that. I also got a Composit for my track bike. The shape didn't suit the track bike and how I ride it, so it went in a box. When I upgraded my roadie I decided to try the Composit on it, having read the Steve Hogg rundown on them. It's ALMOST perfect. I'm a big guy, and if you go back through Steve's writeup, you'll see that the Composit is one of the widest fitting saddles.

[BurtO]

Finally bought a SMP Glider saddle after looking to only spend less than $100 an a SMP ie strike or extra, and starting a thread to find out about them , thanks idrcycles for your knowledge.
But after seeing Bike Bug had the leather covered range for only $199 with free postage I thought , well, I deserve it. (and I got it within 3 days to outback Victoria!!)
Took a punt on the Glider after looking at their web site , and when I got it out of the box was surprised at how small it actually was, and firm.
Now small and firm aren't two features that I usually look for in a bike saddle and if I had seen one in a bike shop I would not have had more than a curious look at it and dismissed it as a hardcore riders saddle.
But with it in my possession and marvelling at how dead sexy it looks ( yes, an acquired taste) I screwed it on my bike and went for a quick shake down ride, well, from the get go I couldn't believe the way it supported my frame without putting pressure on my undercarriage area and after a very quick 30km I wasn't suffering from pins and needles in my feet as I usually get with standard design saddles and my legs felt stronger, more blood flow or placebo effect, to early to tell. I will report when Ive clocked up more Km's and the newness buzz has worn off. Over all its feels so natural and comfortable I cant wait to get some distance under my wheels , typical, its forecast to rain for the next couple of days!

[tooraj]

Considering the help I have received from this forum, a report is probably in order...

Thanks to Cell Bikes' tester offer, I got a Lite 209 tester. I had to read Steve Hogg's instructions a couple of times to work out how I had to replace my Strike/Extra with Lite 209. Extra sits about a few mm higher than Lite 209. Also extra has rails that run parallel to the top of the saddle while Lite 209 has a down angle toward the nose. Lite 209 also has much less padding and has a leather cover. But otherwise the shape and size of the saddles are similar. That makes replacing Extra with a Lite 209 fairly easy. Just try to maintain the distance from nose to stem and bottom bracket to top of the saddle the same.

I had to also put a builders level on a chopping board and then on the saddle and try to keep the same angle (a slight nose down angle.)

So, test ride...

Well, on the trainer I didn't feel so comfortable as I felt slipping forward (but that turned out to be the bike being on a slight angle - raise block too low). I took the bike for a short ride and I ended up riding for 3 hours, with only slight discomfort at the end of the ride. So I figure that is pretty good for the first ride.

As I had guessed the extra padding in Extra was causing a bit of numbness after a couple of hours, especially with knicks that had thicker padding. That is all gone with Lite 209. Extra is pretty much unnoticeable to me now. It wasn't at the start. Now when I pay attention I can feel the lack of padding with Lite 209. I am hoping that I'll eventually also get used to Lite 209.

Overall I am very pleased moving from Extra to Lite 209. I am going to probably have to do some fine adjustments and also get used to the saddle.

[BurtO]

Well, nearly a year has gone by since I posted about the SMP glider saddle I had just purchased, and I don't want to sound like a brainwashed convert but ,
I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT AND ITS NAME IS SELLE SMP!!
Man this is a great saddle, when I think back to how I used to get pins and needles in my feet after only 20 k's and very sore undercarriage after 30, well, not any more ,not even the slightest hint of soreness. I really cant recommend this saddle highly enough, its just beautiful .

[ldrcycles]

Has it really been almost 3 years since this thread was updated? I've been happily riding my Extra all that time, and now that the sides are coming apart i've bought another. $77 from bikebug and it reached me less than 24 hours after i ordered it!

[MattyK]

I had a Glider for a while. Eventually took it off and didn't look back. Despite its padding it was still sharp at the nose. Got an ISM Attack recently and Best. Saddle. Ever. Bought it to go triathlonning, but ended up using it just as much for road and it rocks. My junk loves it.

[Dodgy-Knee]

I had a Glider for a while. Eventually took it off and didn't look back. Despite its padding it was still sharp at the nose. Got an ISM Attack recently and Best. Saddle. Ever. Bought it to go triathlonning, but ended up using it just as much for road and it rocks. My junk loves it.

I bought a SMP Glider when they first came out and it was the best saddle I have ever sat on ... everything was in just the right place, great padding and no more numb nuts or sore backside (this is after trying and discarding a few Selle Italia and Selle San Marco saddles).

My SMP saddle is old and scuffed but I took it with me and installed it on my new bike back in August... If/when it dies, I'll replace it with another Glider.

I think the moral of the story is try before you buy and ignore any advice and opinions on forums as everybody's arse is different.