Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-14
HINTS ON THE SADDLE

ure they get from the fecreauon COtiPAT-
atively few wheels are ridden for business
entirely. There may be some but the num-
Der Is limited. 1t is true that a much larg-
er number of bicycles are used partly for
business and partly for pleasure. which
makes the use of the silent steed all the
mere valuable. The days when the bicy-
Gle was regarded as a luxury have now
passed and the machine is within the
means of almost every class.
1t seems strange. in view of all this. that
so many people ride irrespective Of COM
fort. A few riders prefer comfort to every
thing else. while many make comfort sub
servient to appearance. Because some OF
the push use such and such a gear wheel
is Ito reason why any other rider should do
likewise, especially If physically unable to
manage the high gear. Because a good
many riders may use drop handle bars and
bend over the machine when in motion is
10 reason why all riders should do like
wise. Because and rides such a
style of saddle is certainly no cause for
another rider to adopt the same make
Some saddles may be excellent for some
riders, and not at all suit others. Then,
again. there Is a large number Of riders
who let their Imagination have full sway.
Imagination goes a long way. One may
imagine that he should ride such and such
q wheel. or employ such a gear. when in
reality he should have something different.
He may imagine that he gets comfort, only
u.
Sometimes the imagination may only be
checked by physical harm that is brought
about, but then it is too late to do any
good.
tirely of the comfortable side of cycling in
the minor details 1t is to be supposed that
the rider has an easy-running wheel, and
1t Is only intended to give a few helpful
hints. Only the saddle will be touched
upon. and il is to be hoped that the infOr-
nation given may prove of value in more
than one case.
A good saddle is something that can only
be appreciated by those who have been rid
ing bad one. 1t Is a thing of beauty. joy
and pleasure as long as 1t lasts. The ap
pearance is nothing. as compared with the
comfort it affords. though in looks the sad
die may not necessarily be disreputable.
If one would only pay attention and notice
the various saddles ridden. it will be seen
that they embrace large field. of all kinds
and s:zes of all shapes and pc c1l:ar appear
ances embracing large variety of manu-
facture and all styles of construction. The
woman's saddle is easily distinguishable
from that of the mans. on account OF its
short and squatty pearance. though there
are many fair riders who still cling to the
regulation mans saddle. 1t may be
marked that this is the first year in
which the saddle for the different sexes has
assumed different shape. and next year
the difference In construction may be even
more marked. =.
In pure hasing a wheel always make it a
point with the dealer to exchange the sad
die If not satisfactory With most dealers
this is understood, though with some it is
not. and no change of saddle will be given
without extra cost. The manufacture of
saddles has been brought down to an ana
tomical basis. and select one which you
think is best suited for you. A heavily built
person generally requires a broad saddle,
while slender person generally gets more
satisfaction out of a narrow type of sad
die This rule is rather general though
there are exceptions. A medium-sized per-
son. of course. has to use discretion in Sc
lecting saddle Do not imagine the sad
Ole Is no good after trial Of one day.
That is not sufficient time. If a person is
new to riding any kind of saddle will hurt
and make the rider stiff. and oftentimes
"hen an experienced rider remains off the
wheel for a year or SO and rides again for
any distance he Is apt to be troubled with
saddle soreness.
Whether to use hard or soft saddle is
a puzzling question for some to answer
There are some makes of saddles placed
on the market which are hard as a
board. wfile. again. there are others al
most as soft as feather bed. The cush-
Toned and the pneumatic saddle may be
ciaSsed under the latter head. Then there
are saddles sold with spring saddle post
though in the Pre- duct of this year there
are very few spring saddle posts used.
They are out of date. There was a time
when they stood IT. good use That was
during the day of the old solid tire ma
chine. which weighed anywhere from
forty-fve to fifty-six pounds. and perhaps
more. The spring was made with an OBJ
1ect. and it fulfilled it's purpose well. With
the solid tire there was nothing to take up
or deaden the vibration of the machine. In
crossing every little rut the rider would
feel the strain on the wheel. and likewise
the vibration. which tired and stiffened one
much more than would be imagined. The
spring saddle post was used to deaden this
vibration, and ii partly did, though never
entirely.
;tt> No
the spring post began to wane. The large
tires filled with air. were found to be suffi-
cient 10 take up all vibration. though in
the early history of the pneumatic it must
be admitted that the tires were much heay-
Ter. more clumsy and less resilient than
those of the present day. The spring of
the saddle was found to be useless, and
the curved post was abandoned. The
straight post which is now in general use.
was adopted. and the spring, which was
constructed in the saddle post, was made
part of the saddle In the opinion of the
writer. the spring in the saddle Is much
better than a cushion or pneumatic pad
ding of the surface of the saddle. This
virtually implies that the hard saddle is
preferable to the soft one. though. of
course. the selection OF the saddle lies with
the person most directly interested.
Saddle soreness will come, no matter
what make of saddle is used, II the rider
remains seated for any length of time.
fifteen or twenty mics without dismount.
while others may ride several hundred
miles without feeling the effect. The cause
is most likely due to failure Of the blood
to circulate as freely it ordinarily
should. From practical observation. 1t has
been found that an experienced rider will
get sore much sooner on a cushioned or
padded saddle than upon a hard one. This
fact has been demonstrated in number of
long distance races. and especially at the
six-day events held in this city.
When the rider is satisfied with the sad
die and finds that after a weeks use it
does not chafe. the only thing to be done
Is to keep it in good repair. At least a
week should be given for thorough trial.
as it takes that long and sometimes longer
to fully break in a saddle. as 1t Is termed
A new saddle is made soft and pliable by
use, and gradually works into shape to fit
the rider, and 1t Is this shaping process
that causes more or less discomfort with a
saddle to the new rider. A saddle which
appears to fit at the very beginning is apt
to be worked into a shape that causes
more or less trouble in future riding
Though II seems as though only limited
number OF persons are aware of the fact,
most saddles can be regulated whenever
desired. The continual weight of the body
IL very apt to stretch the leather, and a ter
fxn 0r threa mon hs' hard riding ho addIa