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Get Fit, Stay Fit, Feel Good - 2026

3D printed saddles are kinda the opposite of leather saddles. They are meant to by comfy from the start. But they wear out fast. I don’t think material science is good enough for this application yet.

I recently found that both my saddles are broken. No wonder why I started getting saddle sores. Fun times. I’ve broken 4 of this exact model. Thankfully the manufacturer started making a very similar shape in a more robust version for gravel. Too bad tariffs inflated the price 🫤
 
Mike95060 said:
I should look into this a bit. My volume for all activities year over year has fallen about 35% and that bothers me. It's mostly swimming and running that have takes a steep hit. My cycling feels stronger than ever and there are some numbers that back that up. The result is not knowing if I should care so much that my volume is down. Basically I don't know if I have gotten lazy or do I train more effectively than I used to? On top of that I'm not strictly "training" with a structured plan so that muddies the waters a bit. My rides usually feel kinda hard and kinda "fun" and I don't really know what to make of that.
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Ya that Form chart will give you a better idea on if and how productive you are being. We don’t always need volume to build fitness. We do always need Fatigue.

However, this type of analysis really only works for aerobic activities - cycling, running, hiking. You get very little “credit” for weight lifting because HR is low, even though it causes plenty of fatigue. A hard lifting block is when we ignore these charts lol.
 
Mike95060 said:
Brooks B-17

The drawbacks are it's heavy and takes time to form to your butt. It will also signal to some other cyclists that you are a "casual."
On the plus side, It just keeps getting more comfortable with age and it will signal to some different other cyclists that you know what's important in going for a ride. :laughing

I rock a B-17 on my MTB and swap it onto my road bike if I'm planning on going for a long ride on it.

I suppose someday the ohh so comfy printed saddles from Specialized won't cost north of $300 but until then I'm on a B-17 as often as I can be.
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That saddle is about 45mm wider than I need. I need a 130mm saddle.
 
two wheel tramp said:
That saddle is about 45mm wider than I need. I need a 130mm saddle.
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IMHO the width measurements of sit bones isn't the end all be all of saddle fit. Its a starting point at best as I can tell. I bought a fizik saddle that allegedly fit my measured sit bones and it was excruciating. Brooks saddles work a bit different, they are leather butt hammocks and that width will change as it morphs to your butt. There is also a big selection of brooks saddles to choose from. If your not finding a traditional saddle that you like, I would check them out.
 
Mike95060 said:
IMHO the width measurements of sit bones isn't the end all be all of saddle fit. Its a starting point at best as I can tell. I bought a fizik saddle that allegedly fit my measured sit bones and it was excruciating. Brooks saddles work a bit different, they are leather butt hammocks and that width will change as it morphs to your butt. There is also a big selection of brooks saddles to choose from. If your not finding a traditional saddle that you like, I would check them out.
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I will check them out if I don't find something else that works. The best so far has been a 143mm Specialized Body Geometry seat and even that is horrible after a while. I ordered a 130mm selle Italia that will show up in about a week and look forward to testing that once I get it.
 
@two wheel tramp , I have a Selle Italia SLR and really like it. It is certainly firm, and with a nice pair of bib shorts it’s comfortable. My bike came with a different model of Selle Italia and I didn’t like it because it was not firm, it was just flat out hard.

Sorry you are having trouble finding a comfortable saddle.
 
Ridley said:
@two wheel tramp , I have a Selle Italia SLR and really like it. It is certainly firm, and with a nice pair of bib shorts it’s comfortable. My bike came with a different model of Selle Italia and I didn’t like it because it was not firm, it was just flat out hard.

Sorry you are having trouble finding a comfortable saddle.
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How's that in the giblet area with the cut out?
 
Im pretty sure my quads are growing without weight training. Im noticing clothing fits different and they feel big and heavy much more often. The only stimulus has been cycling and a tiny bit of running and walking. Maybe one run a week at best for most if the summer.

I did take a measurement, buuuut I can’t find the old one.. :laughing I may be up 1/4” but I’m not sure I can be sure that’s not a measurement error.

Seems a bit surprising to me that my legs would start to feel “big” for me* from just riding.
 
@two wheel tramp, everything feels normal to me and nothing is being squished. Also there’s no pressure on the taint (sorry if that’s a bit crude but I don’t know how else to say it).

Like I said, a good set of bib shorts make a big difference. I don’t know if you wear them or not but if you don’t want to wear skintight stuff you can always get mtn bike shorts.
 
Mike95060 said:
Im pretty sure my quads are growing without weight training. Im noticing clothing fits different and they feel big and heavy much more often. The only stimulus has been cycling and a tiny bit of running and walking. Maybe one run a week at best for most if the summer.

I did take a measurement, buuuut I can’t find the old one.. :laughing I may be up 1/4” but I’m not sure I can be sure that’s not a measurement error.

Seems a bit surprising to me that my legs would start to feel “big” for me* from just riding.
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I had the best legs of my life when I rode all summer to my friends house. It was a 18 mile round trip that I would always push the gearing as stiff as I could take it. My legs and calfs got huge.

I added another 5 lbs to my bench and I am now back to where I was before but won't make my goal of doing 225lbs 3x12 by the end of the year but it might be close. I got to 180 last night.
 
My buddy Terry AKA Mr. T is a great example of fit and 50 (57 actually).
He just won the CA State Championship for BMX in the Masters Class.
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My buddy Jeff is 78 and still rides motorcycles and bicycles. He's my inspiration to get fit, and I told him as much.

In other news, I walked my old regular pre-crash walk and went up the hill. I forgot how much I love walking up that hill. I am a bit sore today, but not horribly. Going downhill is really hard on my foot, but as I get more muscle, that pain seems to decrease. It was a 3.5 mile walk at a good 19:07 minute pace. It feels like progress.
 
two wheel tramp said:
My buddy Jeff is 78 and still rides motorcycles and bicycles. He's my inspiration to get fit, and I told him as much.

In other news, I walked my old regular pre-crash walk and went up the hill. I forgot how much I love walking up that hill. I am a bit sore today, but not horribly. Going downhill is really hard on my foot, but as I get more muscle, that pain seems to decrease. It was a 3.5 mile walk at a good 19:07 minute pace. It feels like progress.
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Moving is always better than blerching on the couch. Try walking backwards up that hill if you want to feel something new. That alone worked wonders on my knees when they were feeling worn out.
 
Mike95060 said:
Moving is always better than blerching on the couch. Try walking backwards up that hill if you want to feel something new. That alone worked wonders on my knees when they were feeling worn out.
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I wish it were the knees! It's the literal bones in my feet and the ankle joint. I still struggle with full dorsiflexion.
 
two wheel tramp said:
I wish it were the knees! It's the literal bones in my feet and the ankle joint. I still struggle with full dorsiflexion.
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Samzies. Anything that gets my knees over toes in a slow and controlled way seems to help. Downhill farmers carries with lots of intention and slow controlled foot placement was really helpful. I would walk up backwards with a kettlebell in both hands and then alternate hands on the downhill every few steps. I haven’t ben doing this for a while because it required a semi private hill so as to avoid getting run over. Im not out that way so much anymore and I do miss that workout. If you have a quiet hill to play on somewhere, give it a shot.
 
Mike95060 said:
Samzies. Anything that gets my knees over toes in a slow and controlled way seems to help. Downhill farmers carries with lots of intention and slow controlled foot placement was really helpful. I would walk up backwards with a kettlebell in both hands and then alternate hands on the downhill every few steps. I haven’t ben doing this for a while because it required a semi private hill so as to avoid getting run over. Im not out that way so much anymore and I do miss that workout. If you have a quiet hill to play on somewhere, give it a shot.
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That local hill is seldom traveled. I'd have to huck the weights about 1.25 miles to get to it but that would be the farmeriest carry, yeah? :teeth
 
two wheel tramp said:
That local hill is seldom traveled. I'd have to huck the weights about 1.25 miles to get to it but that would be the farmeriest carry, yeah? :teeth
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Sure would. A one sided farmers carry is WORK! I would feel it in my core, grip, arms and shoulders. Alternating left and right on a 2.5 mile walk with some hill reps sounds like a fantastic work out. Some functional strength, cardio and minimal joint impact because walking deliberately is hard to beat IMHO.
 
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