Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

ForkinGreat
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Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby ForkinGreat » Fri May 13, 2016 2:20 pm

Anyone riding on a Selle SMP saddle? I have a SMP Hell on the roadie, but want to try a SMP with firmer padding, Drakon or lite 209 seem to be what I need, but how are they to ride on road or dirt?. I'm fairly stocky (Phat) about 100kg...

The Selle SMP Hell is ok, but the padding is a bit soft for me, More used to firm padding like on a San Marco Rolls
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MattyK
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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby MattyK » Fri May 13, 2016 2:55 pm

Used a SMP Glider for a little while on the roadie. Very good from the cutout slot perspective. Just not 100% for me. Interested in trying it?

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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby Top_Bhoy » Fri May 13, 2016 6:47 pm

I have the Selle SMP Dynamic on my 'good' roadie and find it the most comfortable of all my saddles which includes the Selle Italia SLR XP and Selle Italia Gel Flow Max.

However, me or anyone else liking a particular saddle doesn't mean you will. Try and borrow a few different saddles or at least have a couple of long(ish) test rides before diving in - the Selle SMP aren't cheap.

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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby DaveQB » Fri May 13, 2016 7:53 pm

I have the Strattos and love it. First tried the Lite 109, it felt ot have potential but felt like knives into my sit bones. Found my sit bones are little narrower than most, so went for looking for a narrower SMP Selle. I found the Stratos had more padding than the other narrow options. Love it!
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ForkinGreat
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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby ForkinGreat » Fri May 13, 2016 8:32 pm

Top_Bhoy wrote:I have the Selle SMP Dynamic on my 'good' roadie and find it the most comfortable of all my saddles which includes the Selle Italia SLR XP and Selle Italia Gel Flow Max.

However, me or anyone else liking a particular saddle doesn't mean you will. Try and borrow a few different saddles or at least have a couple of long(ish) test rides before diving in - the Selle SMP aren't cheap.
you are spot on there, one person's bliss is another's misery. I think it's more the padding thickness and density that I'm interested in hearing feedback about.

I rang a certain shop who stocked SMPs, but the bloke I talked to said: "You've ridden one SMP, you've ridden them all"

LOL what a clueless knob.

I am paddling in the pool already, having taken a punt on the Hell, so my sit bones and groin region seem to deal with that model SMP ok.

I read the article on Steve Hogg's website, and I'm pretty sure that an unpadded hard SMP would not be to my liking, but something too squishy and the wrong shape like the stock saddle that came with my Scott bike would be even worse. ( Groin numb after 30min or so :shock: )
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rodneycc
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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby rodneycc » Fri May 13, 2016 10:41 pm

Drakon's on the Tcr abd Defy, lite209s on the Roubaix, xacd and Bianchi and swapping the Glider and dynamic on the Bmc currently (can't quite figure it out)

Drakon the best allrounder for me. A lot depending on how aggressive you ride.
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GTPilot
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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby GTPilot » Sat May 21, 2016 2:11 pm

amongst the choice of SMP saddles is position. I have a Hell on one bike and a drakon on another.
SMPs need to be setup right to suit you and your riding as well. I have found seat angle to be highly important with them. a few millimeters change in angle can mean the difference between feeling like i'm riding on a cloud or a bare seat post and rails.

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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby DG1984 » Sat May 21, 2016 2:52 pm

ForkinGreat wrote:Anyone riding on a Selle SMP saddle? I have a SMP Hell on the roadie, but want to try a SMP with firmer padding, Drakon or lite 209 seem to be what I need, but how are they to ride on road or dirt?. I'm fairly stocky (Phat) about 100kg...

The Selle SMP Hell is ok, but the padding is a bit soft for me, More used to firm padding like on a San Marco Rolls
You might want to avoid the Lite 209 if you want less padding, it's one of their most padded saddles.

The Drakon is "medium" padding, no idea where the Hell fits in - it's not listed on their table of saddle comparisons. If you want something as wide as the Hell, then there aren't many options either.

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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby open roader » Sat May 21, 2016 5:03 pm

GTPilot wrote:amongst the choice of SMP saddles is position. I have a Hell on one bike and a drakon on another.
SMPs need to be setup right to suit you and your riding as well. I have found seat angle to be highly important with them. a few millimeters change in angle can mean the difference between feeling like i'm riding on a cloud or a bare seat post and rails.
I have also found this too with SMP saddles (Dynamic and Glider) Compared to some of the Spez. and Selle Italia saddles the SMP saddles vary wildly in the feeling dept. with just the slightest of adjustments. It took me over half a dozen adjustments to dial in my Dynamic saddles.
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rodneycc
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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby rodneycc » Sat May 21, 2016 9:54 pm

Yeah same here, I've taken to getting the spirit level out to get exactly where I want it. Exactly level for the Drakon for me, lite209 one or two degrees up (not down like a few places have suggested) dynamic and glider still not sure but leaning towards about 1 or two deg down ( glider with the lower back helps this setup but a little narrower) but everyone is different I guess.

Edit: that is the bubble the slightest bit you can possibly get off centre so prob not exactly 1 or two deg ( I need one of those laser digital levels)
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GTPilot
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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby GTPilot » Mon May 23, 2016 8:55 pm

rodneycc wrote:Yeah same here, I've taken to getting the spirit level out to get exactly where I want it. Exactly level for the Drakon for me, lite209 one or two degrees up (not down like a few places have suggested) dynamic and glider still not sure but leaning towards about 1 or two deg down ( glider with the lower back helps this setup but a little narrower) but everyone is different I guess.

Edit: that is the bubble the slightest bit you can possibly get off centre so prob not exactly 1 or two deg ( I need one of those laser digital levels)
I use a flat piece of board placed on top and the sprit level on my iPhone. (Open the compass and swipe left).
Make sure the bike is flat or you start with a deference reading.

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rodneycc
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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby rodneycc » Mon May 23, 2016 9:44 pm

That is awesome! I never thought of using my phone as a bubble spirit level with a digital display. My guess of 1 or 2 deg up for the lite209 was 1.1 deg up on the phone spirit level I'm pretty happy with the app and also my guess from the bubble!
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ForkinGreat
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Re: Anyone riding on Selle SMP Drakon or Lite 209 on the XC or Road bikes?

Postby ForkinGreat » Sat May 28, 2016 9:27 pm

GTPilot wrote:amongst the choice of SMP saddles is position. I have a Hell on one bike and a drakon on another.
SMPs need to be setup right to suit you and your riding as well. I have found seat angle to be highly important with them. a few millimeters change in angle can mean the difference between feeling like i'm riding on a cloud or a bare seat post and rails.
Makes sense. I went for my first ride on the Drakon yesterday. 1 hour, mix of flat and hills. set up about the same as the Hell.

Zero discomfort, happy :)

I may tweak the position a little, but it seems good now.
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