damientheo profile

I've been running SMPs for a decade. the Hell is soft but so much that I hit the shell and feel it after a while. I didn't like it. I add a thin neoprene cover for triathletes to the regular saddles plus a good chamois and that makes them comfortable for long rides. The shape and cutout is the best, but it isolates your sit bones and they get hammered after a few hours. Also early season takes some time to get that area toughened up again

can be easily made with a dremel cutting wheel and file. have done so for years . I think companies could have done 1x8-10 with wide steps instead of smooshing 11 and 12  (13 soon?) onto a cassette, but more of anything sounds better to marketing

I've had the same experience with aluminum. It fatigues to failure and even publicized as having a finite lifespan. Once it goes, it is not easily repairable (or at all) so then you need to buy a new frame and then you're probably past the price of carbon. Carbon is much easier to repair and today's frames can take a lot of impact- probably just as much as aluminum (or even more - see SC video).

Seems that carbon is more often the winner in both financial and possibly environmental terms (provided it's not a warranty trasher) when/if the frame does break.