Re: twist on saddles

["Linda B. Merims" <lbm@naisp.net>]

"Desgrange, Verlane" <VerlaneD@sfcc.spokane.cc.wa.us> said:

> > An endurance riding friend forwarded me your querry about twist in a
> > saddle seat. I'm a custom saddlemaker for both English and western. My
> > riding background is in endurance and dressage.
> >
> > For starters, picture two bicycle seats: one for men, the other for
women...
> > ...On the other hand, a women's bicycle seat is wide in the rear and
> > narrow in front. Your seat bones have a place for support (wide) and
your
> > round thighs have NO interference from the width of the seat (narrow) in
> > front. You simultaneously have support for your bones and yet no
> > interference from the seat and you are able to drop your thighs around
the
> > seat and pedal away. Thus a "twist" in the seat is a narrowing of the
seat
> > where your thighs rest...
>>
> > I give saddlery "clinics" that encompass fitting, engineering of
saddles,
> > quality inspection, and actual consultations as to fit and function.
> > Should you wish to contact me for a clinic or getting a saddle made,
you
> > can e-mail me at: verland@sfcc.spokane.cc.wa.us.

Thank you, Verlane, for the excellent description!   Do you ever get out
east to New England?

I think the one remaining question I would have is, how would you
*measure* a saddle's ischia distance and twist?  The idea would be
to normalize the discussion of fit and twist the same way that
"size" has been sort-of normalized for English (16 1/2, 17, 17 1/2, 18")
and Western (whatever measurements they use).

So, if you, yourself, just walked up to a saddle, how would you
*measure* its ischia and twist?  What tools would you use?
(Measuring tape?  Ruler?  Calipers?)  What measurements would
you take?

I know that this is hard for a complex 3-dimensional
curved shape, but I really want to be able to do this.  At 5'2",
with narrow hips and long legs in proportion to my torso, my
entire riding life has been a struggle to get myself over my legs
(which is why I'm so hung up on adjustable stirrup bars) and I'm
just beginning to see the light on what to look for.  I want
something more concrete by which to compare two saddles than
"this saddle feels good."

Linda B. Merims
lbm@naisp.net
Massachusetts, USA