My Orbea Diva has collected so much dust while I have been crosstraining for the Carlsbad, CA Marathon coming up next weekend. Now that my runs are tapering I can focus on the saddle project and get back out on the bike soon!
Currently I have in hand a mold making kit from carbonmods.com and a carbon fiber kit. I am sculpting my saddle out of sculpey clay to be baked to harden, sanded, and then used to make the mold for the carbon fiber. I am sticking with the BiSaddle concepts and collaborating with Jim of ByCycle Inc. on the shortened length and adjustable width portions of the saddle, but have been completely redesigning the sit plates (shown, left) with sculpey because I feel they need to be a more ergonomic shape than the previous models to allow for hundreds of miles per day in the saddle (no sharp edges where flesh would have to press repeatedly). Once the sit plates are molded into carbon fiber (as well as the frame which is going to pose several engineering feats as I go along I am sure) I will have to learn to mold closed cell foam. I
f anyone out there reads this blog and thinks I am going about this all wrong, well, you're probably right and I would love feedback on saddle building from anyone with prior experience! For now, let the sculpting begin! (More pictures to be posted soon).
