Exit: Dynamik Pro. Enter: Scorpion fs 26 (American version)

Earlier this year (March 9) I underwent open heart surgery, for a mitral valve repair. After my 1-week stay at the hospital after surgery, I had lost 3½ kg of my weight.

My weight loss seems to have affected some protective tissues of my butt because the next months it became embarrassingly clear that my RANS CF-bikes (Cruz and Dynamik Pro) did not protect me anymore from serious saddle pain, enough to spoil any pleasure I had at riding those bikes :-((

Some stop-gap measures -the details of which are rather unimportant, so I will not describe these- carried me through the better part of this cycling season. It became clear that it was easier to make the Cruz somewhat more comfortable, and that I had to write off my Dynamik Pro.

I'm lucky with my Thijs rowing bikes (2- and 3-wheeled) which were and are still perfectly comfortable. I managed to put the 2-wheeled Thijs 209 on the bikes rack of our car, so starting bike tours farther from home remained possible.

I'm still experimenting with my Cruz to make it sufficiently comfortable for at least short errand trips in our small town. The Dutch Lepper saddles manufacturer plays a decisive role in this.
Lepper will offer made-to-measure saddles, starting in 2013. It might look somewhat like this, and I will use this service as soon as it is available.
In the meantime I am experimenting with a Lepper saddle, which is mounted on an NC-17 Empire S-Pro II saddle post. This is very easily and reproducibly adjustable, so that I can fine-tune the saddle position. The saddle's suspension springs make for a very soft ride while retaining sufficient control of the bike.

 
Cycling, alone or together with my wife, is very important for me and us. For cycling alone I prefer very much my rowing bikes. Cycling together, in our own country and in Bayern (South Germany) requires another bike. The best choice, which definitely eliminates my saddle pain, is the HP Velotechnik Scorpion fs 26 E-Trike. It's a recumbent trike, it's offered with a pedelec option and it is foldable, thus transportable by car.