Women's vs. men's saddles

My wife just bought a new bicycle about a month ago. She
loved everything but the saddle. I bought her a Terry saddle
and she likes it lot better. Not so much for the bone fit,
but the center cut out rather than a shallow depression of
the original saddle.

Now if I would notice the difference I do not know, and you
may not either, but she is a satisfied customer. That's
about everything I know about saddles, I am sure there are
more posts with real information on the way. Have fun!

On my bikes (three) all have female specific saddles. My
favs are the two Terry Saddles. On one I've got a Terry's
Liberator TiLite and on the other a Terry's racing thing.
Both very, very comfortable for extended periods.

Cheers, helen s

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is switched off--

> (...) Makes me think that this men's vs. women's saddle
> thing is more marketing than anything else and I should
> just buy whatever is cheaper in a given line. (Hell, we
> neanthertal men are supposed to get in touch with their
> "feminine side" anyway, right?)
>
> What say you all?
>
> - nopcbs

As a man, I have tried 2-3 times to sit on a women's
saddle. Just wondering, as you did, whether it would make a
real difference. The answer was: Yes, it does ! I felt
instantaneously awful on these odd seats. I wonder if it is
that uncomfortable for women to sit on men's saddles, but
if it is, then I must express all my sympathy to women who
had to endure this before specific women's saddle became
more common.

>I wonder if it is that uncomfortable for women to sit on
>men's saddles, but if it is, then I must express all my
>sympathy to women who had to endure this before specific
>women's saddle became more common.

Gino, my Bianchi San Remo came with a men's saddle on it.
All I am going to say is OUCH... to the power of 100.
Childbirth was a doddle compared to pain inflicted by that
saddle. Changing the saddle to a Terry's Liberator TiLite is
AAAAHHHH... to the power of 100. As soon as I got Luigi, my
Bianchi ML3, I swapped the saddle for a Terry's - AAAHHHHH

Cheers, helen s

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correct one remove fame & fortune
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--Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel
is switched off--

On Thu, 20 May 2004 22:51:58 -0400, "nopcbs" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Makes me think that this men's vs. women's saddle thing is
>more marketing than anything else

It is.

> and I should just buy whatever is cheaper in a given line.

No, you should probably buy whatever you think will
fit better.
--
Rick Onanian

>It is.

Sadly Rick, you aren't a woman on a saddle designed for a
man that causes injury and pain-levels that make childbirth
seem a doddle ;-)

On a more serious note, as a woman, I really have found that
a woman specific saddle (Terry's in my case) has made
cycling enjoyable as opposed to outright excruciating...
literally. When I first got Gino, the saddle it came with
was a men's one. After 10 miles I was in total agony, where
it was difficult to walk. No fun at all. Swapping the saddle
for a Terry's was instant bliss.

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get
correct one remove fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$

--Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel
is switched off--

Jacques Moser writes:

>> (...) Makes me think that this men's vs. women's saddle
>> thing is more marketing than anything else and I should
>> just buy whatever is cheaper in a given line. (Hell, we
>> Neanderthal men are supposed to get in touch with their
>> "feminine side" anyway, right?)

> As a man, I have tried 2-3 times to sit on a women's
> saddle. Just wondering, as you did, whether it would make
> a real difference. The answer was: Yes, it does ! I felt
> instantaneously awful on these odd seats. I wonder if it
> is that uncomfortable for women to sit on men's saddles,
> but if it is, then I must express all my sympathy to women
> who had to endure this before specific women's saddle
> became more common.

I'm not sure whose saddle you tried but the original
womens saddles for athletic women were designed by Avocet
because the boss's wife was both a rider and MD who was
aware that many women's pelvises were wider than men's.
That is, the protuberances (sit bones) are more widely
spaced such that they rested on the outer edge of the wide
part of men's saddles. The wider saddle accommodated that
but not all manufacturers who made these saddles
understood the need and dimensions. They have a useful
function for women in general.

Jacques, so where in CH are you riding?

Jobst Brandt [email protected]

I wrote:
>>It is.
On 21 May 2004 19:25:05 GMT, [email protected]
(dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) wrote:
>Sadly Rick, you aren't a woman on a saddle designed for a
>man that causes injury and pain-levels that make childbirth
>seem a doddle ;-)

I am male and rode a Trico gel saddle designed for a
woman, and it didn't cause any injury or pain; it was
comfortable for the two years I rode it. This, in response
to the OP who asked if he, as a male, should feel ok to
try a female saddle.

It's possible that you simply rode a saddle that wasn't
right for you, not necessarily one that was wrong for
all women.
--
Rick Onanian

On Fri, 21 May 2004 20:08:58 +0000, jobst.brand wrote:

>
> I'm not sure whose saddle you tried but the original
> womens saddles for athletic women were designed by Avocet
> because the boss's wife was both a rider and MD who was
> aware that many women's pelvises were wider than men's.
> That is, the protuberances (sit bones) are more widely
> spaced such that they rested on the outer edge of the wide
> part of men's saddles. The wider saddle accommodated that
> but not all manufacturers who made these saddles
> understood the need and dimensions. They have a useful
> function for women in general.

I tried my wife's own saddle (made for Veloplus -
www.veloplus.ch), and also, at the shop, a Brooks and a
Selle Italia. I don't think these last 2 saddles were
necessarily too wide, but they felt definitely too short.

>
> Jacques, so where in CH are you riding?

Neuchâtel

>
> Jobst Brandt [email protected]

On Fri, 21 May 2004 20:08:58 +0000, jobst.brand wrote:

>
> I'm not sure whose saddle you tried but the original
> womens saddles for athletic women were designed by Avocet
> because the boss's wife was both a rider and MD who was
> aware that many women's pelvises were wider than men's.
> That is, the protuberances (sit bones) are more widely
> spaced such that they rested on the outer edge of the wide
> part of men's saddles. The wider saddle accommodated that
> but not all manufacturers who made these saddles
> understood the need and dimensions. They have a useful
> function for women in general.

I tried my wife's own saddle (made for Veloplus -
www.veloplus.ch), and also, at the shop, a Brooks and a
Selle Italia. I don't think these last 2 saddles were
necessarily too wide, but they felt definitely too short.

>
> Jacques, so where in CH are you riding?

Neuchâtel

>
> Jobst Brandt [email protected]

> As a man, I have tried 2-3 times to sit on a women's
> saddle. Just wondering, as you did, whether it would make
> a real difference. The answer was: Yes, it does ! I felt
> instantaneously awful on these odd seats. I wonder if it
> is that uncomfortable for women to sit on men's saddles,
> but if it is, then I must express all my sympathy to women
> who had to endure this before specific women's saddle
> became more common.
Jacques

The common mistake you are making is thinking that all
women's saddles are made to one specification and all men's
saddles made to another specification. In real life, every
company makes its saddles differently. In the Terry saddles,
for example, at least one of their "men's" saddles, the
Terry Liberator, is wider than several of the "women's"
saddles. What it comes down to is measuring your "sit bones"
area and then scrutinizing the measurements of the saddles
made by different companies.

Pat in TX

>On a more serious note, as a woman, I really have found
>that a woman specific saddle (Terry's in my case) has made
>cycling enjoyable as opposed to outright excruciating...
>literally. When I first got Gino, the saddle it came with
>was a men's one. After 10 miles I was in total agony, where
>it was difficult to walk. No fun at all. Swapping the
>saddle for a Terry's was instant bliss.

One size does not fit all....

My wife preference for years has been for a Flite saddle,
which is most certainly not a women's specific saddle.

Her new fav is a Fizik Allante, again not a women's
specific design.

She is not a fan of Terry saddles or other womens' specific
designs she has tried..

YMMV,

Chris Neary [email protected]

"Science, freedom, beauty, adventure: what more could you
ask of life? Bicycling combined all the elements I loved" -
Adapted from a quotation by Charles Lindbergh

"nopcbs" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I happen to live in an area where there are no bike shops
> with a good selection of saddles nearby. What they have is
> little more than what you'll find at Dunham's.
>
> I need a new saddle as the "C9" saddle that I bought at
> one of the local shops a couple of years ago is wearing
> out (the lycra is wearing through - I ride almost 20 miles
> a day in good weather). I don't want another lycra saddle
> for this reason and I am not crazy about vinyl (no
> breathability). I think I want leather which no local shop
> sells at all. Been looking at the Terry Liberators on-line
> at Performance and Nashbar. Also read reviews at
> MtbReview. Seem like a good choice.
>
> In my on-line shopping I noticed that sometimes
> Performance or Nashbar will have the woman's version of a
> saddle on sale for about 1/3 less than the men's version.
> Far as I can tell, the women's saddles are slightly
> shorter and slightly wider. Supposedly the width is to
> accomodate the wider hip-bones of women vs. men. Problem
> with that is that I'm sure men and women hip-bone widths
> overlap since there humans have an enormous range of body

> thing is more marketing than anything else and I should
> just buy whatever is cheaper in a given line. (Hell, we
> neanthertal men are supposed to get in touch with their
> "feminine side" anyway, right?)
>
> What say you all?
>
> - nopcbs

Saddles are a matter of personal preference and you can't
tell much by what the maker or anyone else says about
comfort. I bought a LeMond women's saddle for my wife and we
both tried it and found it excruciating. It's chancy to buy
any saddle without trying it. I have 3 or 4 virtually new
seats gathering dust out in my garage to prove it.

That said, I really like the Velo 6037 with elastomer
suspension. Feels so good I have three of them on
different bikes.

"nopcbs" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I happen to live in an area where there are no bike shops
> with a good selection of saddles nearby. What they have is
> little more than what you'll find at Dunham's.
>
> I need a new saddle as the "C9" saddle that I bought at
> one of the local shops a couple of years ago is wearing
> out (the lycra is wearing through - I ride almost 20 miles
> a day in good weather). I don't want another lycra saddle
> for this reason and I am not crazy about vinyl (no
> breathability). I think I want leather which no local shop
> sells at all. Been looking at the Terry Liberators on-line
> at Performance and Nashbar. Also read reviews at
> MtbReview. Seem like a good choice.
>
> In my on-line shopping I noticed that sometimes
> Performance or Nashbar will have the woman's version of a
> saddle on sale for about 1/3 less than the men's version.
> Far as I can tell, the women's saddles are slightly
> shorter and slightly wider. Supposedly the width is to
> accomodate the wider hip-bones of women vs. men. Problem
> with that is that I'm sure men and women hip-bone widths
> overlap since there humans have an enormous range of body

> thing is more marketing than anything else and I should
> just buy whatever is cheaper in a given line. (Hell, we
> neanthertal men are supposed to get in touch with their
> "feminine side" anyway, right?)
>
> What say you all?
>
> - nopcbs

Saddles are a matter of personal preference and you can't
tell much by what the maker or anyone else says about
comfort. I bought a LeMond women's saddle for my wife and we
both tried it and found it excruciating. It's chancy to buy
any saddle without trying it. I have 3 or 4 virtually new
seats gathering dust out in my garage to prove it.

That said, I really like the Velo 6037 with elastomer
suspension. Feels so good I have three of them on
different bikes.

I wrote:
>>It's possible that you simply rode a saddle that wasn't
>>right for you, not necessarily one that was wrong for
>>all women.

On 22 May 2004 06:34:14 GMT, [email protected]
(dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) wrote:

>Cue Chakka Khan...

*sticks fingers in ears* LALALALALALLALALALALALALALALA I
CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALALALALALALALALALLALA *sees song end,
removes fingers*

Sorry, hate that song. Not a big fan of that style of
music. <G>

>Indeed. but we women have different pelvis structure to the
>male of the species and for many of us, a woman-specific
>saddle is of much benefit.

That's a damn good reason to design saddles with that
issue in mind. However, the end result is more saddle
variety for everybody, and nobody should worry about
trying one that's labelled for somebody else...which is
what I was trying to say.
--
Rick Onanian

You bring up an interesting point. In general "men's"
saddles appear longer and thinner (in back) than "women's".
One may assume that the width in back is different because
of the much discussed pelvic width difference (on average).

But why the length difference? As a male I know darned well
that I am not about to slide forward onto the saddle's nose
and risk crushing "the twins" who would quickly register a
note of protest. Since the ladies lack these "hangers on",
one would think that if a long nosed saddle is appropriate
for anyone, it's more appropriate for them. And yet they get
the shorter saddles.

- GRL

"It's good to want things."

Steve Barr (philosopher, poet,
humorist, chemist, Visual Basic
programmer) "Jacques Moser" <moser.re-
[email protected]>
wrote in message newsan.2004.05.21.-
[email protected]...
> On Fri, 21 May 2004 20:08:58 +0000, jobst.brand wrote:
>
> >
> > I'm not sure whose saddle you tried but the original
> > womens saddles for athletic women were designed by
> > Avocet because the boss's wife was both
a
> > rider and MD who was aware that many women's pelvises
> > were wider than men's. That is, the protuberances (sit
> > bones) are more widely spaced
such
> > that they rested on the outer edge of the wide part of
> > men's saddles.
The
> > wider saddle accommodated that but not all manufacturers
> > who made these saddles understood the need and
> > dimensions. They have a useful function for women in
> > general.
>
> I tried my wife's own saddle (made for Veloplus -
> www.veloplus.ch), and also, at the shop, a Brooks and a
> Selle Italia. I don't think these last 2 saddles were
> necessarily too wide, but they felt definitely too short.
>
> >
> > Jacques, so where in CH are you riding?
>
> Neuchâtel
>
> >
> > Jobst Brandt [email protected]

"> You bring up an interesting point. In general "men's"
saddles appear longer
> and thinner (in back) than "women's". One may assume that
> the width in
back
> is different because of the much discussed pelvic width
> difference (on average).
>
> But why the length difference? As a male I know darned
> well that I am not about to slide forward onto the
> saddle's nose and risk crushing "the
twins"
> who would quickly register a note of protest. Since the
> ladies lack these "hangers on", one would think that if a
> long nosed saddle is appropriate
for
> anyone, it's more appropriate for them. And yet they get
> the shorter saddles.
>
> - GRL
>
>

It has been explained that the longer nose of the saddle
would snag in the ladies' skirts.....

Pat in TX

Hmmm.

I can't remember the last time I saw a woman/girl wearing a
skirt while riding a bike. Once in a while I see a roller-
blader in a skirt, but not on

trail, so maybe by sample set is biased.

--

- GRL

"It's good to want things."

Steve Barr (philosopher, poet,
humorist, chemist, Visual Basic
programmer) "Pat" <[email protected]>
wrote in message news:2ha76mFaoc96U1@uni-
berlin.de...
>
> "> You bring up an interesting point. In general "men's"
> saddles appear longer
> > and thinner (in back) than "women's". One may assume
> > that the width in
> back
> > is different because of the much discussed pelvic width
> > difference (on average).
> >
> > But why the length difference? As a male I know darned
> > well that I am
not
> > about to slide forward onto the saddle's nose and risk
> > crushing "the
> twins"
> > who would quickly register a note of protest. Since the
> > ladies lack
these
> > "hangers on", one would think that if a long nosed
> > saddle is appropriate
> for
> > anyone, it's more appropriate for them. And yet they get
> > the shorter saddles.
> >
> > - GRL
> >
> >
>
> It has been explained that the longer nose of the saddle
> would snag in the ladies' skirts.....
>
> Pat in TX

> I can't remember the last time I saw a woman/girl wearing
> a skirt while riding a bike. Once in a while I see a roller-
> blader in a skirt, but not
on

> trail, so maybe by sample set is biased.
>
> --
>
> - GRL

No, you're right. That's the point. Maybe women wore skirts
while riding in the 1920's, but today? No.

Pat in TX