Just found out the saddle I have is 395g. Lighter, softer ones?

[jsull14]

I have been thinking of upgrading my Specialized Avatar 143 saddle which came stock on my Roubaix. I get a little numbness on long rides but the main problem is that under my scrotum KILLS during a long ride. Even with the heavy duty gel shorts I can be heard yelling "owww" when hoping out of the saddle on long rides.

I also just learned this seat weighs nearly 400g, which sounds like a lot but actually I am not sure how heavy this is in general, so I might be able to kill two birds (weight, comfiness) with one (expensive?) stone. Do you have any good recommendations?

Thanks a lot.

 

[capwater]

Search this forum, this Q comes up weekly. In a nutshell, saddle preference is far too personal to recommend one particular model for anyone.

 

[Retro Grouch]

I have been thinking of upgrading my Specialized Avatar 143 saddle which came stock on my Roubaix. I get a little numbness on long rides but the main problem is that under my scrotum KILLS during a long ride. Even with the heavy duty gel shorts I can be heard yelling "owww" when hoping out of the saddle on long rides.

I also just learned this seat weighs nearly 400g, which sounds like a lot but actually I am not sure how heavy this is in general, so I might be able to kill two birds (weight, comfiness) with one (expensive?) stone. Do you have any good recommendations?

Thanks a lot.

28.4 grams per ounce. That makes your saddle 13.9 ounces - about half a water bottle. I don't hear of too many guys eliminating water so they can save weight and go faster. It doesn't make sense to me to struggle with an uncomfortable saddle either.

 

[alienator]

Just find a saddle that coddles your buttcheeks nicely. There is absolutely zero correlation between saddle weight and comfort.

 

[kdelong]

If I am going to be on the bike more than 2 hours, I borrow the saddle off of Sarah's bike. I normallly use a Sel Italia which is nice but it gets uncomfortable after more than 2 hours, or 50 miles, whichever comes first. For longer rides I borrow her Nashbar Women's Specific saddle and it is perfect. I can hear the cyber-snickers out there! Anyway, it is wider than my saddle and has a center cutout for the male anatomy, and is way softer. Sarah doesn't mind because she won't go on a ride that is going to last more than two hours.

 

[vascdoc]

Even with the heavy duty gel shorts I can be heard yelling "owww" when hoping out of the saddle on long rides.

I agree with all of the comments that saddles are personal - however, gel shorts in my opinion are terrible. The gel tends to move and irritates the skin. At first they sort of feel good but then they tend to hurt. Try other cycling shorts.

 

[Bob Ross]

I don't hear of too many guys eliminating water so they can save weight and go faster.

Really? I often see riders dumping their water bottles at the bottom of a steep climb. Doesn't mean they're not idiots, just that there are folks who believe it'll help.

To the OP: "Lighter" and "Softer" are almost mutually exclusive when it comes to bicycle saddles. "Softer" implies the inclusion of padding, and padding weighs more than...no padding.

The thing is, your probably *don't* want more padding. What you want is a saddle that's shaped to support your sitz bones (sic) while not putting undue pressure on your perenium. If you can find a saddle that achieves this shape (and as others have mentioned, that's very personal, not something that necessarily will work for any two people) you most likely won't need any padding. Too much padding causes your sitz bones to sink into the saddle which then can compress the softer tissue around your butt & crotch. You want to stay suspended up on your sitz bones.

A saddle with little or no padding is almost always more comfortable (and lighter).

 

[Dietmar]

I borrow her Nashbar Women's Specific saddle [which] has a center cutout for the male anatomy...

Heheh, a "women's specific saddle" with a "center cutout for the male anatomy" may indeed get some snickers...

 

[jsull14]

I agree with all of the comments that saddles are personal - however, gel shorts in my opinion are terrible. The gel tends to move and irritates the skin. At first they sort of feel good but then they tend to hurt. Try other cycling shorts.

And the gel shorts are heavy.

 

[jsull14]

Thanks for the help. I guess the better question I should have asked is "how do you determine the right saddle?" Do you go to the LBS and get on a few bikes and see what feels good? Do you have someone at the LBS take your measurements of your butt and all the other parts down there (I am laughing as I write this but they do take measurements to get the frame size correct so why not the saddle??)

 

[Dietmar]

Do you have someone at the LBS take your measurements of your butt and all the other parts down there (I am laughing as I write this but they do take measurements to get the frame size correct so why not the saddle??)

Actually, you're not that far off at all with this idea: Some bike stores do have a special rig that you plop your butt onto which will allow them to determine the best saddle for you. Otherwise, most decent bike stores will allow you to take a saddle home to try it out on a ride.

Otherwise, as a general rule, it is a mistake to assume that a softer saddle will be more comfortable. Shape and position of the saddle is more important than other parameters. There are racing saddles out there with no padding at all (just a bare carbon shell) that are perfectly comfortable, even on long rides, as long as they fit properly.

P.S.: And, yes, while I agree that weight is often overrated, 400g for a saddle is kind of on the heavy side. Typical racing saddles should be around 250g or less.

 

[mongooseboy]

I have been thinking of upgrading my Specialized Avatar 143 saddle which came stock on my Roubaix. I get a little numbness on long rides but the main problem is that under my scrotum KILLS during a long ride. Even with the heavy duty gel shorts I can be heard yelling "owww" when hoping out of the saddle on long rides.

I also just learned this seat weighs nearly 400g, which sounds like a lot but actually I am not sure how heavy this is in general, so I might be able to kill two birds (weight, comfiness) with one (expensive?) stone. Do you have any good recommendations?

Thanks a lot.

Specialized makes two or three different widths of that saddle, and chances are the one you have is too narrow for your sit bones, thus causing pain, or your not sitting on your sit bones... The bike shop might trade your saddle for a wider/narrower one if it is still newish. And they can measure your sit bones to find the right saddle...maybe not all shops, however.

 

[kdelong]

Heheh, a "women's specific saddle" with a "center cutout for the male anatomy" may indeed get some snickers...

I guess that is rather oxymoronic. "It had a good sized cut out to keep from compressing the female anatomy , which is large enough to accomodate most men too!" would have been more appropriate.