Need help finding the perfect seat!

I need some advice on the right seat fit. As a woman that does long distance cycling, It can become extremely painful for me to ride sitting down after 50 miles. I have tried the pressure relieving seats with the gap in the middle and it relieve pressure off of my sensitive areas but my sit bones continue to hurt. Its really painful, what are some suggestions? Should I be using a more narrow seat or a wider one with more padding?
Note: I don't race but efficiency and aerodynamics are still quite important to me.

 

I think your best bet is to see if your LBS will let you try out saddles. A seat that may work for me may not work for you and vice versa. Have you had a proper bike fit? This may be where the discomfort lies.

 

Long distance endurance riders gravitate towards old fashioned, full leather saddles like those made by Brooks and Berthoud. These saddles are handmade and not cheap.

if you go that route, follow the Lon Haldeman breakin procedure.

http://pactour.blogspot.com/2011/01/breaking-in-leather-saddle.html

You can Demo such saddles from Richard......

http://www.eogear.com/index.php/cycling/components/saddles/demo-saddles.html

Once a leather saddle has molded and conformed to your sit bones, it is much more comfortable than any plastic saddle.

 

It is trial and error but I think the Terri saddle is very good for long distance. They have several models depending on your type of riding.

 

That, it is.

 

It's possible to shorten the guessing game some by measuring the spacing between your sit bones.
One can do that at home by sitting on a piece of corrugated cardboard, and measure center-to-center between the dimples formed by the sit bones.
Good bike shops will have special measuring pad which does the same thing. Then shop for saddles said to match that width. Good shops may also have a loan-to-buy program allowing you to give a saddle a decent Trial ride before purchase.
While I'm usually wary of gimmicky saddles, there's something called the Rido saddle which looks like it could work.

 

This is a tough one. I had taken long rides before and I had butt pains on my first experience. On my second time, I brought along a foam, a thin one measuring 1 foot by 1 foot that I used as a cushion when I started feeling something down there. Obviously, you don't feel comfortable when you sit for a long time much more when you are pedalling. That foam did me good.

 

Yeah, I've been using the Terry Fly for about the last 10 years. For me, they have just the right amount of padding and width, and the flat shape gives plenty of room to slide back. Current one is the base model, with a synthetic cover, not the fancy grained leather....but still made in Italia.

 

This is such a personal matter that no one can tell you what's best. If you want opinions, you will get plenty. I feel that less padding is better. I think that a saddle where your sit bones make contact in the "target" area of the saddle is key. I also believe that your sit bones and surrounding tissue need to become accustomed to being in the saddle; a toughening up, if you will. I ride a Brooks Cambium and I have no issues with comfort for any distance. I used to ride a Brooks leather and it did form to my form and the comfort level was OK. But I find the Cambium to be superior for me. Just my two cents.

 

I've been blessed with a rear end that can ride almost any saddle. The only one I couldn't stick with was a Bontrager Affinity.

 

Like Dabac said! I wish some of my previous LBS had this knowledge! Get the basics figured out then you can play the trial and error game. You may want to see what RAAM riders use, tho most of them are men.
I use WTB womens race model and love it,
S.

 

The best way to find a seat that works for you is to actually try out different seats. Everyone is all different and a seat that may feel amazing to me, might feel like the worse seat ever to you. So I would just try and find a place that has different seats and see if they will let you try them out before you buy one.

 

Try a Brooks B72 or B66. They both have an equally broad seat width. The difference is in the amount of steel in the framework. The B66 has much more.

Also, Brooks makes a female specific version of the classic B17. The seat width is slightly wider to accommodate a given female rider's sit bones.

Many, MANY long distance tourer extol the virtues of leather conforming to one's unique confirmation over time. There are boutique saddle makers as well. You'll pay ALOT, but if one spends a great deal of time on one's bike with yearly tours of 2 weeks or more 300.00 for a custom saddle is well worth it.

Personally, I'm fortunate to be able to get by w/a B17 Standard. Saddles are extremely personal. Don't cheap out on the most immediate connection with one's cycling rig. I'm doing the TramsAm next year. You can bet along with top notch ride, bags, tent, etc. goes the best saddle for ME I can afford. Just happens to be a production Brooks.

Really hope this helps. I spent many years resisting a Brooks because of the cost. So, while not presently I HAVE literally felt your pain.

 

Sorry, didn't read the OP close enough. Got the impression that you are a touring cyclist. The B72 & 66 certainly aren't what you'd need. Still recommend trying a WSD B17 or a custom leather saddle.

 

Well, there are hundreds of wonderful seats that you can buy. You can go to any local bike shop to buy it but I would recommend you to go to the online shops because you can get variety of seats in the online world. I bet you will find a good seat a very cheap price. So, search on the Internet and check it out.

 

Impossible to answer really, as others have said, we are all different. Personally, I love Charge Spoon saddles.

 

If we could say what is the best saddle then it would be a great thing indeed for everyone! Sadly though, we are all different and one saddle that is comfortable for me might not be the right one for you. I must have tried dozens of different saddles in the past in order to get the right one for me, and something else I've noticed is that just because a saddle might be right for you now, in 5 or 10 years time that might not be the case.

Our bodies tend to change over a period of time and so when it's time to change to a new saddle you can't simply choose the one you've got now as there might be others out there that are newer designs and that are a better fit.