saddle advice for a woman, please!

[ouchies]

hey.

so i have a redline cyclocross which i love with all my heart, however i am experiencing pain in ways and places a woman should not and need advice on a new saddle.

i got rid of the one it came with because it was too skinny and too hard and a bike shop sold me a wilderness trail bike seat for women. this thing is probably worse that the original saddle.

i have been reading a little this morning on different types of saddles, but there is so much conflicting information that i thought i might ask any women that post here what they would recommend. a little about me:

i am skinny, and do not have hips, i ride mostly forward, but also shifty around a bit in the saddle. (although maybe i do this because i hurty in precious places?! ha!) i ride fast mainly and mostly in the city. i ride about 10 - 20 miles a day, although sometimes more.

the pain i currently experience (i hope this isn't tmi, i just want those more experienced to know where i get the pain, so as not to recommend me a saddle that will recreate the trauma) is under my butt cheeks and, umm, the front of my current seat also gouges me *there* to cause an inferno-like pain. oh, i also have numbness in the front of my legs at the very top, right by the groin area. fun!

any help would be MOST appreciated.

thanks!

ms. ouchies.

 

[melslur]

I'm a guy so I can't relate 100%. Nonetheless, I was impreseed by the Specialized saddle fitting board I saw at my LBS. It's a gel type pad that you sit on, and it has a ruler on it. You then measure the width of the impression your pelvis bones (butt) has left. You then look on the chart for your width AND your riding style (for how forward vs upright you will be), and the chart then indicates the appropriate width. You may want to try that.

 

[geoffs]

hey.

so i have a redline cyclocross which i love with all my heart, however i am experiencing pain in ways and places a woman should not and need advice on a new saddle.

i got rid of the one it came with because it was too skinny and too hard and a bike shop sold me a wilderness trail bike seat for women. this thing is probably worse that the original saddle.

i have been reading a little this morning on different types of saddles, but there is so much conflicting information that i thought i might ask any women that post here what they would recommend. a little about me:

i am skinny, and do not have hips, i ride mostly forward, but also shifty around a bit in the saddle. (although maybe i do this because i hurty in precious places?! ha!) i ride fast mainly and mostly in the city. i ride about 10 - 20 miles a day, although sometimes more.

the pain i currently experience (i hope this isn't tmi, i just want those more experienced to know where i get the pain, so as not to recommend me a saddle that will recreate the trauma) is under my butt cheeks and, umm, the front of my current seat also gouges me *there* to cause an inferno-like pain. oh, i also have numbness in the front of my legs at the very top, right by the groin area. fun!

any help would be MOST appreciated.

thanks!

ms. ouchies.

My wife has a Terry Butterfly on the back of the tandem. When we are touring we ride 5 to 8 hours a day 5 days a week and no complaints. Any decent LBS will let you test a saddle out with the option to swap if you dont like it. Serfas make a really squidgy one but it weighs a ton.
Try to find an LBS that specialises in women. Also try searching the archives for similar problems. I am sure your not the first.

Cheers

Geoff

 

[noonievut]

I'm a guy so I can't relate 100%. Nonetheless, I was impreseed by the Specialized saddle fitting board I saw at my LBS. It's a gel type pad that you sit on, and it has a ruler on it. You then measure the width of the impression your pelvis bones (butt) has left. You then look on the chart for your width AND your riding style (for how forward vs upright you will be), and the chart then indicates the appropriate width. You may want to try that.

I bought one of these seats and the fitting isn't all that useful to ensure a comfy seat. Essentially you have either a small, regular, or large sit bone span and most experienced cyclists can take one look at you and say which seat would fit you. The seat itself may or may not feel comfy to you, regardless of this fit system.

Like the other poster I've heard good things about the terry saddles for women (I have one for men and love it). They're pretty well priced so not much money out the window if you don't like it.

Good luck.

 

[jhuskey]

My wife started with the Liberator and is now on the Butterfly, and she does some respectable mileage with no problem.
I recommend the Terry.

 

[geo8rge]

1) There is a womens area of this forum. They know their vulvulas.

2) Consider buying used stuff off ebay and craigslist until you find something that seems right. Then buy a ew one.

3) high quality seatpost shock like thudbuster might work.

4) If yo have 20" wheels, switch to 26"

 

[alfeng]

hey.

so i have a redline cyclocross which i love with all my heart, however i am experiencing pain in ways and places a woman should not and need advice on a new saddle.

i got rid of the one it came with because it was too skinny and too hard and a bike shop sold me a wilderness trail bike seat for women. this thing is probably worse that the original saddle.

i have been reading a little this morning on different types of saddles, but there is so much conflicting information that i thought i might ask any women that post here what they would recommend.

Here is a recent thread you may want to look at:

http://www.cyclingforums.com/showthread.php?p=2915251#post2915251​

FWIW. I think a BIG problem for some people is that they set up their saddles with the nose pointed slightly UP or with the top of the saddle LEVEL ... I think this is generally wrong for the average rider. The saddle should, in my opinion (and, it is only MY opinion; but, I only wear unpadded rugby shorts except in cooler/cold weather) is that the REAR of the saddle should be higher than the nose; and, YOU should be sitting on the REAR of the saddle (where it is widest).​

When I was test-fitting various saddles for my wife (I wasn't going to have her sit on something that I didn't find comfortable out-of-the-box ... yes, following the recommedation of trying a lot of different saddles is VALID) I found that a wider saddle was no less comfortable for me than a "regular" width saddle -- it was sort of a revelation since my only prior experience with WIDE saddles were the type that came on 3-speeds and coaster-brake bikes whose noses are (I now realize was the "problem" when trying a more aggressive riding posture way-back-when) wider than they should be. My preferred saddle for the past 24+ years had been San Marco Concor which supeseded a San Marco Coeur. I thought the Coeur was an exceptionally comfortable, if not cheap, saddle ... I now know that it was as comfortable as it was because it simulated a well-worn leather saddle -- I figured the then-new Concor had to be as good-or-better (it was great, out-of-the-box, and ONLY ~350 grams ... which is porky by today's standards).​

When in doubt, opt for the wider saddle ... firm is actually better than cushy (the "cush" allows you to sink into the saddle until your sit bones compress the foam onto the plastic platform which therefore pushes other parts of the saddle into your tender areas).

If all-else-fails, then try a "standard" (vs. narrow) BROOKS-type saddle (e.g., B-17) -- they are porky at over 500g, but it should be comfortable if you set it up properly.​

Start with the rails PARALLEL TO THE GROUND with ANY SADDLE ... ride ... sit toward the back edge ... and then, adjust, accordingly.​

I currently have an old Brooks on one of my bikes, too, and the platform is level, but I measure the back edge as being ~3/4 inch higher than the level portion ... so, the saddle is about a 1/2 inch higher where my sit bones locate than the "narrow" part of the saddle -- that 1/2 inch is probably better than a hole-in-the-nose whose sides still may (inevitably) press into your perineal region.​

 

[ouchies]

Here is a recent thread you may want to look at:

http://www.cyclingforums.com/showthread.php?p=2915251#post2915251​

thank link is really helping me out, thanks!

and thanks everyone for your advice.

 

[kleng]

thank link is really helping me out, thanks!

and thanks everyone for your advice.

We are all assuming your wear cycling pants with some form of built in padding (chamois) as a lot of high performance saddles are designed with this in mind, thats why they have a different padding design to more comfort orientated saddles.