Saddle Questions

[amerikon]

I bought a Specialized Sequoia last year and as I ride more I'm trying to extend the distances I ride. Unfortunately whenever I ride for more than an 45 mins to an hour the saddle becomes pretty uncomfortable. This is aggravated if I ride consecutive days. I wear good shorts so I'm wondering if the saddle is too narrow or if I need to switch to one with more padding. I'd like to keep the racy profile of the current saddle if at all possible. Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Powerful Pete]

Saddles are a very personal issue. No one can really advise you on what makes the most sense for you and your rear end. Ergo, you need to try a few. However, a few pointers before you go out buying more saddles than you know what to do with...

1. Ensure that you have good quality shorts that fit you correctly (you say this is already the case).
2. Go to the shop where you purchased your bike and have them help ensure that you are well-positioned on your bike and that it is this that is causing the problem.
3. Ride more. It takes a while (I have no idea from your post how long you have been riding, but I suspect you are relatively new to the sport) for all of your pieces and parts to get used to riding!
4. While you ride, regularly change your position and 'get out of your seat' to ensure that everything gets enough circulation, etc.
5. Find a shop that will allow you to test a saddle to ensure that you get something that fits you well. Experiment!

 

[amerikon]

Saddles are a very personal issue. No one can really advise you on what makes the most sense for you and your rear end. Ergo, you need to try a few. However, a few pointers before you go out buying more saddles than you know what to do with...

I figured as much, but I thought there might be some rules of thumb, so to speak. What kinds of saddles should I consider in general? Is gel a good way to go? Are the $150 ones that much better than the $50 ones? Also at 6'2" 215 lbs I'm not exactly svelte so should I abandon the idea of riding on a smaller saddle? As far as the discomfort goes, it's not really painful, just annoying enough to keep me from going the extra miles.

1. Ensure that you have good quality shorts that fit you correctly (you say this is already the case).

I usually ride in Pearl Izumi Attack shorts. They have quite a bit of padding and are far superior to my first pair of shorts. I would imagine I'd know if they didn't fit right. The padding's in the right place if that's what you mean.

2. Go to the shop where you purchased your bike and have them help ensure that you are well-positioned on your bike and that it is this that is causing the problem.

3. Ride more. It takes a while (I have no idea from your post how long you have been riding, but I suspect you are relatively new to the sport) for all of your pieces and parts to get used to riding!

I bought my bike last March. I rode pretty often (for me at least) 2-4 times a week 15-20 miles at a time. I switched jobs in September and haven't had much time to ride since then. So I'd hope 5 months would be enough time to break myself in.

4. While you ride, regularly change your position and 'get out of your seat' to ensure that everything gets enough circulation, etc.

I'll have to be more concientious about that. I usually only shift when it starts to hurt.

5. Find a shop that will allow you to test a saddle to ensure that you get something that fits you well. Experiment!

 

[kdelong]

Your LBS should have fitted the saddle to you when they fitted the rest of the bike to you. In short, what they do is have you sit on a memory foam cushion which temporarily retain the contour of you backside. By measuring the impression, they are able to accurately estimate the distance between your ischial tuberocities (sit bones) and recommend a saddle based on this.

I have a fairly expensive saddle that I use for all of my short rides, 50 miles or less. It is a good saddle but it begins to become uncomfortable after sitting on it that long, and I do shift around on the saddle quite a bit. For long rides I use a $24.00 Bike Nashbar womens specific saddle. I found that this works well for me by borrowing my girlfriend's saddle once for a ride. It felt so good that I bought one for myself. I'm not saying that this is the route that you should pursue, but it does demonstrate that a more expensive saddle is not neccessarily the right saddle. In this case, the less expensive wrong gender saddle is the right saddle for me!

 

[rparedes]

Fit: from another post (KDLONG): measure your sit bones. You can do it by sitting on carboard and measuring the impression. This will give you the min. saddle width you need. Also check your saddle height and distance to bars. You want to make sure your sit bones are resting on the fat part of the saddle.
Racing saddles are narrow so that you can lean forward into the bar drops. If you ride long distances you want something that supports you a little more as you ride more upright (hoods or bars)
I ride on a very inexpensive saddle: Riddo (riddosaddles.com) purchased at Bikemania.com ($18 or $20 bucks; I think) I tried gel and also really cushy saddles and they did not work for me. The riddo saddle is relatively firm but has enough "give" for comfort (everybody has a favorite saddle).

From another post: shift your body as you ride. Get off the saddle every few minutes. A racer friend of mine suggested, when I first stated riding, that your weight should not be on the saddle. Ideally, your weigh is really supported by your feet as you pedal, thus putting your full weight into power. (In practice though, it's very hard for me to sustain that for long periods of time, but it gives me a way to relief the saddle pressure) On long rides (3 or 4 hrs) I stand a lot, change my body position on the saddle and constantly try to shift my weight around.

 

[Phill P]

Where is the discomfort? is it the "sit bones" or "softer areas" or some where in between?

A softer saddle is unlikely to be more comfortable for longer rides. Saddles that are too soft allow contact between the saddle and the wrong parts of your body when you sink in. But then too hard concentrates the pressure too much.

Flex in a saddle can be a good thing so it moves with your peddle stroke.

I'm 6'2 and similar weight. I find I need wider saddles. However your hips may be a different shape to mine and this could be completely wrong for you.

Really there is no advice as to what will work for you. You have to try try and try again.
Also have to train your butt to be able to ride for longer periods. Ask any rider who has taken a long time off the saddle and often the butt hurts more than the legs when you start riding again!

 

[Powerful Pete]

Well, remember that a more expensive saddle does not equate to more comfort. Often the very expensive saddles are uber-light, sometimes with no padding at all (just a carbon fiber shell). That kind of thing can be comfortable if you are a very serious rider who puts in A LOT of kms very regularly.

Does your butt hurt or are you numb... where it counts? If the problem is the latter double-check your position (again!) and consider a cut-out saddle (with a hole in the middle).

At the end of the day, you need to experiment a bit with your position and different saddles.

 

[Peter@vecchios]

I bought a Specialized Sequoia last year and as I ride more I'm trying to extend the distances I ride. Unfortunately whenever I ride for more than an 45 mins to an hour the saddle becomes pretty uncomfortable. This is aggravated if I ride consecutive days. I wear good shorts so I'm wondering if the saddle is too narrow or if I need to switch to one with more padding. I'd like to keep the racy profile of the current saddle if at all possible. Any ideas?

Thanks

Bike fit has more to do with saddle comfort than saddle design. BUT if your fit is OK, go to a shop that has a replacement guarantee, that is, try a saddle and if it doesn't work and looks new, you can exchange it.

 

[amerikon]

Thanks for all the good ideas. I never would've thought to use cardboard! After giving myself a good feel the pain seems to be just inside the "sit bones", so that would make me think the saddle is too narrow. I have to say the shop I got my bike from didn't really do much in the way of fitting me to the bike. From what I remember we just made sure the seat was at the right height and that was it. Maybe I should find another shop?

 

[kdelong]

A different shop would be a good idea. The number one reason that new cyclists stop riding is because they are not comfortable. The number one reason that they are uncomfortable is due to a poor fit. An LBS that does not properly fit a bike to a rider is either inexperienced or just plain lazy. Think of all of the lost repeat business and refferrals that they lose everytime a new cyclist quits riding.

 

[bernmart]

I agree. When I bought my Sequoia in '06 it came with a Specialized Milano saddle, which was just too soft for long rides. Then I replaced it with a Selle Italia Max Flite Gel Flow, which was much better, but finally it too made me uncomfortable--either the gel broke down over time, or my rides started getting longer and longer, or both. Now I use a Specialized Toupe, and have done four centuries on it with little or no discomfort, and no numbing at all.

Also, keep in mind that sore sitbones are like sore muscles--it takes time to adapt. Numbness is a whole different issue, and not to be tolerated at all!

 

[bicyclerubber]

Yes, check that the saddle height and position is right - and also the bars too of course.

There are big claims made by Selle SMP about their saddles - even writing in the interestingly titled journal of sexual health on the subject

I especially like the look of the Full Carbon one but its touch pricey, even if it does what it claims

 

[alfeng]

When in doubt, try a BROOKS B17 saddle (or, equivalent) -- both the "regular" & "narrow" are wider than the typical plastic saddle -- you'll love it or hate it ...

I think that people who find them to be uncomfortable did not set them up properly OR are not sitting on the widest part of the saddle (but, isn't that the case with most saddles?). If you get one, initially, set the rails so that they are parallel to the ground ... if necessary, tweak the position after a ride-or-two.

The drawback is that they weigh 2x what the average saddle weighs (i.e., typically, more than 500g) AND they require periodic maintenace (e.g., SnoSeal).

 

[OldGoat]

I bought a Specialized Sequoia last year and as I ride more I'm trying to extend the distances I ride. Unfortunately whenever I ride for more than an 45 mins to an hour the saddle becomes pretty uncomfortable. This is aggravated if I ride consecutive days. I wear good shorts so I'm wondering if the saddle is too narrow or if I need to switch to one with more padding. I'd like to keep the racy profile of the current saddle if at all possible. Any ideas?

Thanks

Check out the Competitive Cyclist saddle demo program. They send you 11 saddles to try out. Here's the link:
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/road-bikes/demo-saddle

 

[oldbobcat]

TMaybe I should find another shop?

It's a rare shop that can fit something as personal as a saddle, so don't hold it against them.

I'm larger, too, and I recommend looking at some of the older designs. The most comfortable saddle I've ever used is the Selle Italia Turbo, available through many ebay sellers. The San Marco Regal and San Marco Rolls are quite similar, still in production, and definitely worth checking out. Right now the San Marco Concor is my favorite, but my ass is definitely at the upper limit of appropriateness for this saddle. excelsports.com has the San Marcos.

Brooks B-17s are nice, but I preferred the Pro. If you want to go that route check out all the Brooks saddles. Remember that your first season on a Brooks is your break-in period.

 

[dbackmtg]

My bike is entering it's 2nd year with me. when I first got it I threw on a different saddle adjusted it a little and started riding, never taking care to really adjust everything. Just the other day I threw my bike on my trainer and decided to really tune it in. I adjusted my seat, handlebars and shifters. I was probably on and off the bike at least 50 times. Afterward I rode for about an hour on the trainer. What a difference it made. Why I didn't do this when I got the bike I have no idea. Finding a saddle that fits you is important, but adjusting your bike to fit just right is just as important.