seats for big fellas

[schmuzzy]

a friend of mine bought a used bike which came with a Fizik Arrione (sp?) seat.

he's ridden for about a month now, so he's had some time to adjust it/ get used to it... and he's still having comfort problems.


he's like 6'3" and weighs in the mid 200s.... i thought the seat might just be too small to engage his sitting bones.

any other big guys out there have any better saddles they can offer as suggestions? to walk into a the LBS and just buy what you think LOOKS good is kind of a waiste of time. whereas, the any advice from like framed riders will be invaluable.

many thanks in advance,

and, as always- sarcastic comments welcome.

 

[meehs]

Some shops will actually let you try a saddle for a period of time to see if it works for you. Pity more shops don't offer this service because you're correct. You can't just look at a saddle and then accurately determine whether or not it will be comfortable. You're also correct in thinking that perhaps the Fizik Arione is a bit too narrow for your big friend's sit bones. Specialized has a line of saddles that come in various widths to accomodate sit bones of various widths. Dealers that sell them have a device that actually measures the distance between one's sit bones to determine the correct saddle. As always, being a larger rider myself at 6'5" and 225 lbs., I have to recommend the Brooks B17, which is the saddle that I find most comfortable.

 

[schmuzzy]

anyone else out there have any input to chime in with?

what about selle Italia?


thanks.

 

[baj32161]

I have heard wonderful things about the Specialized Body Geometry saddles. The fact that they come in 3 different widths has been a benefit for many riders, large or small.

Cheers,

Brian

 

[kleng]

a friend of mine bought a used bike which came with a Fizik Arrione (sp?) seat.

he's ridden for about a month now, so he's had some time to adjust it/ get used to it... and he's still having comfort problems.


he's like 6'3" and weighs in the mid 200s.... i thought the seat might just be too small to engage his sitting bones.

any other big guys out there have any better saddles they can offer as suggestions? to walk into a the LBS and just buy what you think LOOKS good is kind of a waiste of time. whereas, the any advice from like framed riders will be invaluable.

many thanks in advance,

and, as always- sarcastic comments welcome.

I've got 2 Fizik arione carbons, they appear to have more total saddle area than many saddles I've seen, they would be suited to those with wider hip bones.

Has your friend got the saddle perfectly level, using a builders level, this is the starting point for adjustment. How many rides has he made, It took me 10 rides to break mine in.

This review may shed some light.

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/arione.shtml

 

[mac77bear]

I am currently riding the Arione Wing Flex and I am a big rider 6'5" and find that it might be too narrow for me. I am wondering if anyone has any feedback on the Selle Italia SLC, SLK, or SLR Gel FLow.

 

[IcemanYQQ]

I'm a similar size, and I use the San Marco Rolls on all my bikes. It's about 100g heavier than other saddles, but it's very comfortable, even on long rides.

 

[li0scc0]

I've got 2 Fizik arione carbons, they appear to have more total saddle area than many saddles I've seen, they would be suited to those with wider hip bones.

Has your friend got the saddle perfectly level, using a builders level, this is the starting point for adjustment. How many rides has he made, It took me 10 rides to break mine in.

This review may shed some light.

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/arione.shtml

The width of the Arione is about 135mm, so it would be too narrow for some. As others have mentioned it is the width of the hip bones that will determine what saddles COULD work. If a saddle is too wide or too narrow to start with it will never fit right.

 

[mitosis]

a friend of mine bought a used bike which came with a Fizik Arrione (sp?) seat.

he's ridden for about a month now, so he's had some time to adjust it/ get used to it... and he's still having comfort problems.


he's like 6'3" and weighs in the mid 200s.... i thought the seat might just be too small to engage his sitting bones.

any other big guys out there have any better saddles they can offer as suggestions? to walk into a the LBS and just buy what you think LOOKS good is kind of a waiste of time. whereas, the any advice from like framed riders will be invaluable.

many thanks in advance,

and, as always- sarcastic comments welcome.

I've been trying lots of saddles lately, SLR, selle prima and others (which seem to be either too narrow or not have enough support in the middle) and keep coming back to my old Rolls. I'm 182cm and 75 kilos.

I'm tempted to try the flite titanium but there seems to be some longevity problems with it.

The arione seems to be getting good marks from many riders.

 

[kleng]

anyone else out there have any input to chime in with?

what about selle Italia?


thanks.

Here are a some photos of a Selle Italia SLR overlayed onto a Fizik Arione,
they are about the same width, but one difference is that the SLR continue to get wider further down the saddle length past the point where the Arione cuts sharply into the point. The SLR design may give some more support for wide sit bones, but if you find the Arione too narrow, the SLR would also be too narrow I suspect.

 

[DMF]

anyone else out there have any input to chime in with?

what about selle Italia?

I'm 6'2" 240 and use a Selle Italia PROlink trans am. Very comfortable.

Be sure your friend is using bike shorts/bib with padding.

 

[kbone]

I ride a Terry Liberator Ti Race. It's 150mm wide and pretty comfortable. The Specialized BG saddles come in three widths 135mm, 143mm and 155mm. If you need wider than that my wife has the Specialized Milano which is very wide at 175mm. If you friend has really wide sit bones that might be one to try. It's not all the pretty or light but it will be more comfortable than a saddle that is too narrow.

 

[discobean7]

I'm not a small guy either (for a cyclist), currently hovering around 190lbs. I rode the Fizik Arione for 2 years. I loved the ability to move around, but was never as comfortable as I hoped. This week I bought the Specialized Toupe in the wider width (143mm) and it is 100% better. There is minimal padding on the saddle, but with the wider width and center cutout I have had no pain or numbness after 3 rides of 90 minutes - 2.5 hours each.