Women's saddles



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Jb

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Hi,

I'm after some recommendations for a new saddle. I commute on my bike, usually a maximum of about 30
minutes, and don't really do longer recreational rides more than a couple of times a year.

Even for such short rides I've been finding my current saddle which came with the (cheap) bike
pretty uncomfortable especially towards the front. Can anyone advise on saddle types or brands that
I can check out?

Thanks, Jane
 
What is your current saddle, Jane? Are you finding that it is too wide, or too narrow? (you will
know this from where it hurts)

"JB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> I'm after some recommendations for a new saddle. I commute on my bike, usually a maximum of about
> 30 minutes, and don't really do longer recreational rides more than a couple of times a year.
>
> Even for such short rides I've been finding my current saddle which came with the (cheap) bike
> pretty uncomfortable especially towards the front. Can anyone advise on saddle types or brands
> that I can check out?
>
> Thanks, Jane
 
JB wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm after some recommendations for a new saddle. I commute on my bike,

There is no simple one-fits-all answer. Some people will swear by one brand or another, but you
really need to try it out. Have a read at:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

> Even for such short rides I've been finding my current saddle which came with the (cheap) bike
> pretty uncomfortable especially towards the front.

Have you tried adjusting the tilt? Thats very important.
 
Hi Andrew and Mike. I think my saddle's a no name brand - it came with the bike. Too narrow
really, so I've been looking at those big squishy ones but I'm just wary of making it worse rather
than better!

I haven't adjusted the tilt, no. It's horizontal at the moment and there seem to be mixed opinions
about tilting it.

Mike <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> JB wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I'm after some recommendations for a new saddle. I commute on my bike,
>
> There is no simple one-fits-all answer. Some people will swear by one brand or another, but you
> really need to try it out. Have a read at:
>
> http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html
>
> > Even for such short rides I've been finding my current saddle which came with the (cheap) bike
> > pretty uncomfortable especially towards the front.
>
> Have you tried adjusting the tilt? Thats very important.
 
One thing you may try, is going into a bike store, and try 2-3 different saddles, to see which one
suits your requirements...

Most bike shops are happy enough to do this for you...

"JB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi Andrew and Mike. I think my saddle's a no name brand - it came with the bike. Too narrow
> really, so I've been looking at those big squishy ones but I'm just wary of making it worse rather
> than better!
>
> I haven't adjusted the tilt, no. It's horizontal at the moment and there seem to be mixed opinions
> about tilting it.
>
> Mike <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > JB wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > I'm after some recommendations for a new saddle. I commute on my bike,
> >
> > There is no simple one-fits-all answer. Some people will swear by one brand or another, but you
> > really need to try it out. Have a read at:
> >
> > http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html
> >
> > > Even for such short rides I've been finding my current saddle which came with the (cheap) bike
> > > pretty uncomfortable especially towards the front.
> >
> > Have you tried adjusting the tilt? Thats very important.
 
Hi JB, I had much the same problem; and I replaced mine with some sort of oasis brand women's
saddle. I tried "sitting" on a few saddles in the bike shops, and this one felt sort-of comfortable
-- but none of the bike shops I frequent let you actually try out a saddle on your bike. Anyway, it
still took a few days getting used to, but now I find it very comfortable. I'd suggest try out a few
as much as the shops will let you, and give it a few days before you decide it was a bad choice.
Good luck, Liz

"JB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi Andrew and Mike. I think my saddle's a no name brand - it came with the bike. Too narrow
> really, so I've been looking at those big squishy ones but I'm just wary of making it worse rather
> than better!
 
[email protected] (JB) wrote in news:[email protected]:

> Hi,
>
> I'm after some recommendations for a new saddle. I commute on my bike, usually a maximum of about
> 30 minutes, and don't really do longer recreational rides more than a couple of times a year.
>
> Even for such short rides I've been finding my current saddle which came with the (cheap) bike
> pretty uncomfortable especially towards the front. Can anyone advise on saddle types or brands
> that I can check out?
>
> Thanks, Jane

I hear good things about Georgina Terry saddles, which is what my wife uses. Other female cyclists I
know like women's saddle by Specialized and fizik, among others.

As other posters have mentioned, saddle preference varies a lot. However, if you're on a typicl
narrow bloke's saddle with no soft area at the nose, then you will almost certainly get some
improvement by switching to just about any women's saddle. Look for the back of the saddle to be a
bit wider, and the front to have a soft area or even a hole to relieve pressure on the soft tissues
of the genital area.

Big, heavily padded saddles don't tend to help much - if the hull of the saddle doesn't fit you,
slapping a couple of inches of foam over it just adds something to fold and pinch, which can make
the problem worse.

A seatpost that allows fine adjustment of the saddle angle can help too. Typcally, these mount the
saddle with two bolts instead of one. The two work against each other so that you can have the
saddle at absolutely any angle, rather than a limited number of positions dictated by the serrations
of a one-bolt clamp design. Axiom makes a good, inexpensive two-bolt post that you can get from
Rebel Sport, or you can go mad and buy a Thomson...
 
> I hear good things about Georgina Terry saddles, which is what my wife uses. Other female cyclists
> I know like women's saddle by Specialized and fizik, among others.
>

I've heard about these and am trying to locate a stockist in my area - inner northern Melbourne, if
anyone knows?

>
> Big, heavily padded saddles don't tend to help much - if the hull of the saddle doesn't fit you,
> slapping a couple of inches of foam over it just adds something to fold and pinch, which can make
> the problem worse.

The trouble I've been having is finding something that's a mixture of wide at the back and not too
big and padded at the front. Today I measured (roughly) the distance between my sit bones and it
came out at about 19cm (Oh my goodness!!!!!!) But the only saddles I've come across so far with that
sort of width are those humungous, hugely padded things...

The search continues, thanks everyone for the tips!
 
The fizik vitesse is the model for me. I actually have had a few of them over the years - the
standard model is quite a racing one - not very padded, can get it with Ti rails etc. You can also
get a twintech gel one which seems to be the most popular with the chicks 'round town. There's also
the new "cp" model (comfort performance) which has the same shell size as the other two but is quite
well padded in comparison, also with some gel type stuff. I bought one of them for use on my
triathlon bike (where I end up sitting on the nose of the saddle anway) and when I put it on my
commuter it was actually too soft for me. I bought my last few saddles from www.deanwoods.com.au. as
they aren't a shelf item at any bikestore in town. Hope this helps, Gemma (Adelaide)
ps. The reason I've gone thru a few saddles isn't from wearing them out, it's getting additional
ones for extra bikes and replacing the crashed ones - they don't withstand crashes very well -
the leather is quite fine. "JB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > I hear good things about Georgina Terry saddles, which is what my wife uses. Other female
> > cyclists I know like women's saddle by Specialized
and
> > fizik, among others.
> >
>
> I've heard about these and am trying to locate a stockist in my area - inner northern Melbourne,
> if anyone knows?
>
> >
> > Big, heavily padded saddles don't tend to help much - if the hull of the saddle doesn't fit you,
> > slapping a couple of inches of foam over it just adds something to fold and pinch, which can
> > make the problem worse.
>
> The trouble I've been having is finding something that's a mixture of wide at the back and not too
> big and padded at the front. Today I measured (roughly) the distance between my sit bones and it
> came out at about 19cm (Oh my goodness!!!!!!) But the only saddles I've come across so far with
> that sort of width are those humungous, hugely padded things...
>
> The search continues, thanks everyone for the tips!
 
> >
> > Big, heavily padded saddles don't tend to help much - if the hull of the saddle doesn't fit you,
> > slapping a couple of inches of foam over it just adds something to fold and pinch, which can
> > make the problem worse.
>
> The trouble I've been having is finding something that's a mixture of wide at the back and not too
> big and padded at the front. Today I measured (roughly) the distance between my sit bones and it
> came out at about 19cm (Oh my goodness!!!!!!) But the only saddles I've come across so far with
> that sort of width are those humungous, hugely padded things...
>
> The search continues, thanks everyone for the tips!

My girlfriend tried lots of women's saddles before she settled on her Serfas Rx. She also has quite
wide hips (but I didn't say that!) which made finding a comfy seat tricky. Now she constantly sings
the praises of her perch.

Cheers,

Frank
 
Thanks to everyone who offered their tips. I ended up going with a cheap saddle (Giant) that has a
similar shape and design as the Serfas RX and the terry ones recommended here, except a bit wider at
the back...(!)

So far so comfy!

JB

"Frank Palermo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> >
> > >
> > > Big, heavily padded saddles don't tend to help much - if the hull of the saddle doesn't fit
> > > you, slapping a couple of inches of foam over it just adds something to fold and pinch, which
> > > can make the problem worse.
> >
> > The trouble I've been having is finding something that's a mixture of wide at the back and not
> > too big and padded at the front. Today I measured (roughly) the distance between my sit bones
> > and it came out at about 19cm (Oh my goodness!!!!!!) But the only saddles I've come across so
> > far with that sort of width are those humungous, hugely padded things...
> >
> > The search continues, thanks everyone for the tips!
>
> My girlfriend tried lots of women's saddles before she settled on her Serfas Rx. She also has
> quite wide hips (but I didn't say that!) which made finding a comfy seat tricky. Now she
> constantly sings the praises of her perch.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Frank
 
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