"Round" profile saddles with deeper "wings"

[Lewis Moon]

OK, I've had a saddle problem for a while and it's finally knocked me off the bike. Time to get something done.
The flat saddle profile that has pretty much come to dominate the market is not for me. Because of injuries, nerve damage and age, I sit crooked on my saddle which can put a lot of pressure on one side of my taint/leg interface. I need a saddle that has a rounder profile (cross section), gentler transitions, deeper wings on the side so there is not so much of an edge, and more padding. The San Marco Concor light fits the bill but I was wondering if there are any others out there that might also work. Light is good and I'm not a fan of gel.

[93legendti]

SMP is usually the go to saddle for saddle issues that interfere with riding.

[AngryScientist]

selle italia saddles come to mind. turbo and classic flite seem to be what you're describing...

[R3awak3n]

saddle choice sucks. We can sit here and talk about it all day long but you just have to try em. Yes, it sucks, you throw money away if you are unlucky and don't find something quick. I have tried over 10 saddles, maybe more and right now I am pretty happy on the specialized power. Even then I was on 143 and then tried a 155mm and now I am on that but just replaced one of my 143s with a 168mm. Now, if I like that, here we go again replacing the 155s with the 168s.

That said, some people love the SMPs, some people will only ride brooks.

[JimmyTango]

I Haven't ridden it or even read the review, but the photo looks like what you are looking for:

http://road.cc/content/review/198587-fizik-volta-r1

[stien]

+1 on Turbo. Was terrible for me, and I too am on a Specialized Power now. Loved the Toupe before but they sag/wear out quickly.

Have you talked to a pro fitter about your issues? Maybe they could recommend fixes, wedges, something.

[GScot]

Fizik Volta seems to match that description. I use a Turbo on my fixie and like it just fine, I test rode a bike earlier this year with a Volta and thought it was a better round profile. At least worth a test if you can find one to borrow.

[hollowgram5]

Originally Posted by GScot

Fizik Volta seems to match that description. I use a Turbo on my fixie and like it just fine, I test rode a bike earlier this year with a Volta and thought it was a better round profile. At least worth a test if you can find one to borrow.

I just picked up a Volta to try and that was my opinion. It's wider at the nose than the ariones I typically ride, but it seemed to work on the spin bike last night. Hope to get it out on the road one of these evenings to see what it really feels like.

[donevwil]

The old Selle Italia Turbomatic is my saddle of choice after dealing with similar issues as you many years ago. The curvature and form simply fit my anatomy perfectly. A few here are big fans as well.

I prefer the Turbomatic II (or 2) as later models went crazy with embroidery and gel spots for "comfort", but all they add for me are raised seams. Find a Ti railed one if you can and send it to Jason at Recovered Cycling if it needs recovering. I haven't tried the new, current Turbomatic, it just doesn't appear to have the same shape so I've avoided it.

[benb]

If you're sitting crooked you might want to look into that as opposed to playing musical chairs with the saddle.

I've played musical chairs with the saddle.. learning the hard way.

Look at your cleat position, saddle position, whether the saddle is twisted to one side even the tiniest amount. These things seemingly make a bigger difference for me, but they are harder to get right than just going on a mission blowing money on saddles.

Try both styles of saddles of course though.

I got on my Domane last weekend and felt off kilter and like all the pressure was on the right sit bone. I have an Arione on there, and I've rode an Arione for 9 hours without problem. When I looked at it sure enough the saddle had gotten crooked a little bit. The nose was ever so slightly to the right and my leg was hitting the nose subtly and causing my sit bones to be off kilter. Quick road side adjustment and my sit bones felt balanced and the pedal stroke felt a lot better.

[Climb01742]

San Marco Rolls also fits your description.

[bikingshearer]

+1 on the Rolls. I have 'em on almost all my bikes. They work for my nether regions. Unfortunately, YMMV.

[dave thompson]

One trick I've used to relieve discomfort is to "dress" (old sartorial term) the saddle slightly left or right. May help a little.

[nicrump]

apparently i sat crooked for years and no one ever mentioned it. abundant saddle sores always on the right. i never thought much of it till the crookedness was pointed out(by a cycling chiropractor with lots of sports medicine experience) as the culprit of a painful back injury during a couple hard seasons of training and racing in 2011. i'd always had trouble there but blew it up horribly while training for the state 40k TT.

when i mentioned this to folks who i had ridden with for decades, they all said "yeah, we thought you knew".

at any rate I had to figure out on my own why, turns out i'd been on too narrow of a saddle from mid '80's till 2012. i was perching on one sit bone to protect the perineum.

i tested a few 142-145mm width saddles with great success and have landed on the Prologo scratch pro 143. which sadly is no longer available but similar replacements will do.

i now sit centered and have been able to rotate my hips more forward increasing my reach, flattening my back and allowing a good plank for hard efforts. i only wished i had known that 30 years ago...

thats my pathetic fit story.

[one60]

I have found the scoop radius to be a more comfortable version of the older fizik aliante models. The base is designed to provide comfort through its ability to flex and the padding is a bit deeper/softer than the aliante. The steel rail version is inexpensive enough to make it worth a try. There is also a version with a relief channel if needed, though I have no experience with that model.