Saddles

[jhcakilmer]

I'm wondering what you guys recommend for saddles. I'm a big guy, and have been searching for the perfect saddle for several years now, and haven't really found "the one". How do you measure you sit bones (ischial tuberosities)? I've tried and it's not that easy....any suggestions?
I've tried Selle Italia Flite max,Flite, even my wife's saddle, Brooks, and several cheap cannondale saddles (which actually were the most comfortable of the lot). I haven't tried the new specialized saddles.

[merckx]

Selle San Marco Regal. Any colour will do. Try one.

[sbornia]

Terry Fly Ti

[chrisroph]

keep trying em til you find the one.

[sevencyclist]

Specialized has a gel cusshion that you can sit on to measure the width of the ischial width. This serves as a guide. So if you are wide, then go for a wide saddle. If you are narrow, then you can tolerate narrower saddles. In general, wide saddles are usually more comfortable when you are upright, but might be a problem in chaffing when you need to tuck down. A wide saddle is usually bulkier and heavier, so not as racy as well.

I find better comfort in Brooks B17 than in Brooks Swift or WTB Rocket Stealth. I did like the Avocet Racing Turbo, but those are not in production anymore.

[Ken Robb]

Brooks B-17

[SoCalSteve]

Brooks B-17...but you have to set it up properly.

Search for DBRK's explanation on setting up a Brook's saddle.

Or, try this: http://www.mcmwin.com/

I havent tried one..yet.

Good luck,

Steve

PS:...(from one big guy to the next)...the Brooks B-17 set up properly is amazingly comfortable!

[Dave]

The Gobi is considered to be an MTB saddle, but I find it ideal for my butt. It's shaped a lot different than the majority of road saddles, being more rounded from side to side in the sit bone area, rather than flat with a small radius on each side. It's also curved from front to back, so it requires a careful setting of the saddle angle. I place a level on the tail and set the nose about 1cm lower. If you don't have a 2-bolt seatpost with fine angle adjustment, change your seatpost first. The limited angle adjustment of most single bolt posts can make it impossible to get the angle right.

[alancw3]

when i bought my c'dale six13 it came with a fizik arione. i thought the saddle was ugly looking having been a tradistionalist ie. brooks) but i have to say it is the absolute best saddle i have ever used in a 45 years of cycling. i mean i can ride for four or five hours and my butt never gets sore. i realize this is a personal thing but i can say that this is a great saddle. give it a try!!

[Ken Robb]

Specialized has a gel cusshion that you can sit on to measure the width of the ischial width. This serves as a guide. So if you are wide, then go for a wide saddle. If you are narrow, then you can tolerate narrower saddles. In general, wide saddles are usually more comfortable when you are upright, but might be a problem in chaffing when you need to tuck down. A wide saddle is usually bulkier and heavier, so not as racy as well.

I find better comfort in Brooks B17 than in Brooks Swift or WTB Rocket Stealth. I did like the Avocet Racing Turbo, but those are not in production anymore.

I have several Brooks B17 saddles. Being handmade from real leather there is some variation in supposedly "identical" saddles. The comment about one possibly being wide enough to chafe (inner thighs) if the rider assumes an agressive position is true in some cases. It happened with one of my six saddles. I cured it by drilling holes in the skirt and pulling the sides together with laces to make the middle a bit narrower. My others never got wide enough to cause the problem.

[Spinner]

San Marco Regal. It's stylish too.

[sg8357]

Brooks B17 or Brooks Pro.

Steel or Ti railed, also available in "presoftened", which is English humor.

Goto Wallbike.com Wallingford has a Brooks trade in policy.
Also lots of good Brooksian info about which saddle to pick.

My LBS has loaners for some of Fizik saddles, a good idea.

Scott G.

[flydhest]

keep trying em til you find the one.

. . . and then buy 5 or 6 of them.

[michael white]

I'm not exactly a little guy, either.

I have a Brooks but don't use it (sorry). I don't like how they restrict your fore and aft movement (if you move up or back, you regret it).
I like anything which has Turbo in the name. Always have, always will.
Rolls and Regal great choices, but the ti versions aren't quite as cushy as the older steel railed versions (San Marco went to less and firmer padding). If that matters.
Best saddle for me is probably my fizik Aliante. Has the adaptive, shock-absorbent qualities of a leather seat at half the weight.

[72gmc]

I would try the Specialized measurement device sevencyclist recommended. Then you can reduce the field to the right width, for starters.

A shop employee here described their program to me: you basically buy a saddle upfront (I was quoted 90 or 100 dollars) and you can try out various models. Once you find "the one" your deposit goes toward the purchase. Or if you're unlucky they refund your deposit.

Might be worth asking about something like this at your lbs. I didn't need to try it because the Terry Fly Ti makes my butt happy.

[pretty pony]

Regal
Arione

But honestly, there is no way we can answer this for you. I went through the same thing this summer. I tried an Arione early in the year and thought is was the worst saddle made, then as a last resort tried it again later in the summer and thought it was the best of the lot. Go figure. Here is the thing though, don't get the carbon one, way to stiff, and don't buy suede. Buy the all-microtek version.

[Hokiemon]

Out of all the saddles I have tried, I like the Fizik Alliante the best by far. I would like to try the Specialized Toupe though. Good luck in your search.

[wdlewis]

My bike shop lets customers buy & try saddles. The rule is to try the saddle for a week and return it if it doesn't work. I thought it was a generous policy that builds loyalty. I ended up with the Fizik carbon saddle.

[musgravecycles]

Jason, next time you're back in B.S. I'll let you borrow one of my Regals, my search ended there...

P.S. Sachs has them in white ;)

[BoulderGeek]

Terry Fly Ti

I have purchased five of these.

Road, mountain, cross, tri, whatevah. Terry Fly.

[Fat Robert]

try lots of em

I've found that my sit bones like Tubos, Regals, and Rolls. Saddles that were in fashion when Tchmil was a kindercommie are my favs. I hate the Aliante.

[mike p]

Flite's or SLR's look no further.

Mike

[davids]

Regal
Arione

But honestly, there is no way we can answer this for you.
I agree with everything p.p. says. Those are my two favorites, and you need to find a local shop that will let you try a bunch of stuff out, so you can answer your question.

Good luck!

[Ahneida Ride]

Brooks nuf said .... wallbike.com has a generous return policy

If you want you seat bones on the Saddle, Go B67.

[Simon Q]

I am a big guy as well and having tried heaps Alinate is my fave by far. Becuase of the shape, persist with small adjustements, especially the angle, before you give up on it - it needs to be dialled in and small changes make a big diff.

[wasfast]

I'm 190 lbs and have a wide rear. Most of the SLR style saddles are just way too narrow. I settled on Aliante's for the last couple years the 2 others that also work are the Regal and, just today, the Vitesse. As someone else mentioned, get the width thing figured out first as it will save you bunches of "misses". It matters more than your weight overall.

Don't bother with any of the Fiziks with "CP", the added gel. I've had terrible luck with any of the cushion add ons like that. The regular models are ultimately more comfortable for longer rides.

The Vitesse and Regal are 155mm width saddles BTW.

The other plus with the Vitesse, even thought it's made exactly like the Ti Aliante is that you can buy them new on Ebay for $45 instead of $199.

[saab2000]

Accept no substitute. This was the gold standard in Switzerland during the early '90s and to this day I love mine. They are getting hard to find, but for my butt, there is nothing as propah. Beyotch.

I don't know why the seat makers seem to feel the need to replace proven winners.

Flite (original)
Turbomatic (and Turbomatic 2)
Turbo
Regal
Rolls
Concor (the original)

There is always room for more, and everyone has individual tastes and needs with regards to saddles, but why the EFF to they discontinue best-sellers like these????? If they want to 'improve' them they could install Ti or Carbon rails!!!

I think I need to try an Aliante sooner or later. The shape and dimensions look similar to the Turbomatic II, though my T-matics are much firmer than the Aliante, and I like that.

[Simon Q]

Accept no substitute. This was the gold standard in Switzerland during the early '90s and to this day I love mine. They are getting hard to find, but for my butt, there is nothing as propah. Beyotch.

I don't know why the seat makers seem to feel the need to replace proven winners.

Flite (original)
Turbomatic (and Turbomatic 2)
Turbo
Regal
Rolls
Concor (the original)

There is always room for more, and everyone has individual tastes and needs with regards to saddles, but why the EFF to they discontinue best-sellers like these????? If they want to 'improve' them they could install Ti or Carbon rails!!!

I think I need to try an Aliante sooner or later. The shape and dimensions look similar to the Turbomatic II, though my T-matics are much firmer than the Aliante, and I like that.

Turbomatics are my second fave saddle, so if you like them you should try the Aliante. They are not a squishy in use as they might as they might seem when you stick your finger into them.

[shinomaster]

Anyone use a flight with the hole in the middle? I want to be a swinger when I'm 40+

[soulspinner]

I have flites, have had concours, have an aliante. My narrow skinny butt likes the aliante for short rides(use a level, the aliante tilt is critical), but(t) my backside likes the aspide ti the most. The first 5 minutes it seems stiff but I never get the dreaded taint pain I do with the aliante on long rides. Tilt is less critical, but I start all my new saddles with a level attitude and fine adjust from there.