Saddles -- comfort and easy on your groin

[soul survivor]

OK gang -- suggestions re road bike saddles that are comfortable and easy on your groin.

Looking forward to your suggestions!

[roadie7]

I've returned to a Terry Fly for men. I've tried several over the years and this one provides the most comfort and support.

Good Luck.

[troymac]

These 2 are very nice ...but I still use the standard Brooks b17

[Fixed]

These 2 are very nice ...but I still use the standard Brooks b17
+1
new convert others i have use and liked rolls and regal saddles
for me a soft saddle doesn't make a comfortable saddle
cheers

i for got my turbo the first ones i like it too
right now the brooks is king

[thinpin]

These things is personal....my comfort is another mans numb nuts :rolleyes:

[19wisconsin64]

I switched my saddles to Selle SMP, the black Glider Model. These are expensive, but work well. Got rid of the Fizik, the Specialized, etc. Some folks swear by these....riders, doctors....... Your unique ergonomics may or may not go for the cut out from front to back design, but it just seems to make sense and work really well for lots of folks. When I switched a few years ago no one was riding these, last year.....lots!!!

About $250 (!!) One way to look at this huge sum for a stupid saddle is this: is there another physical activity that you enjoy more than cycling? If so, get an "ergonomic" saddle.

Of humorous note: the directions and box of my saddle came with multi-lingual directions- in French the outside box exclaims "No more squashing of the nXXs!!"

A friend of mine bought the Brooks saddle with the long cut out-he loves that. A lot of folks need even more relief. I ride in positions from front to back (sometimes in the time trial forward area, and sometimes I sit way back on the back edge.....the Selle SMP is cut out so no matter where you sit there is no pressure on your soft tissue.




Note to self: contact Selle SMP, ask for commission for every time I sell one of their over-priced seats. :)

[giverdada]

i had a white saddle on my hand-me-down cannondale from the 80s, and i rocked that thing all the way through high school and university before i got a new bike (also came with a white OEM saddle), and handed down the cannondale to my cousin. the original white saddle was made by vetta, and was comfortable, ALL the time. with or without a chamois; in jeans; inebriated; late for class; on a true road ride. the thing rocked (in a way that only white things from the 80s can...mesh shoes anyone?)

currently, i'm re-visiting the white saddle thing after a few years on the brooks B17. i loved the brooks. i was a convert after i broke it in during the winter months, and i rode it for years. the slippery nature of it had me turning the nose of it significantly upward though, which meant painful forward-facing efforts (in the drops, TT style, etc.).

i love the aliante i have, picked up used from another forumite, as it acts kinda like the brooks with a hammock-style interface of woven carbon instead of molding-leather. it's light. it's white. and i can sit into it, rather than on top of it. not sure that it's better for forward-riding than my other fizik, the arione, but it certainly has all-day comfort.

i spend a lot of time on my arione on the trainer, and it requires my butt to be broken into it. once that's done though, it's amazing and full of all-day comfort. light, and durable too (it's on my cross bike and i'm terrible at mounts and dismounts).

best of luck. oh, and width makes a major difference, so i'd check that out first.

nick.

[Climb01742]

cobb saddles. after years of searching, complete relief. finally. with their 100% refund policy, why not?

[Ralph]

I'm currently trying out a Specialized Gel Romin. Some new tech. Local LBS has a buy and return policy. So far OK, but takes a while for me to really know how it works. I like firm saddles. With just enough thin padding to cushion sit bones.

[rugbysecondrow]

I like the B17 Brooks as well as the Fizik Arione saddles. Comfortable and they do not interfere with the pleasure of a ride. Do they make a ride better, nope, but they don't detract from it.

Best of luck.

[AngryScientist]

the best process to find your ideal saddle is an iterative process. figure out what's wrong with the one you have, and try and locate one that will solve that issue. repeat.

asking what works for other people will give you a good starting point, but really nothing more. one man's lazy boy is another mans ass hatchet (as the saying goes...)

a few things to note:

-specialized, as well as a few other mfgs have a device than can measure your sit bone width, the specialized one is just a pad you sit straight up on, and then they measure the indents your sit bones made to determine a good saddle width for you. i suggest doing this, again, its a good place to start to determine what width saddles you should be looking for.

-adjustment: this is huge! saddle height, angle of tilt, and fore/aft position will all affect how you feel on the saddle, before dismissing any saddle, it's a good idea to tweak the adjustment a bit.

-break in - of your ass mostly, is important. there is nothing natural about sitting on a road bike for extended periods of time. many perceived issues, in my experience with newer riders are simply due to lack of saddle time.

good luck on the hunt!

[thwart]

-adjustment: this is huge! saddle height, angle of tilt, and fore/aft position will all affect how you feel on the saddle, before dismissing any saddle, it's a good idea to tweak the adjustment a bit. Very true.

I'm comfortable for pretty much an entire day on Fizik Aliante saddles, but only reached this nirvana after tilting them back a bit.

[Joachim]

Very true.

I'm comfortable for pretty much an entire day on Fizik Aliante saddles, but only reached this nirvana after tilting them back a bit.


+1. Long ago it was the Turbomatic for me and switched to Rolls and finally the different Fizik Aliante's (Gamma, Carbon etc).

[Ken Robb]

there are a bazillion threads and postings about saddles in the archives you can read if you don't get enough opinions/advice here.

[GuyGadois]

I've returned to a Terry Fly for men. I've tried several over the years and this one provides the most comfort and support.

Good Luck.

+1 Buzz Off

[ahumblecycler]

Here we go again :rolleyes:

[Elefantino]

I converted a teammate to Selle SMP (Glider, like mine) and he loves it. Another friend tried one and couldn't sell it fast enough. Said it was like sitting on razor blades.

The key to finding the right saddle is trial and error ... lots of error.

[soupless]

try and find a shop that'll let you demo a few. I know fizik and bontrager have demo programs.

[biker72]

I have a Brooks Pro on my Paramount and a Fizik Arione on the Serotta.

It takes a while to break in the Brooks Pro.

[Mike126]

I've been riding Turbomatics for the past 20 years. I guess my backside has adapted to the shape! I've tried others with the cutouts and gel pads but for me nothing felt as comfortable as the Turbomatic. It really is personal choice.

[ericspin]

I'm also in the Selle PMP camp. Yeah, it was expensive but it is really comfortable. Just wish it didn't have that limp d!*k nose. Also like the B17 on my _sit up straight_ bike as I used to on the MTB as well.

[sg8357]

Some shops have loaner programs, Fizik has special orange loaner
saddles available from your LBS.

Some bike shops have the saddle bin, saddles taken off new bikes,
some of those saddles are relabled major brand saddles.
I got a Flite for $10, marked cannondale.

Wallbike.com has a 6 month return policy for Brooks & Berthoud saddles.

Two bolt posts make small adjustments easier.

If you find a plastic saddle that you like, buy another, they'll change
it next year and you'll hate the new version*. :)

*This is reason some ride Brooks, they've been making the same
saddles since dirt was invented.

[LouDeeter]

When I hit the age of 50, I started experienced swelling in the prostate. I initially switched to saddles with grooves or cutouts in that area, but didn't much care for them after about 15-20 miles. I then found an over-the-counter supplement, Saw Palmetto, which shrunk my prostate and I returned to using Regal and Rolls saddles. No problems for ten years now. Consult your doctor if you have a swelling of the prostate. On the same topic, if you are over 45, I highly recommend you start getting an annual PSA blood test to build a trend line so that if it goes up, you have warning of other potential problems.

[ultraman6970]

The old search for a good saddle, I agree with many that it depends of the ass and the taste in saddles. In my case almost all the saddles people likes are not for me, my ars hate fizik ones. I have an old flite gel that really needs to be replaced and im looking, some people that prologo does ok, now that are on sale but as usual, what if my ars doesnt like it?

The previous poster said something very true, as older u get the more problems u get. The only problem with prostate is the darn exam hehehe :D

[jbrainin]

I rode across the US on a Specialized Toupe, averaging 100 miles per day. It was comfortable for the whole trip, meaning that after the third week of riding the contact points on the saddle were no more sore than the rest of my body.

YMMV.

[znfdl]

I have a KOOBI PRS Alpha on all of my bikes

[slowandsteady]

Selle An-Atomica or Brooks B17 standard

I'll second these babies above BUT I really want to try a Selle SMP Glider.

[veloduffer]

If you find a saddle that works, my suggestion is to buy a bunch of them to hoard. If you haven't done so, try to look for saddles that are similar in shape, width and padding, but it is still trial and error.

I have hoarded Vetta SP saddles since the 90s (have about 12 of them). Occasionally I'll try a newer model (used though) and have found a few that work (Felt carbon, Ritchey). Of course, there have been some that looked like they should work perfectly (eg Specialized Romin) and were excruciating.

Some of the mfrs still have demo plans where you can get a full or near full refund if the saddle doesn't work. Competitive Cyclist might still have their demo program, where you pay a fee and they send several saddles to try within a short period.

[PaulE]

One thing I have found is that I can ride on a lot of different saddles if my weight is on my sit bones instead of my junk or my grundle. And the key to that for me is good fit, the locational relationship between pedals, cranks stem/bar and saddle all have to be right. You may be less sensitive to the saddle if your fit is really dialed in. The right saddle might make a fit that is not 100% dialed in still comfortable. My $0.02.

[KeithS]

Selle Italia Max Flite Gel Flow Saddle. 3,000 miles so far. Haven't ridden anything but cutout saddles for 12 years.

[ultraman6970]

I'm seriously thinking in dremel my flyte to homemade that cut out :P