okay, well since i have never 'officially' introduced myself here ...

i am Freddy .. a 34 year old guy, tho weighed 281 in Jan of this year ... as of right now i am in the 235 range .. and holding steady ...

around feb i started riding a bike again, after not riding one for well over 10 years ... i picked up a 2007 raleigh mojave 8.0 .. (which i now know wasn't the best choice for my weight)

the other day, on a somewhat harsh bump, i bent the seat rails on my saddle ... one of the cheap WTB oem 'recreational' saddles ... which i have temp replaced with a take-off bontranger (or how ever it is spelled) to keep me riding ...

i have two issues with finding a new saddle, neither of the bike shops in my town carry much of anything other then the larger 'cruiser' saddles ... (95% of all my riding is off road on trails and such) so i am stuck to trying to find and order something online ... and the other issue is that because of my bike fit, i have to scoot the seat as far back as possible so to get a new saddle properly centered on the clamp i need a seat with a bigger offset

http://www.wtb.com/products/saddles/performance/purev/

is what some have been reccomending to me. will it hold up to my weight? ... i know the overall fit is more of a trail and error thing ... but i figure, one of those can't be worse then what i had, and for sure will be better then what is on there right now ...

Get an Avatar from Specialized and use their Ass-O-Meter to get the right width.

hmmm nearest specalized dealer is about 90 miles away ... will have to call them to see if they have the tool before i make that trek .. wonder if there is a way to measure yourself.

Well, your wife can play with your butt to measure the Ischial protuberances (sit bones)width in MM. Too narrow and you support yourself on soft tissue and too wide and you chafe and risk Sciatic nerve damage.

Call your LBS and see if they have a memory foam tool to measure the sit bones with for the correct width.

Looks like Trek has also distributed a butt-o-meter as well. That may shorten your trip. I still recommend the Avatar, or a Brooks leather saddle.

hmmm ok will check with the trek dealership in town to see if they by chance have the tool ... and will call the other lbs that is about 30 min away to see what they offer ...

if i were to approach my wife with a tape measure in hand, and ask her to play with my butt .. i am not quite sure i would want to know the outcome of it =P

i know trek and raleigh are in town ... and kona is about 30 min away ...

Well, your wife can play with your butt to measure the Ischial protuberances (sit bones)width in MM. Too narrow and you support yourself on soft tissue and too wide and you chafe and risk Sciatic nerve damage.

Call your LBS and see if they have a memory foam tool to measure the sit bones with for the correct width.

Looks like Trek has also distributed a butt-o-meter as well. That may shorten your trip. I still recommend the Avatar, or a Brooks leather saddle.


This is true, however every bike shop I've been to all know what an "assometer" (pronounced like "thermometer") is....

haha.. heh ... all the lbs's i called .. just said 'we will sell you a seat, if it doesn't feel right then we will let you trade it in on another one ...

but all they had in stock were the 'recreational' versions of most brands .. that just have regular steel rails .. no cromo or anything ...

Get a few sheets of corrugated cardboard and put them on a hard chair. Sit on them and lean forward with your elbows on your knees. Sit like that for a couple minutes and you'll make a decent impression in the cardboard, and you can measure your sit bone distance that way.

I measured mine with play-doh... just be sure it's thick and smooth before you sit on it.

Tom, there you go again with the incorrect usage of Ass-o-meter.

i think i will try the cardboard ... the play-doh may draw some odd questions from my other half ... (she doesn't understand bikes all that well haha)

If you do cardboard, find some thick corrugated cardboard... the thinner stuff tends to spring back quickly.

Play-doh I found was the most accurate as it keeps the impression exactly the same. Put the playdoh in a big (long) zip-loc bag so it doesnt stain/ruin anything. Use a roller pin to smoothen it out.

If you do cardboard, find some thick corrugated cardboard... the thinner stuff tends to spring back quickly.

Play-doh I found was the most accurate as it keeps the impression exactly the same. Put the playdoh in a big (long) zip-loc bag so it doesnt stain/ruin anything. Use a roller pin to smoothen it out.

Not to mention if your kids are still gonna play with it :twitchy:

Don't have kids, the Play-Doh is mine... ;)

After several seats, this is the one I found to be the most comfortable

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000K2SBTU

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71iah7XM1tL._AA280_.jpg