Road Cycling - Womens Saddles

Heres the deal, I just bought a bike, and I ended up getting the mens version because it fit me a little better. But I'm not sure about the saddle, do you guys recommend I get a womens saddle? Does the fact that it is "womens" really even matter? Please fill me in, I'm pretty new to all of this stuff. Thanks!

Some women just prefer a specifically desinged saddle for their anatomy. Mine has a slight depression in the extra sensitive genital area. If I use a "regular" seat, I am in such pain I can't even wear underwear. Everyone's got a different sensitivity level.

I heard on a Discovery episode that women have something like 3,000 nerves in that area, where as men have only 800. Not sure if that's the right numbers, but in general women have a lot more nerve endings down there.

I ride men's saddles because I have super narrow hips and with every women's saddle I've tried, I tend to rub my inner thighs against the nose because it's too wide. Also, I can't slide back far enough when I descend because the backside is too wide. I like saddles with cutouts, like the Selle Italia Trans Am. I also really like most of the Specialized saddles I've tried.

Go with what feels good to you. Women's saddles are generally designed slightly wider because women have hips and their sitbones are in a different place than men.

Your better off with a womens saddle there designed for us! It makes a big differance even if you had children or not comes into play when buying a saddle because your bones widen. We definantly have a different spread than the guys. Terry makes saddles for women go check there web site out. I'm on my third saddle I have a womens specailized but I might try a Terry one on the new bike I'm getting this spring.Heres the web. terrybicycles.com

Later,
Robin :)

One thing I found as useful is to be sure and ask the bike shop if you can try the saddle on your bike for a few days and then if you don't like it can you return it. Performance Bike Shops are great for this, that way you don't end up with a garage full of saddles that don't fit properly and can't get rid of them.

do you guys recommend I get a womens saddle? Does the fact that it is "womens" really even matter?

I ride a Selle Italia Flight (men's) and I even have wider hips. I have no problems with it. The cut out is a plus for both sexes.

I have never liked the fit of women' saddles and I've tried quite a few. In my opinion, they can be too cushy, too wide to get off the back on rough (MTB) descents, too short for hovering up front on (MTB) climbs and too heavy for weight weenies like me. But that's just me and I'm sure there are plenty of exceptions.

I'd say put some time in on your new saddle and your butt will tell you if you need a different one. It's all so subjective.

Specialized Body Geometry Dolce Ti - replaced my Selle Italia that came on my bike. LOVE IT! Way more comfy! Good luck on the saddle quest. Been there, done that, thank goodness it's over.

Heres the deal, I just bought a bike, and I ended up getting the mens version because it fit me a little better. But I'm not sure about the saddle, do you guys recommend I get a womens saddle? Does the fact that it is "womens" really even matter? Please fill me in, I'm pretty new to all of this stuff. Thanks!

I just shopped for a new mtb. In the process I tried 5-6 different bikes, one of which was a women specific bike that I eventually bought. Of all the dimensions that supposedly make a women's bike different than a men's, the one difference I felt very obviously was the saddle. It felt smaller (narrower and shorter) and cushier, and I knew that if I ended up buying a men's bike, I would make the dealer swap out the saddle.

But it all depends on your body shape. I'd suggest you call around to see if there's a local bike shop that has one in the store, and try it out.

-Sue

I like the Milano saddle (I think it's a man's saddle). But it really doesn't matter whether or not the saddle is made for men or women, as long as it feels good to you. That's the important thing. My LBS let me try a different saddle as often as needed to until I found one I liked. Then I paid for the 1 I finally chose. That was on our tandem. I just bought a road bike from them & they put the same saddle on there for me & didn't charge me for it.

I use the Brooks B17 leather saddle. It's the "man's" version but is fairly wide. The leather conforms to the individual's bootie and mine was comfy from the get-go. 700 miles later, it's even better. I used to ride with the Terry Liberators (which are still on all my other bikes), but the Brooks is by far my favorite. Wallingford has a 6-month return policy (if you don't like the saddle) and they said the B17 has the least returns of all. It is also one of the least expensive of the Brooks - kinda their bread and butter.

My wife likes her Brooks Finesse.

Heres the deal, I just bought a bike, and I ended up getting the mens version because it fit me a little better. But I'm not sure about the saddle, do you guys recommend I get a womens saddle? Does the fact that it is "womens" really even matter? Please fill me in, I'm pretty new to all of this stuff. Thanks!

I just bought a women's SERFA. It's too soon to tell, but I'm inclined to think I will get the bigger size. It is so much better than my Viscount Seat. This does heve the cut out, by the way.

I use the Brooks B17 leather saddle. It's the "man's" version but is fairly wide. The leather conforms to the individual's bootie and mine was comfy from the get-go. 700 miles later, it's even better. I used to ride with the Terry Liberators (which are still on all my other bikes), but the Brooks is by far my favorite. Wallingford has a 6-month return policy (if you don't like the saddle) and they said the B17 has the least returns of all. It is also one of the least expensive of the Brooks - kinda their bread and butter.

Wow! I finally found another women who uses the B17. How long did it take to break in? I hope not 700? I have the B17 but can't commit to leaving it on the bike enough to break it in.

Wow! I finally found another women who uses the B17. How long did it take to break in? I hope not 700? I have the B17 but can't commit to leaving it on the bike enough to break it in.

Nah, I'd say about 200-300, and my sit-bone "dimples" were in place. But like I said, it was pretty comfortable for me from the beginning.

Hi,
this may not be relevant, but my wife complained of soft tissue soreness at first on her Finesse. I took the hair dryer, and put a lot of proofide on both sides of the central part of the saddle. It seemed to help.

I've tried women's specific saddles and didn't like them. I use men's mtn bike saddles because they are so much more comfortable.

Right now I'm in the early stages of breaking in a Brooks B17. We'll see how that goes.

One thing I found out about saddles, if your bike fit is off, handlebars to low etc. or you're bending from the waist instead of from the hips any saddle will be miserable. I'm having very good luck with the WTB Speed She but if I become a slouch, sit bones and sensitive parts start telling me.
Kathi

How much time would you give it before you should consider replacing a saddle? I have a "men's" bike with the standard issue saddle. The bike seems to fit, but after these first few days riding it, my butt is pretty sore. Then again, it's my first road bike and I'm not sure if it's just the position I need to get used to...

Gilby,
You think the bike fits. Did the shop do a fitting or did they eyeball you and say this is the right size? Without a proper fitting even a bike that is close can be off in some way.

On bike Virginia I attended a bike fitting session and one thing that was brought out was that most cyclist have their handlebars too low. The fitter demonstrated this by putting a person in the audience on a bike with the handlebars purposely too low. You could see this by the rounding of the shoulders. When he bought the handlebars up the shoulders were in a neutral position and there was more bend in the elbows.
When the body can't bend properly, from the hips instead of the waist, shoulder and neck pain can develop and problems with the saddle can occur.

When they fitted the bike did they align the saddle and your body position over the pedals? If you're not aligned with the knee over the pedal you could be sliding forward to get a better positon over the pedal which means your riding on the nose instead of the saddle itself.

I also found that after doing a lot of hill climbing my soreness wasn't caused from the saddle it was muscle pain. I could feel it when I went up and down stairs. It went away after the 4th day.

If these ideas check out try a women's saddle. The saddle shouldn't be painful at all if the bike is fitting you to a T.

Kathi

Here's another woman with a B17. In my case I went through half a dozen saddles, including the Terry Liberator and the WTB Speed She, before nicking my husband's Brooks for a ride. Got home from that ride, hopped online immediately and ordered my own. The B17 fits me like a glove and has been by far the most comfortable saddle I've tried, right outta the box. For the first time since I started riding all my southern bits are happy.

I also found that after doing a lot of hill climbing my soreness wasn't caused from the saddle it was muscle pain. I could feel it when I went up and down stairs. It went away after the 4th day

Yeah, I'm feeling fine now. I think it was mostly a matter of getting used to the position. It's my first road bike...I'm used to the wider seat & more upright position of a mtn bike. But sheesh, those first few days were a bit rough! :c)

I'm digging up an older thread, but I am having saddle issues as well. I see a lot of the discussion here is about MTB saddles. I don't have any real problem with soreness on my MTB, perhaps because of frequently getting out the saddle. I have a WTB Speed She, and I like it.

But on my road bike, I have a lot of saddle-related pain. I have an OCR3 with the standard saddle, which I assume it made for men because it's a men's bike. By about just half an hour in, the pain is really distracting. It seems that my weight is too far forward--that there is not enough weight on my sit bones and the "soft tissue" area is taking too much pressure. It's definitely not actually muscle soreness. This is really the only pain bothering me--I can be full of energy, with no pain anywhere else in my body and I'll feel I can hardly go on for the saddle pain.

Anyone else have this problem? I moved my saddle forward a bit which helped somewhat because the wide part of the saddle was more under where my sit bones naturally seemed to fall. But I still have lots of pain. Should I nose up? Down? New saddle?

But on my road bike, I have a lot of saddle-related pain. I have an OCR3 with the standard saddle, which I assume it made for men because it's a men's bike. By about just half an hour in, the pain is really distracting. It seems that my weight is too far forward--that there is not enough weight on my sit bones and the "soft tissue" area is taking too much pressure. It's definitely not actually muscle soreness. This is really the only pain bothering me--I can be full of energy, with no pain anywhere else in my body and I'll feel I can hardly go on for the saddle pain.

Anyone else have this problem? I moved my saddle forward a bit which helped somewhat because the wide part of the saddle was more under where my sit bones naturally seemed to fall. But I still have lots of pain. Should I nose up? Down? New saddle?

Definitely ... new saddle!! I have an OCR3 too, and I had that miserable piece of plastic off, and my nice and comfy saddle on before the bicycle even left the shop. In general, the saddles that come with the less expensive bicycles aren't very good.

Plus if it is a men's saddle, there's a good chance it isn't wide enough for your female sitbones. Just a fact of life. I had a very narrow men's saddle on one of my bicycles and actually quit riding that bicycle because that saddle caused me so much pain.

I ride a Selle Italia Flight (men's) and I even have wider hips. I have no problems with it. The cut out is a plus for both sexes.

I have never liked the fit of women' saddles and I've tried quite a few. In my opinion, they can be too cushy, too wide to get off the back on rough (MTB) descents, too short for hovering up front on (MTB) climbs and too heavy for weight weenies like me. But that's just me and I'm sure there are plenty of exceptions.

I'd say put some time in on your new saddle and your butt will tell you if you need a different one. It's all so subjective.
I'm with you on this. I ride a Fiz: ik Aliante on both my mtb and my road bike. I've never been comfortable on a women's saddle, and I have wider hips. Wide+cushy=chinese torture device

I just use the saddle that came with my bike. It fits me perfectly. It's pretty firm, but still realy comfortable. I like it angled a bit forward though.

Is your knee over the pedal position correct? My saddle was too far back and I kept sliding forward. The problem was solved with a seatpost that didn't have a setback.

i'm a man and i prefer a woman's saddle because the cutout makes adequate room for my oversized gooch.

You can't go wrong with a Specialized Ruby Gel, my wife loves it.

i'm a man and i prefer a woman's saddle because the cutout makes adequate room for my oversized gooch.

Wow, only one jackass reply.

wkg, jussayin.

http://www.smpselle.com/smp4bike/images/stories/demo//evolution/04.jpg

... I used to ride with the Terry Liberators (which are still on all my other bikes)...

That's the saddle that my wife uses. We tried three or four before this one worked. It's on her touring bike and she's comfortable several hours on it. Her pelvis is about average width, I guess.

I used Terry Liberator Ti Race saddles for several years and really liked them. One on a road bike, another on my touring bike. But last year they started to not be as comfortable. Maybe my butt changed somehow. I now have a SI Diva on one of my road bikes, which I'm liking. I tried the SI Lady too and liked it. I'm also liking some low end Specialized saddles (and looking for more of them). I may have some used Terry Lib saddle for sale in a while as I find replacements.

This thread is 8 years old and the OP is long gone.

Closed.