Fifty Plus (50+) - Recommend a good seat for an old bony butt

for a road bike, for long rides at speed.

B17

Walmart, Zefal gel.

Love mine, done several 100 milers.

Have one for each of my bikes!

$20!

My thinking on seat comfort has changed over the years. Saddle comfort has more to do with your proper fit on the bike than the saddle itself. Basically once you find the right width on your sit bones you should be able to use any saddle in that size range once your bike is properly fitted.

I use all these with no discomfort: Fizik Aliante, Selle Signo, Brontrager Inform, Prologo, Terry Fly all in the 140 to 143 cm width range.

Get someone with a tape measurer and then lay on you side. Press on your butt and find the bones that you sit on (your sit bones) and put your fingers on each bone, then have your friend measure the distance between these bones. Take that info to your LBS and have them find a few seats in that width area and try them on the trainer or on your bike if they'll let you. A padded seat that's the wrong fit won't do as well as one designed to fit your sit bones. I had the wrong seat for years and it killed me, then I got one that fit my sit bones. I looked at that skinny little thing and thought the guy at the LBS was nuts. It felt great and I was able to go for several hour rides with no problems. A good bike fit will also go a long way to making you really comfortable on your bike, and the sit bone/seat fit is part of a good bike fitting.

My wife and I like our Bontrager gel seats. We typically ride 20 to 25 miles at a time.

The best thing is to go to a bike shop that has loaner seats. Try them all. Many times it's the least-comfortable LOOKING one that is best ;)
For me gel seats are the absolute worst. All they do is increase contact with the seat and cause other problems(for me at least). But for you, it's the seat that works.................FOR YOU!
Just like regular shoes, we all have our favorites. It's a personal preference thing.

Specialised shops have an "Assometer" that will measure the width of your sitbones. That is the technical terms by the way so don't be shy of asking for a fit. Once the width is sorted- then get a saddle that is suitable for the sit bones.

But type of saddle for a road bike---Once the width is sorted- go for a FIRM saddle. Soft sqidgy ones or Gel saddles are fine for a few miles but do cause problems and pain after 20 miles or so for most of us. The best saddle for you may be a cheap one or the most expensive in the shop. But a few names that seem to work are Selle Italia-San Marco- Fizic and possibly Brooks. Brooks do not sort everyone- just like the other makes.

There is no Magic saddle that works for everyone but saddle fit does. It can improve the worst--Or almost improve the worst- Once height and fore and aft and width are sorted- then Tilt is the important part. You have to get the sit bones on the wings of the saddle and most start with the saddle parralel to the ground. Adjust the tilt so you can feel the saddle on the pubic bone and no more. Ride and see if the saddle is right. If you are sliding forward then tilt the nose up- if the pain is still there-tilt the nose down.

Saddles are a very personal item and take some time to sort for some of us.

I found this article on BikeRadar.com (http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/health-are-you-sitting-comfortably-30179) concerning saddles and comfort very interesting.

As an alternative to the Specialized Assometer or the close attention of a friend there is this technique:

How to measure your own sit bones

Of course the measure you really want is between the centres of your ischial tuberosities – the pointy lower parts of your pelvic bone on either side. Many bike dealers have a pad that you can sit on to measure this distance, but you can do it at home too.

Take a piece of aluminium kitchen foil and place it on a carpeted stair. Sit on the foil, lean forward a bit to approximate your riding position, then lift your feet. This should leave a good impression of your rear in the foil, and you can measure between the two points of deepest impression to get your sit bone width.

‘Narrow’ sit bone width would be 100mm or less, medium 100-130mm, wide over 130mm.

A saddle’s width is measured from edge to edge across the top, and Specialized recommends a 130mm saddle width for narrow, 143mm for medium and 155mm for wide. These figures should translate approximately across other ranges, with all other factors taken into account. From BikeRadar

I am learning so much about butts and bike saddles I will soon go on tour to present my findings! :-DDD This forum is great!

What are you riding now, and what do you like or dislike about it?

The best saddle for any butt, bony or otherwise, is one that fits. For me, that is indeed a B17, or the hardshell job on my 'bent. But as I said that's FOR ME. Every butt is different. What ya gotta do is try a bunch and find one that works. Many shops offer a 30-day saddle trial period. Find one nearby that does, and go to town!

SP
Bend, OR

Believe it or not, but I think the WTB Pure V is a very comfortable saddle for my boney backside. I had one on a MTB and liked it so much I put it on my touring bike. Come to find out, many tourers agree with me. I haven't tried one, but I've met several people who swear by the Terry Liberator saddle.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/real-man.html

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/stonesaddle.jpeg

bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahaha

What are you riding now, and what do you like or dislike about it?

the stock "racing" saddle that came on the Fuji Roubaix, which is reputed to be uncomfortable by owners. I find myself in pain after 20 miles or so, although it is lessening as I ride more. But I'm looking at a number of 100+ milers and want all the breaks I can give myself.

I have had good luck with Cinelli and Selle, both Italian. My latest saddle recently wore out (the leather was fraying). My wife was at her favorite bike shop (we are both cyclists and are a two bike shop household, both shops are great but we are both loyal). Anyrate, the shop had an "assometer", I kind of think that might not be its trade name. They sell their saddles in different widths based on the measurements. So I got one and it works great.

Parenthetically, I find a really hard saddle that fits well to be the best option. You are suspended on the Ischeal Processes and it keeps your tender parts protected. Soft saddles kind of swallow the processes and put weight on the soft spots.

LWB recumbent seats can't be beat for comfort. bk

Specialized Toupe, 130mm. Hard and narrow works for me, as does the central cutout. Your butt may differ.

the stock "racing" saddle that came on the Fuji Roubaix, which is reputed to be uncomfortable by owners. I find myself in pain after 20 miles or so, although it is lessening as I ride more. But I'm looking at a number of 100+ milers and want all the breaks I can give myself.

It would be wise not to discount this. Conditioning one's backside to a new activity might take a bit of time. I generally give a new saddle between 500 and 750 miles before I determine if it's a keeper. I don't know how many miles you've got in this season, but if you're just getting back into it, you might find than any saddle is going to be a bit uncomfortable for a bit.

Walmart, Zefal gel.

Love mine, done several 100 milers.

Have one for each of my bikes!

$20!

Great tip, thanks a million. Put in 20+ miler on the Zefal gel (WalMart, $14.95) last night, no sore butt. It is a little on the wiiiide side though, so while I'm pretty happy with it for fifteen bucks, I'm still in the seat market. It is definitely a trial-and-error process...

If you`re still saddle searching, and can find one, check out a Charge Spoon. I think Universal Cycles still sells them. A little more than the Wal-Mart deal, but not much. About 140mm wide or so, quite firm, and highly regarded. They now reside on all my steeds.

The thing about the B-17 (or any other tensioned leather saddle) is that over time, it changes shape to match your butt. I find a standard B-17 takes about 1000 miles to settle in. The slightly more expensive "aged" B-17 takes about half as long. So these saddles are not for weekend-only boardwalk riders. On the other hand, I've got about 10,000 miles on my oldest B-17 and it looks about halfway through it's useful life so, once your butt and that saddle get to know one another you can quit suffering for a long time.

It's certainly true that saddle fit is a very individual thing. But for those who ride enough miles, the advantage of tensioned leather is that it will change its shape to match your shape. No other type of saddle offers such customization.

Do you think, if I get my butt conditioned to a hard bike seat, I'll be better able to tolerate the wooden pews, and therefore the droning old preacher, at my parent's country church? Dare I anticipate this spinoff benefit?

Get one the "assometer" worked for me, really.

Parenthetically, I find a really hard saddle that fits well to be the best option. You are suspended on the Ischeal Processes and it keeps your tender parts protected. Soft saddles kind of swallow the processes and put weight on the soft spots.

Yeah Pat, that's exactly it. Bingo!

Do you think, if I get my butt conditioned to a hard bike seat, I'll be better able to tolerate the wooden pews, and therefore the droning old preacher, at my parent's country church? Dare I anticipate this spinoff benefit?

We will gladly come and present our singing/preaching sermon (http://xyzingers.info). You will be so engrossed, you want feel a thing! :)

Wonder how a tractor seat would work?

I've got a Trek 7.2 and can't get comfortable after more than 5 miles. I'm not sure how to describe it but it's between the legs not the butt directly. I think i tend to roll forward more than sitting back. so the narrow part of the seat is where it get's hard.

I've experimented with the tilt of the seat. Tilted too far down in the front (forward) moved my weight forward and put too much pressure on my hands/arms. Tilted too far up (back) was uncomfortable on the crotch right off. It takes some tinkering to get it right, and it takes a few long rides. Put your wrench in your seatbag and go out for an adjustment ride or two. Now that I've figured out what my body is looking for in terms of tilt, I've found that the hard stock seat I replaced with a gel seat is just as comfortable. Learned that when I got another bike, but that hard seat on it, and realized that it didn't hurt as bad as it did before I learned how to adjust it. The bottom line on seat comfort, however, is time spent on it. The more hours in the saddle, the more your rear end will acclimate.

Having ridden a Brooks Team Pro on my base km's bike for a while now, I got tired of chafing from my Toupe on my Lynskey. Replaced it with a Ti rail Brooks Swallow and it was incredible right out of the box. Yes, it weighs 140 grams more but comfort before form on saddles. I normally ride 143 width if that helps you.

I have tried many saddles throughout the years and never really had a saddle that I truly liked. I usually just made due with the soreness and numbness that came along with it. I have heard also throughout the years that the Brooks saddle was the way to go, but needed breaking in to get the most out of them. Well I finally went and bought a Brooks B-17 Imperial. I now have about 250 miles on it, and if it gets any better over time, then it will be the best saddle I have ever owned. I get back from a ride without any discomforts. I don't get numb crotch any more. I should have listened to the experts.

..and I just purchased a B-17 on eBay. I wanted ,and found, one that has hundreds of miles on it because I don't want to break one in.

I realize this seat has become adjusted to another's anatomy but I am willing to experiment..I'll let you know how this works out.

Mike

an old old brooks thats really broken in