Spoke

At 56 years, 215+ lbs, and not as much padding on my bottom as I had as a younger man, I'm looking for a "more" comfortable saddle for my road bike. Weekly I ride 30-70 miles at about 14-15 mph. Has anyone tried the E3 Form Gel or Titanium saddles? My aching bottom wants to know. Thanks!

- Spoke

Tom Bombadil

What saddle do you use now?

And do you use padded cycling shorts?

Bruce Rosar

BTW, you might want to call around to your local bike stores and ask if they have a ride before you buy type program for saddles (like one the stores near me has).

LastPlace

Being 55, and 205, I ride a Brooks B-17 Champion, and at the end of the ride my butt is the only thing that doesn't hurt.

They don't work for everyone, but if you are interested, I would try getting one from......

www.wallbike.com

They have six month, no questions asked return policy.

Recumbomatic

Maybe its time to consider a recumbent bicycle. The seats can be a really comfy, lounge chair type affair.

Look it up on Wikipedia for a nice summary of the pros/cons.

Tom Bombadil

I'm in the process of going recumbent. I've bought a bent but haven't had much chance yet to get out on it. Seating and hand comfort being big factors in the decision.

I will add that when I had a lot of rear pain last fall, I did something that almost everyone recommends against. I purchased a Bell gel seat pad - did it out of frustration while just walking around at Wally World, cost me less than $10. It really helped. Not sure if they would do the trick for a long ride. But they must work for some riders as they're sold in almost every bike shop. A friend of mine uses one too and he goes on 50 milers from time to time.

Monoborracho

+1.....did 50 miles on my Champion Flyer right out of the box with no pain. Springs on a road bike saddle? Well, its my butt.

Velo Dog

Another vote for the Brooks B-17. Saddle choice is very individual, but nearly everybody I know who's tried a B-17 has stayed with it, and at least one of the guys who bailed (I bought his barely-used one) did it because he didn't like the looks. I have them on three bikes.

CrossChain

Tom B.....I'm the last person to know I'm sure....what 'bent make and model did you get?

cyclezen

tried it... my butt has a bit more wingspan than the 130mm width that the E3 allows. Otherwise freedom of leg movement was a nice feel/feature... if they ever make one in 143mm+, I'd go for it.
hard to have a good ride if everytime you lift outta the saddle there's this cork-poppin sound...

Tom Bombadil

It was my avatar until 2 days ago

A slow, cushy Sun EZ-Rider AX. Several pounds lighter than the standard steel EZ-RIDER, as it is aluminum. It has a heavy-duty suspension spring. Pretty good components, with a SRAM X.9 derailleur and shifter set, Avid disc brakes, and more. Components about on a par with what you would find on a $2500 mountain bike (I checked and found Trek and Cannondale bikes that had almost the same gear that were selling for $2500 & $2700).

Technically, it is designated as an on/off-road bent, although they mean that in a light-duty way. People do take them down mountain bike trails. So it has heavier duty rims and tires.

https://twowheelsoneplanet.com/itemde...ogId=1&id=1542

I got it from a woman who gave up on riding it after putting about 15 miles on it. She thought she could handle a bent but couldn't. Sold it to me at about 45% off of list (well, it was over 50% once you include the extra accessories she threw in). The tires still have the little nubs on them, they look brand new.

If I don't like it, I should be able to sell it for very close to what I paid for it.

I'm expecting it to do well on the limestone trails I ride on. Perhaps it will be too slow & cushy and I'll want to move to something more sporty.

stapfam

One of the problems is getting a saddle wide enough- or the correct width for the butt. Specialised dealers have a saddle foam that you sit on and they can tell your saddle width from that. I am quite small and apparantly I need a wide saddle, and a couple of my larger friends need a narrow saddle.

Only problem is that the only wide saddles the dealer stocked were in the Expensive range, but I did get the butt width established. Still use a narrow saddle on the MTB and road bike- but the Tandem has the correct width saddle fitted. Only problem is that saddle gets in the way on the other bikes and causes different problems.

There are plenty of saddles out there- but Give a saddle a chance to adjust to you. Most are painfull till the butt and the saddle adjust to each other. I have never tried a brooks- but many have with success.

Spoke

I bought a Selle San Marco Era Arrowhead about six months ago. I was waiting for my butt and the saddle to get to know each other. They never did. Even after six months, it was painful. It's a beautiful saddle, it just didn't match my bottom.

Well, I stopped by the LBS and looked at the E3 Form saddle. I bought it, put it on my bike and went out for a short test ride. It felt good. I did a 100K benefit ride yesterday. No pain, a little sore (new saddle), but no pain. I may have found it. It takes several rides to find out if you and your saddle are a match, but it looks good. I'll post again in a few weeks and let you know how it goes.

-Spoke

charles vail

I am 48 and 260 and I use Brooks B-17's and Champion Flyers. ( with springs) I have a recumbent also and that is the ultimate in butt comfort not to mention hands, neck etc. If you want to continue to ride upright get a Brooks or a Sella An-atomica, both are solid leather and will last you for miles and miles of comfort. I shun the Titanium railed saddles because they break under heavy riders plus I don't like foam covered plastic since it doesn't wear in, it wears out and gets progressively more uncomfortable as it wears. Just the opposite of a solid leather saddle.

Yen

Those Brooks saddles are gorgeous!! They may be the best reason of all to ride a comfort bike! I'm almost hoping the seat on my soon-to-be new bike will not be comfortable just so I can get one (in my size, of course).

Tom Bombadil

The Cypress stock seat was my favorite stock seat of all of the hybrids I rode. But that was on a 15 minute ride. I might have hated it after an hour.

spry

The thing that scares me is a bent looks similar to a hospital gurney with an upright seat.At 53 I want to be above ground as much as possible.

Terrierman

I'm 54, 6'1" and 250. My bike has a B-17 and I can honestly say my butt comfort is not at issue when riding. There may well be better saddles available, I'll never know.

DnvrFox

Then do you ride one of these?



And, Spoke, I am glad you found a decent saddle. For some folks, that is a lifetime search!

charles vail

Some recumbents remind me of a chopper bike or something equally cool. Until you ride a performance quality one, you won't be able to realize the comfort and speed potential.

Tom Bombadil

Yep, mine has a chopper bike look. The recommending riding position is with the seat back either all the way up or near to it. Speed was not in my top 5 criteria.

SSP

54 years old, and I've been riding on a Selle Italia SLR (only 135 grams), for the last 6 years. It fits my butt perfectly, and I've never had pain from it. FWIW, I ride quite a few centuries each year, I've done 2 Death Rides, and I usually do a weeklong tour each summer in the Rockies.

bkaapcke

Just about any seat attached to a recumbent bike will do the trick. bk

Artmo 

I bought a Rido saddle recently on the recommendation of someone on one of these forums - sorry, I forget who.
It looks a bit weird, but as soon as you sit on it you feel it supports your bum and not your crotch. I've ridden it over 100 miles and have had no numbness unlike Brooks, Sella Italia and various cutouts.
I have no vested interest in this company, but for $35 the saddle is worth a try. See
https://www.rido-cyclesaddles.com/con...categoryId=119
It takes about 10 days to come from the UK.

Tom Bombadil

Specialized has some saddles that are similar to the Rido. They come standard on some of their bikes.

Here are a few:
https://www.velotique.com/sadl-gi.htm