ltxi

It is, of course, whatever works best for the individual. Selle Anatomica NSX has been perfect for me. Good leather is a bit heavy, but... And I really don't give a rat's butt about looks....

dksix

I've been learning about saddles, one at a time. I've went from the minimum width to the maximum for my sit bones, round to flat and each time I realized what would be better next time around. Was thinking a WTB Volt would be my next progression but an email from Nashbar showing one of their brand saddles along with a sale price and forever guarantee I thought I'd give it a try. About 125 miles and it's better than any of the others. The best part about Nashbar was it came with a return shipping label should I not like. Wish I would have bought from Nashbar to start with, then I would have 7-8 saddles hanging on the wall unused.

Chandne

Good thread. I am doing okay on Specialized Romin 155s so far but a bit more dense padding would be good. I don't have much padding on my butt, so they become uncomfy after 30-35 miles. I feel my sit bones grinding on them, practically. I think I may have gotten my first saddle sore (ingrown hair type maybe...not a major one). I wish they made a level 3 Romin. I'm looking for something along those lines. I get along better with firm/dense padding than soft padding. I bottom out soft padding after a while.

popeye

My team gets our kits from Voler and for the last 10 years I have been buying the most expensive (padded) shorts as they have a stupid rating system (hours on the saddle = > price) so they must be better but this year I went minimal and am not disappointed.

ltxi

I was just asked yesterday, with surprise in her voice, about why I don't wear padded shorts. It's because I don't want nor need them. Unpadded, good fitting saddle and running shorts with their minimal liners work well for me. Come winter it's sweat pants with nothing underneath.

rmfnla

Once I switched to my Brooks Flyer I joined this club.

Padding is what you need when your saddle doesn't fit you properly...

WorldIRC

Love how $8 gets the package from CRC to Toronto in only two days. Can't wait to install and test the saddle this weekend!

johzio

To add my little experience, the best saddle i had so far is a charge spoon, balanced on every aspect, its so comfy that i didnt needed any time to adapt, plus with one thousand reviews 4,9/5 stars on wiggle you cant go wrong with it. Wont empty your pockets either

momo15

The Aliante from Fizik fits me, and I'm not in a super-aggressive position. I would really just recommend going to a shop and trying out as many saddles as you can sit on. It might take you a while to decide if a saddle is The One, but it takes me about three seconds to know when one isn't.

2702

I'm using this right now.
Look IN Viper | Selle Royal

Those Specialized saddles level Padding 1 are good for glass roads only. Literally painful for real world streets unlike you are in biking shorts.

bleui

try a Specialized Power Comp saddle, it's shaped like Romin with a bit more padding and bigger cut-out

Vinnems

One important thing that you usually need help with is identifying the 'correct' pain you are having in terms of a saddle fit. I bought a new saddle that I thought was destroying my sit bones because it was a bit narrower, but the local fitter pointed out that it's just different (shape and padding-wise) from my other one and it will take some time to get used to it. A week later, it was feeling so nice and feels better than my old one ever did, but man was I tender getting to that point!

Kevindale

This is a timely thread, and the first time I've looked at SMP saddles thanks to the above recommendations. As I've started riding more, I'm finding the Prologo Kappa Q that came with my Cannondale increasingly uncomfortable. In fact it's intolerable, and I imagine I'd end up with real damage if I rode a century. Primarily it's perineum pressure, though I also don't have much padding under my sits bones. I ride in a reasonably aggressive position, often in the drops, and spend the vast majority of my time in the saddle.

The SMP line looks very interesting. Measured conventionally (cardboard and chalk), by sits bones are 100 mm apart. From my reading, it sounds like the Selle SMP Dynamic might be a good choice. Damn, it's pricey, though. Anyone have experience with this particular seat?

Road Fan

I just got one of these from the sale on B products. I've only put a little time on it since the bike it's on suddenly needed a repair and I haven't had much time. So far, it was rock hard out of the box, and has begun to get resilient.

Sojodave

I'm 6'4" weigh 190 and my sit bones are 130 apart and I ride an endurance frame(Ridley Fenix 60cm). I'm trying to find "thee saddle", but have been unsuccessful. I have been riding a Specialized Romin Evo 155, but I'm getting soar sit bones. I bought a Fizik Arione K:ium off of ebay and it was super uncomfortable. I initially leveled the saddle, but I read some on here only level the first 2/3. After the adjustment, I sat back further, my sit bones were further back and more comfortable, and I may have found the sweet. It seemed much more comfortable and I'm hopeful this will work. It rained on me on Saturday so I wasn't able to go more than 12 miles. I'll try it out more this week. If that doesn't work, I'm going to try the Specialized Toupe next.

My question is that my sit bones are 130 and the Arione is 132. Is the Arione too narrow for me?

Emperor Ryker

I think you need to add 2-3 cm to your sit bone measurement to get the width of a saddle that fits.

cave12man

Specialized Power Series (S-Works, Pro, Expert, Comp)

I have the Power Expert and love it so far. Nice padding, decent cutout, and shorter than most saddles which I find doesn't jam into my nether bits as badly as some saddles. The "wings" are a bit wide for my liking and don't curl down as much as I feel they should (leads to a bit of chafing I think), but overall the best saddle I've used so far. YMMV of course.

dim

no need to spend big money on saddles .... I just bought another bike (Trek 1000) and it has a specilaized body geometry comp saddle (leather) .... comfy for the 2 days that I have used it, but time will tell when I do long distance on the weekend

charge spoon is a good cheap one (my son has one he he is very happy) .... and old used san marco rolls saddle can be bought for cheap off ebay and they are comfy for long distance... lots more others

I'm planning on buying a good used Giant tcr pro full carbon at the end of the month (I've been saving for a long time) and will most probably fit a Brooks Cambium C17 on that .... the guys at my LBS speak very highly of them and they say its as good as a well broken in Brooks B17 out of the box, but it's also waterproof (not as cheap as a charge spoon though)

ARPRINCE

I decided to try this out because the Fizik R7 on my CAAD12 was killing my butt. I got the lowest model "Power Comp" and the Spec Dealer said that if I liked it, I can upgrade to a higher model and just shell out the difference. Sounds good to me. It was 234 grams. 10 grams lower than the R7. I'll try it out tomorrow.

Chandne

Too bad Specialized discontinued the Alias. That one seemed to have really dense and supportive padding. I don't think Specialized makes any road saddles above a level 2 padding. I don't care about saddle weigh. I wish we had more 155mm options that utilize dense padding.

ARPRINCE

I rode 20 miles today and I can say that this did not hurt my butt at all compared to the Fizik. It was a good fit which is a good sign. Now comparing it with my Selle SMP Lite 209, I miss the fact that even though this saddle is shorter in length, I still find my bibs getting caught up on the saddle's nose. The material is also a little sticky for the bibs or maybe its just the contour of the SMP because I just slide back into place smoothly after standing up. I'll ride some more to get the hang of it.

Shuffleman

It is curious that every saddle thread has so many people pushing for the Brooks. I have always wanted to try one just to see if they are deserving of the hype. I ride with a ProLogo Kapo Evo and like it so I see no reason to change it. I am currently looking for a 2nd frame to build out another bike. I am bouncing back and forth between sticking with what I know and trying the Brooks.
What makes you want to throw yours into the river?
Do they really take that long to break in? and once they do break in, is it a sudden thing or is it just subtle changes every time that you ride?

rmfnla

I suspect you mean 2-3 mm, otherwise that 130 saddle would be over 51 inches wide...

fuzzbug

I bought a Selle Italia Max Flite Gel Flow earlier this year, and have ridden it about 450 miles. I don't think it's going to work out - about 15 miles into a ride, it starts to bother me. I appreciate the light weight, but weight is not everything.
I've just put on my Brooks Professonal that is 45 years old, and am going to see how it works. It weights twice as much as the Selle, but sacrifices must be made sometimes!

Chandne

This one does look interesting for a leather saddle:

https://selleanatomica.com/products/x-series

I do find the Brooks saddles comfy (the B17 was anyway) but QC is not good- mine was tilted/bent. I also did not ride ore than 20-25 miles at the time. It was also very slippery.

I just ordered a Selle Italia:

https://www.rei.com/product/832312/s...ow-saddle-mens


Let's see if this is a bit more supporting than the Romin Evo. If not, I may try the Selle anatomica I lined above. I'm also tempted to try a new seat post like the Ergon CF3. I mainly have issues after 35-40 miles, where I either need more support or more flex or something.