Gramercy

I was looking for an LBS that would let you try out a few saddles but none seem to do it in my area. On Nashbar, they are saying you can try one out and return it if you don't like it. I would feel bad doing it, but since I buy a lot of my gear on that site, including my relatively crappy current Nashbar saddle I may try one out before buying. A lot of them cost around 100-250 which seems like a lot to me, but there are two that I'll link to, one is 30 bucks, one is 60, both half off on sale. Has anyone used these before? Or should I look into another brand? I know Specialized has a saddle for $70 that someone recommended a while ago.

Selle Italia Q-Bik SE Saddle - Normal Shipping Ground

Selle Italia SL Kit Carbonio Flow SE Saddle - Saddles Save 50 Percent or More

I really only use Nashbar because their products come within a week (I don't know much about other American sites with a good selection like Nashbar). It took me 5 weeks to get my Conti GP4000's from Europe which was ridiculous.

spectastic

Saddle and shoes are the two things you can't judge based on the specs. Anything else, you could probably get away with, but not a saddle.

Personally, I rode on a selle italia for a century ride, and it turned out to be one of my worst riding experiences ever... I could tell something was wrong early in the ride, and my intuition proved to be true by mile 70, when the slight discomfort slowly turned into the worst saddle sore I've ever had.

definitely try it before you buy it

Fox Farm

I use Sella Italia saddles. Currently I have Flite Max on both bikes. I would go with the Kit Carbonio from what you posted.

Fox Farm

So you rode a saddle on a century ride for the first time or first time for that duration? Saddles are like shoes and gloves, as you said. I have tried Fizik and found them to be terribly uncomfortable yet other people love them.

spectastic

I was still pretty new, and bought a new expensive saddle that I thought would help me for the century ride. After the ride, I returned it immediately.

Gramercy

What other online places are good to buy from? Do most have return policies? I don't mind spending more knowing that I can return it for like $6 shipping and then get another one. Seems like people love or hate Fizik so it's a riskier purchase than other brands.

nielsp03

I used to have PITA during any ride over 25 miles. What made all of the difference for me was switching to a Bontrager Affinity R. The key was getting the correct width. I went from a 138mm to 148mm width. I also upgraded my shorts, been pain free ever since, but I would point to the wider saddle in making the difference.

Latif

Jenson has a great return policy on everything including seats, 60 days. I had to return a SDG that didn't work and all I had to do is pay return shipping and the original shipping was free.

3alarmer 

The Performance Bike house brand, Forte, is usually pretty aggressively priced on their
website and I've had good luck with the "classic".

They might even be made by the same maker as the lesser Selle Italias, with which I've
also had pretty good luck. You really need to look at the quality of the foam padding
(needs to be high density) and the quality and flex of the shell.

Of the Forte saddles I've bought, one was bad out of the box and squeaked (a shell issue).
Performance is very good about returns on their stuff...at least they are here where I live.

All the major brands make a variety of quality levels in saddles.

Carbonfiberboy 

When you get the saddle, note how it was packed and save everything. After you test the saddle and find it wanting, wash it in the sink and dry it. Replace in the packaging and back in the box with the original padding. Some saddles will have zip ties attaching them to the packaging. Replace them.

I have ridden new saddles on century training rides. Gotta find out somehow. Never had any damage that didn't heal in a couple of days.

Don't feel bad. They have this policy so they can sell you a saddle and make you a customer that comes back. When doing a saddle search, I always order 3 candidate saddles at a time that look like possibles. If none of them work, at least you have a better idea of how the next three should be different. All my saddles are Performance Forte Classic. Fits me better than anything I've tried.

StanSeven

One long ride often isn't enough for a new saddle. Saddles are different and sometimes minor adjustments (height, tilt, fore/aft) are needed to get a comfortable position. You usually just don't end in up in the identical position when you switch brands/models

TrojanHorse

If you want a selle italia saddle, find a retailer near you that has the ID Match fit system and go get measured. they basically have 6 saddle types (S1, 2 and 3 and L1, 2 and 3) based on your measurements & flexibility.

I recently retired a specialized romin evo in favor of a selle italia SLR Superflow L and so far so good. Heck, the romin was good too, part of the equation is wearing a good pair of shorts. I'm just looking for improvements at 80+ miles.

Anyway, selle italia doesn't seem to have a demo program, but most retailers will let you keep returning them until you get the right one, if you're dedicated enough to do that.

gamby

I've been on a 145mm version of the Carbonio SL you mentioned all winter on the trainer and it's been fine so far. Will be getting on longer road rides on it once the weather warms up. So far, it seems like a nice budget saddle with a good weight (239g iirc).

Dave Cutter

I am not sure price has much to do with finding the "right" saddle fit. Finding your sit bone width might be a good first step towards finding your perfect saddle.

chil2makefun

My most recent bike came with a fizik antares, which is a great saddle. But whatever I tried, I couldn't get it right to be comfy. I've had good luck with Selle Italia in the past so I went with an slr team edition. The pain is gone now, even without cycling shorts. Moral of the story: saddle shape is way more important than padding. So if the shape's right, I'd go with the sl for sure.