Zapdaba

I have a Specialized Roubaix Expert 2012 and the saddle that came with it is a Toupe+. It's a fine saddle but I notice if I climb for 9 miles the saddle begins to hurt. Also, after about 30-40 miles of regular riding I sometimes feel it, but it is over all not bad but it I feel like it would kill me if I attempted a century. I am mostly a casual weekend rider who covers 30 miles and under on any given ride, though I do ride 40 and more now and then.

Recently I built up a single speed track style steel frame bike and put a Brooks B17 Special on it. I got the saddle on eBay and I lucked out because the leather was already supple and there was no break in period.

When I took my maiden voyage on this bike, the first thing I noticed was the comfort of the seat. It was so pronounced, it was hard to perceive other elements of the ride for the first three rides. Wonderful.

Now I'm thinking about getting the Brooks Cambium C17 for my road bike. It adds a half pound but I am expecting it to "have legs" when I go long.

Thoughts?

Bunyanderman

If you want a comfortable saddle while still being lightweight, you are looking at very expensive saddles. It is hard to recommend a saddle, as I have heard of people trying 30+ different saddles. There is a guy I rode with who tried 9 different, ended up with a 350g saddle. Look at it like this, you ride on a pretty light 18 pound bike (I have no idea, just guessing), and you weigh an 170 pounds. This is a total for about 190 pounds, you won't really notice a 250g addition to your set-up. I ride a sub 100g saddle because it does not affect me negatively, I am 145 pounds on a 15 pound bike and am still a teen.

Zapdaba

I went with the Brooks C17. Beautiful saddle, about a half pound heavier than the Toupe + it replaced but, man! what a fine ride. The Brooks concept is almost primitive and yet it makes the most sense. First ride today was 53 miles and the Cambium was entirely transparent. I realized that a saddle like this enables me to develop and sustain more power.

rms13

I had a Brooks for about 3 months and it was like a torture chamber every time I got on the bike. As everyone will tell you, every saddle is different and everyone's ass is different so a saddle that is comfortable to one person is not to another. It usually takes some trial and error. My current bike came with a Fizik Arione which many people seem to love. For me it's comfortable enough that I'm in no hurry to swap it but it's not incredibly comfortable. If you have an LBS that has tester saddles that's a good way to try some different ones before buying other than that read as many reviews and opinions as possible and then hope what you buy works out but expect some trial and error as you try different saddles.

Dave Cutter

I am a big believer that... the comfort of a saddle is heavily dependent of the fitness of the legs.

I myself, require a saddle with a cutout. But other than that I had discovered that basically every saddle I tried seemed fine up to about 25 miles. And it was at that point I started to become tired (and lazy) and my saddle became a seat. A narrow little seat... no matter how finely it is made... crammed half-way up a fat arse is less than comfortable.

IMHO... staying light in/on the saddle... with better weight distribution on the other two contact points (hands and feet) is the secret to a pain free behind. Strong fit legs are much better at supporting the bulk of my weight than my butt. In my experience getting fit improved my "saddle comfort".

That said [posted]... the Brooks C17 is a beautiful saddle!

datlas 

I think that saddle fit is SO PERSONAL that it's wise to contact your LBS and see if they have a "try before you buy" program so you can take it out for a few test rides.

Any additional advice about specific brands and models should be taken with a grain of salt IMO.

ThinLine

I have bought 10 saddles before finally choosing a Fizik Arione and a Specialized Toupe....not to mention they were all expensive higher end ones.

Deucer01

I love my Selle SMP Composite. I've been riding for over 35 years, about 13K miles per year, and it's the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden. Recently did a 250 miler in 2 days from Miami to Tampa and didn't even think about the saddle.

bruce19

This.


My problem is that I need a saddle that is rounded rather than flat or waved. Problem is I can't find a website that shows the saddle view from the rear so that I can tell what they look like.

newbie101

+2.

I'm test riding bikes from various manufacturers and got a decent sense of which saddles might work for me based on these test rides.

At that point, I bought several of them online, and also found a few in the takeoff bins at lbs's. I think I've saved quite a bit of money that way, and it looks like I've found some saddles which work well for me.

alexaschwanden

Romin evo saddle.

xscottypx

the one my bike came with was ok, wasnt bad but being silly i swapped it for a selle max super flow. it needs more break in time, only have like 65 miles on it. 2 rides were with no chamois but 1 was with one. longest ride was 30 miles on it, no chamois. no complaints. bought it online after reading reviews. the thought of saddle testing sounds miserable to me.

StanSeven

My exact experience as well. I also found that at the beginning of the season when I'm not as strong, I need to lower my saddle slightly to avoid saddle sores after long ride. As the season progresses I raise my saddle.

if you're fit just about any good saddle works - the exception are those way too wide or way too narrow for your body type.

chaadster

Saddle comfort is, above all else, about how it fits you, i.e. how your weight is distributed across it. After that is padding. Everything else is a patch to make up for those things being out.

Most people can ride a wide range of saddles for a reasonable period. Good shorts extend both range and period.

I don't think there is any reasonable extension to be made from B17 to Cambium; vastly different materials with vastly different properties. They're both Brooks, but that's not enough to expect them to feel the same.

Ultimately, while you can do any number of things to guess at which will be comfortable, there is nothing to match a few test rides.

Zapdaba

I agree with you. So far I have identified the following factors that contribute to the "saddle experience": type of bike. type of riding. how well the bike frame,etc. fits you. how acclimated you are to riding, particularly distance, but particularly how acclimated your ass is to its somewhat unnatural duty on a bike. physical (body) alignment particularly hips to leg and hips to spine. Leg musculature. Body awareness while riding. Sit bone width/saddle "support zone" alignment. distributed rider weight and particularly the degree of "sit down" you do to ride uphill, flats and downhill. Clothing. Skin sensitivity. Sweat. Vulnerability to hype and placebo effects. ...I'm sure there is much more. And for all this, for me, the C17 is the boss.

Zapdaba

The difference between my Toupe+ and my Brooks C17 is that the Toupe has a cushion layer that compresses toward a hard, fixed layer. This fixed layer has some general flex to it, but not site specific. The Brooks C17 has flex without much compression. It is more of a FLOW than a BUFFER. However, it does require understanding your own anatomy, its imperfections, and placing your butt where it will get the most benefit on the saddle. Also, saddle placement on the rails, both horizontal and vertical are essential, as with any saddle.

jimxyz

As part of a pretty detailed fitting I got "fit" for my saddle as well and ended up switching from a Selle Italia that I thought I loved, to a wider saddle that I absolutely love. I would highly recommend getting that type of fitting done (it involves sitting on a special pad to measure your bone width and then riding on a trainer with a special pass that shows your contact pressure as you ride on various saddles)

Dave Cutter

Impressive! You've thought this out much better than I have.

bruce19

And in this same vein I am always amazed at how my saddle "changes" as I lose weight or gain fitness...usually both. A saddle that I loved when I weighed 195 lbs two years ago really sucks for my now 180 lb. body. Tilt a saddle up or down....move it forward or back and there's a whole different relationship between saddle and butt. All the nuances about cycling is what I love about cycling.

Zapdaba

The world is a flat place until you ride a bicycle.

bruce19

If you live in FL it's still a flat place.

Zapdaba

You can feel the planet roundness if you ride against the rotation. You cover more ground per stroke. Even in Flatrida.

HAMMER MAN

Check the prologo saddles.they come in semi round, and or flat.i bought the kappa which is semi round and is ok so far

bruce19

Interestingly I just sort of stumbled onto the Prologo site and saw that. I'm going to see if an LBS around here has any that I can actually see. Thanks.

HAMMER MAN

Open an account on Amazon. i paid $47.00 for the prologo kappa on amazon. the cheaper version with chromoly rails. i figured if that will work and i like it, then i will order 1 with ti rails