Womens Advice Please on Saddles

[chefisaac]

Hello ladies! I would love your help if you may.

My wife and I took our first ride together today on the new bike she got. She hated the saddle. Didnt make her sit bones hurt but her inner thighs were hurting a lot and she said they were because of the saddle. She was wearing bike shorts.

I wanted to ask if anyone (a female) has had that issue and did you end up switching your saddle from the stock saddle to something else.

I am leaning toward her getting a Brooks Saddle because it has helped me and others so much.

[Tom Stormcrowe]

Look at Terry's Woman's Saddles. What does she ride, by the way?

http://www.biketiresdirect.com/searc...fswfqaodnnii_a

[late]

Need pics.

Want to see the saddle.

Take a pic of here from the side with her sitting on the bike and with the pedal down as far as it will go.

One possibility, you may need to slide the saddle forward.

[vic303]

The best DF saddle I ever rode was an old Selle San Marco Pirelli. Much better than the Lady Selle I have on my MTB, but no DF saddle is anywhere near as comfy as my Giro26 recumbent seat!

[Thorn]

Best resource for women's saddle issues....http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=39475

Look for information about t-shaped vs. pear shaped saddles. Sounds like it is wide enough in the back, but perhaps a more abrupt transition to the nose (t-shaped) is what you're looking for.

[Rhodabike]

Sounds like the saddle might actually be a little too wide. Unfortunately, saddle comfort is a highly personal thing. A Brooks will hurt a lot until it gets broken in - if it gets broken in. I've tried twice with Brooks and never got comfortable, even after a whole season.
Right now I'm using a Bontrager Affinity RL that's working pretty well for me, but really the only way she's going to find something is to keep the receipt and ask about return policies. Three rides of at least an hour will tell her if a saddle is going to work or not. And even then, it takes a certain amount of riding to get used to even the best saddle.

[Penny4]

Isaac , I hated the saddle on the SLX too, horrible! I switched it to a Terry Butterfly. The Butterfly wasn't great right off the bat, but I'm pretty comfortable on it now.

[chefisaac]

penny: thanks. Why did you pick the butterfly? Did you look at Brooks at all? Why didnt you like it? Did it hurt your inside thighs at all?

[Penny4]

I've tried to erase the pain from my memory No, it didn't hurt the inside of my thighs, but it just didn't work for me. My LBS had mostly Bontrager saddles, and some Terry. I knew a lot of women who liked the Butterfly and the LBS had a pretty decent return policy, so i tried it out. I rode with it for a bit, then also tried a Specialized Jett, which was no good either, so I returned it and went back to the Butterfly.

I was interested in trying Brooks, but couldn't find any locally. I was considering ordering one on line if the Butterfly didn't work.

Check the team Estrogen link that Thorn posted above...there is a TON of info there. If the saddle is hurting her thighs, it sounds like you need to consider the right shape (T shape vs pear), though i'm not sure what would be best for her.

Is this her first bike?

[goldfinch]

penny: thanks. Why did you pick the butterfly? Did you look at Brooks at all? Why didnt you like it? Did it hurt your inside thighs at all?

I also use Terry Butterfly seats. I have them on both the road bike and hybrid. It is more of a "T" shaped saddle. I found that "pear" shaped saddles dug into my thighs.

That said, what works for one might not work for another. Some need the pear shape. Some the T. Some need a cutout. Others do not. The Team Estrogen thread that was linked is a great resource on saddle issues.

[vesteroid]

I think you want to wait.

Remember this is coming from the person who wanted to do 30 miles her first day.

Right now everything is going to hurt. Give it a few weeks of steady riding then start switching out stiff

[goldfinch]

I think you want to wait.

Remember this is coming from the person who wanted to do 30 miles her first day.

Right now everything is going to hurt. Give it a few weeks of steady riding then start switching out stiff

Yeah, no matter what it takes awhile to adapt to any seat.

[Catlikeone]

I think you want to wait.

Remember this is coming from the person who wanted to do 30 miles her first day.

Right now everything is going to hurt. Give it a few weeks of steady riding then start switching out stiff

+10
You know well there is a callous period for everyone, an hour or two doesn't fulfill that requirement. After that is done she'll have a better idea of what she wants and can articulate whats wrong. I've gone through 4 saddles of different manufacturers(like different model for different uses) and have to say go get her measured at Specialized for road bike use, my BG Lithia 155 feels made by the hand of god for me. It's all trial and error.

[nkfrench]

I swapped out the saddle that came with my good bike (Specialized Jett) because the stiff bottom edge on the saddle side was scraping on my saggy middle-aged athena butt. I ended up with a Specialized Lithia.

I do not know her situation but I'll add this anyhow:
Inner thighs can be very fragile skin particularly on people who have lost weight in that area.
Snug bike shorts that provide some compression can help with flappage or friction.

[Fern53]

+10
You know well there is a callous period for everyone, an hour or two doesn't fulfill that requirement. After that is done she'll have a better idea of what she wants and can articulate whats wrong. I've gone through 4 saddles of different manufacturers(like different model for different uses) and have to say go get her measured at Specialized for road bike use, my BG Lithia 155 feels made by the hand of god for me. It's all trial and error.

I agree that a short ride isn't usually enough to judge a saddle-especially if your wife is new to riding. Saddles are truly individual preference, but it does help to know why people like the ones they choose.

I cringed when I saw the dainty BG Lithia on my Specialized Dolce. But-darned if it didn't turn out to be a comfortable fit for me. Another time I bought a lightly-used Selle Royale Respiro for my hybrid, pedaled down the street and was ready to immediately reject it as being too firm. Thankfully I gave it another chance. It was different from anything I had used before, but it is a good fit and comfortable.

The Selle Italia Lady Gel is fairly popular, but it wasn't a keeper for me. And many ladies like the Terry Butterfly, as others mentioned. If I want to try a saddle I wait to see if it is offered used (usually because it wasn't a good fit for someone). I find I can almost always get my investment back on a pre-owned saddle. Unfortunately the original buyer often takes a bigger hit.

[sprout]

I recently purchased a Brooks Narrow. I went with the Narrow because it was closer in width to what I have on other bikes (a correction - Falcon X (I thought it was a Butterfly) and a SLK) and because the girl at the store, whose legs were a little thinner than mine, said when she rode a Brooks Standard her inner thighs rubbed against the sides of the saddle.

[Catlikeone]

Speaking of Selle Italia, I have/had a Diva Gel model. Turned out to be a meat grater with the PRONOUNCED embroidery on edges and center of nose, even with chammy shorts. So Have her try a stitched and smooth for comparison.

[fietsbob]

Seek out a Bike shop that will let her ride on the saddle a while,
and do a return exchange , if it does not work out.

Last year the NYT had a mention of noseless saddles , so the few that the LBS had
sold to people who read that ..