barkersoldbean

Thanks to everyone - we have a B17 Brooks lying around in the basement, so it is going on and we will see - sounds like a lot of trial and error to get to a solution. Wife is somewhat relieved that this isn't a "new" thing - but quite common.

rlp

My wife uses a Terry Butterfly. We are still in the process of fine tuning the one on the the new tandem but it looks like it will work out for her. Be sure to pay attention to the angle of the saddle. My wife's saddle is going to end up with the nose a lot lower than it was on the original fit.

fietsbob

Already got a Nice suspension seat post under that (whatever) saddle?

jfarwell

we use brooks saddles on our travel tandem, and they were great. Current bike has fizik saddles (airone and donna) and they are very comfortable too. Maybe the biggest help though, are the seatposts. Our singles have eriksen titanium posts and they are absolutely great.

How wad your trip to the Valbonne? We are do for a ride in france, and this area looks very promising.

barkersoldbean

Success - tried my wife with a Brooks (no good - lots of pain) and then picked up a trial version of a Fizik Aliante from the local bike shop.
After 300 yds she was complaining "it hurts still" and i thought ok - back to square 1, but after 10 miles she was really happy - even over bumps that sometimes catch you out.
We did our regular 40 mile run and got a moving speed record +0.8 mph better than our best.
I think my conclusion is a) trial and error = the only way and b) a happy bottom = a happy stoker and more power!
Thanks to all for the input.
I am so happy to get a solution.
Tony

PMK

Don't get her so comfy she wants to ride and not pedal...

PK

JanisXenith

My wife and I are rivet fans as well. I was pretty happy with the Selle Anatomica before, but the splay cut into my leg causing chafing on long rides. The rivet splay-less design solves that problem. Also, the Selle Anatomica leather is much much thinner, which means it will lose it's shape and wear out sooner.

zonatandem

Saddles are a bit of a crap shoot for stoker or pilot.
Stoker Kay back in the '70s and '80s put 30,000 miles on a Brooks B-72 until she broke one of the seat rails on a century ride. Finished that century by jamming a rock between her saddle and our rear carrier (one really tough stoker!).
Put on another B-72 just like it and she could not get used to it even after a couple thousand miles. She's ridden a variety of saddles since with varying degrees of luck.
Currently she is riding an old Bianchi/Avocet Racing saddle on our Zona tandem bought at a bicycle swap meet with very good results after trying a couple other saddles during the past year.
She is a petite 4' 10 -3/4" tall and weighs a scant 103 pounds, so fit/size of anything is always an issue for her.
Sometimes the most unlikely looking saddle gets good results.
Keep trying . . . no iffs, ands or butts!
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Leisesturm

Saddle makers don't mind that much if you only ride a $90 saddle four times. I am going to go waaaay out on a very long limb and say that it cannot be as much of a crap shoot to buy a functional saddle as many of us make it out to be. Simply put there are many who can find comfort on a $35 saddle and many who cannot find comfort on any saddle made regardless of price. As I understand it it takes 400 hours to properly get your bottom used to a particular saddle. Many tandem couples go on week long sojurns with scant preparation. Tandems are mainly fair weather, recreational riders. Just putting it out there as a counterpoint to the prevailing wisdom

H

Sprout97 

Saddles are kinda a Holy Grail-thing. What works for one rider fails miserably for the next. The "Admiral" went through a number seats, both on the boat and on the half-bikes. Most of that time, she rode a Terry Butterfly. She wanted to try the Brooks as it it's a leather saddle. She spent a number of years riding and minor competition in equestrian (English horseback riding) and liked that fact her horse saddles molded to her sit bones & backside. Once she tried a Brooks, she's never looked back. (O.k., I've done a lot of adjustments to her Brooks, and I think we've finally gotten it dialed in for her.) She also has a Specialized Pave carbon post. Between the two, she's very comfortable.

As an aside, I ride a Selle Atonamica. I'm still trying to get used to it, but it looks to be the long term answer for me.

fietsbob

Im a fan of Fizik's Vitesse , but really.. how about let her test a bunch of saddles and decide for herself .. she is the one sitting on it.

maybe the ride needs More off the bike Breaks .. tourist lookabout stuff & pub lunches .

Carbonfiberboy 

My stoker has found the 200 mile Grail in her Specialized Oura Expert. The most important thing is for the LBS to measure sitbone width and size the saddle accordingly.

sch

I stoked on a tandem off and on for ~5-6 yrs racking up just under 20,000 miles and am male. The saddle problem was significant, mostly as pointed out
by several because you can't do the little microshifting around on the tandem that you unconsciously do on a single. I finally settled on a Terry saddle
and have several, two on singles and two on tandems. The early Terrys did not last very long as the foam bridge where most of your weight was broke down
and sagged (2002-2006 or so) but saddles bought since then have lasted 12-15k miles, wearing out mostly by leather coming apart where the thigh rubs.
Before we bought the fancy tandem, I tried out perhaps 8 saddles before going back to the Terrys. We got in the habit of just standing up and coasting every
5-10 miles for a few hundred yards for "crotch rest" or alternatively if feeling spunky would down shift into a higher gear and stand up pedalling for the same
distance or up short hills to achieve the same result. If you are careful you can stand up and pedal while going up a short hill while the pilot remains sitting,
I don't think the pilot really likes this but has never complained, if you don't throw your weight around as much.

Carbonfiberboy 

^I used a Terry Fly for many years, had the same complaint about durability. It's good to hear that they've corrected that. My Forte Classic saddles that I ride now are near clones of that Terry, but with better durability.

VaultGuru

Interesting that no one has mentioned Specialized seats yet. Specialized has a sit-bone measurement device (commonly referred to as an ass-o-meter). It is a stiff memory foam. After you sit on it for 30 seconds and get up, the sit bones leave an indentation. The sit bones are measured center to center and a series of seats are suggested. My wife also becomes pretty sensitive after sitting for a long time. After trying 5 seats, she settled on the Specialized Lithia Gel and is happy with it. She still is sensitive and needs to stand, but the sit time comfort duration has really increased. I have heard that other seat manufacturers are going to the same fit concept as Specialized, If so, there should be some new saddle options coming out in the near future.

WillFam-Reno

Specialized was mentioned in post #2 , 20, and 37. One bad review, two good. I use one myself and am pleased, but this posting was about stokers saddles.
Many interesting comments including a strong like or dislike for the same saddle. Proves that many bodies are built a bit differently from an 'average'. Thank goodness for many choices.
Use a Bike Shop that allows testing or returning saddles until a good fit is found.

Will-Fam

Sprout97 

IIRC, my wife tried a Specialized seat or two, but wasn't happy with them. Likewise, I tried a couple of their gel models, sized according to the above-mentioned assometer. They never panned out as I was always beginning to suffer by mile 40. Again, everyone's backside is different. On a different note, we've never had a problem with most everything else from Specialized.

gracehowler

I was always beginning to suffer by mile 40.
We have to agree to "mile 40". We do lots of rides in the 20 to 25 mile range, mostly around the area, "keep in shape" rides, but get serious and knock off some miles, that is truly where suffering can begin. My stoker is now "unhappy" with seat number 3, so we saddle hunt again, kind of like looking for "snipes", not sure of reality here!
R&J

Carbonfiberboy 

Seat #3 ??? Oh Noes! We have a box of saddles, mostly captain's, which seemed fine for a while but eventually became a PITA. My last saddle search for my single involved about 20 returned saddles. Stoker had it kind of easy in that regard, what with the box of saddles just sitting there. I think we only went through 4 that worked for a while but weren't just right, plus a whole bunch that were easy to say NO to.

But yes, saddle nirvana is out there as long as one rides frequently enough to toughen the sit bones, say 3-4 hours/week or so. The trick is to identify what and where the problem is and to select another saddle or several candidates, which are different in that regard.

gracehowler

CF, I remembered you two had saddle trials, BUT THAT BAD!!!
I guess we can't complain, I have been okay on my tandem captain saddle for over ten thousand miles, and so stoker only on #3 , we are blessed!
BUT, still searching.
R&J

Carbonfiberboy 

No, that GOOD!!! I found a perfect saddle and bought three. Probably should have bought 4.

Sprout97 

Touche.

CaliBuckShaver 

Here's what every stoker needs: a Tamer TAMER

The thing about being a stoker is that you're not as focused on the bumps in the road and, compounding that with the riding position, stokers get worn out/saddle sore much easier/sooner. We adjust automatically to any perceived variation in the road when we're captain or on a single. That automatic function in our brain doesn't work so well sitting behind the captain. This Tamer is on the Santana that I must part with.