And whether the saddle is flat or curves up in the back.


It takes some trial and error to determine what your preference is for those key features.

First get ahold of a saddle that appears to be the right width, and give it a go. Pay attention to what you like and dislike in the other features. Go for some rides of a decent length. Most of us can ride 20 km on a less than ideal saddle (although I've encountered some saddles that were bad after about 5 km) ... usually the problems start manifesting themselves after 50 km or 100 km.

A really good shop will let you trial a saddle for 6 months. A decent shop will let you trial a saddle for 1 month. At the very least a shop should let you return the saddle after a week if you don't like it.