Originally Posted by
Winfried
Since I can't keep buying saddles until I find the right one, I was looking for infos on how to zero in on those most likely to fit me for touring (not racing).
I personally don't make a distinction between touring and racing. I find the same saddle works great for both for me. When I rode some centuries a few years ago and did some on my touring bike and some on my race bike I realized that the race bike was more comfortable on the long haul. After that I tried to match my race position on the touring bike. Once I made that decision any need for a different saddle for touring was gone.
Also I found that breaking in my bottom to the saddle was way more key than anything else. Even the saddle that felt the worst of any of the saddles that came with my bikes for the first few hundred miles was fine on a 4200 mile coast to coast tour and a number of other longish tours. I find that I can tour on any of the saddles that came with my bikes, but if choosing a new saddle I'd pick a race type saddle like the Prologo Kappa.
Numbness from nerve pressure may be the thing that would disqualify a saddle for me since that may be something your bottom can't just toughen up to deal with.