Originally Posted by
jsigone
everyone has different sit bones and usually stock saddles suck.
Agreed.
They should have a measure device, gel pad that you sit on and it will determine your width.
Don't waste your time with this. The only company that makes such a device is Specialized and it is calibrated specifically for their saddles. In my experience, their measurements don't work terribly well for their own saddles and I would expect the results to be worse for non-Specialized saddles. Your best bet is to physically take your saddle to a shop, determine what's wrong with it, and then buy something that's noticeably different than the one causing you problems. As you suggest: it helps to work with a store that offers a saddle demo program or a liberal return policy.
Yah and invest in good shorts/bibs. 1 good pair is better than 2-3 cheap ones.
I heartily agree that good shorts or bibs are a must. I disagree with the idea that you need to spend big money to get good shorts. I find that the $37/pair Falconi Deluxe bibs from Love2Pedal work
great for me. When I got back into cycling, it made more sense for me to own seven pairs of Falconi's than a single pair of Assos FI.Mille bibs. Don't get me wrong: I own Assos FI.Mille bibs and they
are nicer than the Falconi's... but they're not 6.75 times nicer, as the price difference would suggest!