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Old 04-04-18, 07:45 PM
  #15  
canklecat
Me duelen las nalgas
 
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Texas
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Bikes: Centurion Ironman, Trek 5900, Univega Via Carisma, Globe Carmel

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In my case saddle comfort depends on my own conditioning. The wider, padded saddles that came with my bikes were initially comfortable for quite awhile. But in 2015 I was coming from a point of poor physical conditioning. I hadn't done much more than some walking for several years after a car wreck, and still used a cane for longer walks until 2014.

So I sat very heavily in the wide, padded springy saddle on the comfort hybrid I bought in 2015 to resume cycling. That bike has a spring suspension fork and I added fatter tires to reduce the road shock even more. Experienced cycling friends would give well meaning but useless advice such as "Your arms and legs are your shock absorbers!" Yeah, right. I offered to trade busted necks with them for awhile. No takers.

A year later I got a rigid frame hybrid with less upright riding position and a padded, but less thickly padded saddle without springs. Took awhile to get accustomed to. I even added wider, softer tires. And swapped out the supplied flat handlebar for the riser bar from my comfort hybrid.

Last summer, two years after resuming cycling, I got my first drop bar road bike in more than 30 years. It came with a Lycra fabric over dense foam saddle that was comfortable at first... for awhile. That bike demanded a huge adjustment. I had to do more than just ride a bike. I had to increase my upper body conditioning -- not just stretching but pushups, etc., and some homebrewed kettlebell exercises (I use plastic jugs from cat litter, now filled with water).

By January I was tired of that saddle. Never could find the sweet spot. Turns out my butt sit bones are much narrower than I'd realized. I needed a 131mm wide saddle, narrower even than the common 140-145mm road bike saddles. The saddles that came with my bikes ranged from 165mm to much wider. As my leg and arm strength gradually improved, and I sat less heavily in the saddle, that width became a liability.

After more than two months and 600 miles, I'm satisfied with the narrow, relatively firm Selle Italia road bike saddle. Even wearing my most thinly padded AeroTech Pro shorts (the faux-chamois is really just a semi-thick hank of microfiber, not gel foam or anything like that). It's a keeper.

But it took more than two years to get my body back into that kind of shape.

So for now you might try a saddle that will get you through that period of reconditioning, and swap to another saddle later. If I had my druthers, I might have tried a Selle Italia Q-Bik saddle last year -- it's shaped like my Selle Italia SLS Kit Carbonio, but with a bit more padding, a bit wider, and with a perineum relief cutout. In fact, I may get that Q-Bik for my hybrid.
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