Originally Posted by
The Chemist
Padding should be in your shorts, not on the seat, IMO.
I use a completely unpadded Brooks C15 on my gravel/commuter bike, and a very lightly padded Giant Fleet SL on my road bike, and in conjunction with decent bib shorts they are comfortable for hours and hours of cycling.
I was wondering when someone was going to mention padded cycling shorts. I'd assume that very few people here go on long rides without also wearing padded cycling shorts.
As others have said, these things are personal. I also prefer saddles with a generous center cutout section. And I like the advice given earlier to figure out what you don't like about the saddle you currently have and then use that info to choose a new saddle. I'd just add that you should probably get a couple pairs (minimum) of cycling shorts while doing that initial evaluation - if you are going to be using cycling shorts. Be sure to start a thread asking which cycling shorts are best. :^)