Originally Posted by
NumbersGuy
Sure, I can. But I also don't know if the OP will find their perfect, comfortable saddle. There's just too much we won't know no matter how much he tries to articulate details here.
I guess the reality is that there is no such thing as a perfect comfortable saddle so long as the expectations are that of a seat.
I'm just stating that it is very possible to ride without using a chamois and to still be comfortable, and also giving some more things to look into.
In this we do agree. But I think that for most people, this is a very high bar for "success." Though I do know exactly one single person who rides without a chamois. He rides 400 miles per week and has been working at it for 25 years. I'd wager this is above average and generally not applicable to new internet bulletin board users.
There's so much variation in saddles, that despite all those different saddles tried, that's not even 10% of what's available. I haven't dug into specs of each saddle listed to see how similar or dissimilar they all are. There could be a width, length, shape, material, etc. that hasn't been tried. Another possibility is that all the jumping from one saddle to the next to the next is part of the problem and he's not allowing enough time for his body to adjust to any of them, or to play with small adjustments to saddle position or tilt that might make all the difference. Discomfort from the prior saddle could be lingering and though the next saddle would be fine on its own, sitting on any saddle would bring back the past discomfort.
Ok. This is a fair point. He may need to dial back his mileage and duration.
Then ramp up into a promising candidate for 3-4 weeks instead of jumping cold-turkey into the no chamois game. IOW harden up with
one saddle before making a 👍/👎judgement.