Tex Bs

At 6'1 and 250, I am having a hard time finding a saddle that is comfortable after 15 miles. I have moved the saddle and made a number of small adjustments, and just cant find a long term comfortable position, and that's what's making me think I need to change to a different.

My current saddle is from Performance and is a Forte Classic.

What saddle has worked for you, and as you have de-clyded (lost weight), have you needed to change saddles?

mthayer

Well saddles are a matter of trial and error until you find the one that fits you on that bike. I have one bike that I use a Koobi tri saddle on and it is comfortable. I tried putting it on a different bike and I get discomfort from it. I have a Planet Bike competition saddle that goes on that bike. your best bet is to find a lbs that have demo saddles, most charge $5 a week to try them out and then purchase the one that you like the best. Other riders have good luck with Brooks saddles.

Biggziff

I went to a shop that had the Specialized BG saddle fit system...which is a board with memory foam on it. You sit on it and they measure the impressions left by your sit bones. I tried 2 saddles and found the second, less expensive one was very comfortable for me.

IAmCosmo

Saddles are very personal. I ride a Specialized Toupe and love it, but I have a friend who can't stand it. He rides a Fizik, and after 5 minutes on it I felt like I had just been to the proctologist.

ChargerDawg

This is strictly trial and error.

Some like the Brooks B-17. I have settled on a Terry Liberator Gel, and ride a half century without problem.

Rona

I have a brooks and just keep waiting for the break in period to be over. After 30 kilometers, I just want to drown it in a canal. That's on my roadbike.

I have a cheap torn up no-name on my touring bike that I found at a thrift store. I don't know what I will do when it finally kicks the bucket. I don't know if anyone makes something similar. It's all trial and error. Get your seat bones measured and go from there. A too- small seat will be incredibly uncomfortable.

chefisaac

brooks all the way. I have the b-17 and love it. kinda spendy but your butt will thank you!

chefisaac

there is a break in period for the brooks. Some say it takes a while and some break in quicker.

Mongoeric

I tried the B-17. It was very comfortable but I started to develop 'blood flow' issues!

Went to a noseless saddle - the Adamo Road. It took me some time to adjust to it, but now there is no looking back.

In a 92 mile ride a week ago there were no major saddle issues.

Barrettscv 

Brooks saddles will get better over time. However, they should not be painfull, even on the first day.

chefisaac

mong: I assume you mean blood flow issues in the crotch?

sstorkel

I've had a B17 on my drop-bar touring bike for the last week. At this point, I'd rate it as the second-worst saddle I've ever tried. Given the design, I'm not sure how it could ever be comfortable for anything other than a bolt-upright riding position... Mine will be coming off the bike today and probably on it's way back to Wall Bike.

chefisaac

Brooks makes other saddles other then the B17. Perhaps it might help to take a look at them.

contango 

I guess I got lucky. I bought a Specialized Rockhopper in 2009 and still have the original saddle on it which works just fine. I recently bought a 2009 Tricross and the stock saddle for that is just fine too.

For me the biggest difference was when I realised I needed to lower the nose of the saddle a little. That made it comfortable to raise it a little higher which meant I could put more power down to the pedals without that extra power squashing things that prefer not to be squashed.

I'm about 6'4 and weighed ~280 when I started cycling.

sstorkel

I'm pretty well convinced that none of the Brooks saddles will work for me. At least initially, the B17 puts way too much pressure on the soft tissue and not enough on the sit bones. This may change at some point (though having played with the tension adjustment, I doubt it), but I'm not willing to suffer through the break-in period when there are better options available...

Neil_B

Sometimes it's just a matter of adjusting the position. Do you have your Brooks level, or slightly nose up?

Mongoeric

Yes, blood flow in the crotch.

It's the only blood flow I'm really concerned about!

Eh, maybe the big head a little.

MongoEric

XR2

I don't believe you should give up on a saddle w/o trying to adjust the position a bit. Just bolting it on and riding isn't going to do it. Look around on the site there's some good information on fit.


EDIT: Here's a good write up (PDF format) on bike fit from Selle An-Atomica.

sstorkel

I've spent a week and 100 miles or so riding it. I've tried level, nose-up, forward, backward, slightly less tension, slightly more tension, and anything else I could think of. I can get the saddle to be comfortable if I'm sitting bolt-upright with just my fingers on the tops of the bars. Given the design, I think that's really the only riding position where the saddle might work. If I lean forward at all, I find the saddle starts putting increasing amounts of pressure on my soft tissue and less on my sit bones...