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Proper fit and adjustment will make even the most comfortable saddle into a butt-killer. Make sure you've done all you can adjustment wise before deciding it is the saddle. You'll need to experiment with the tilt and the fore/aft positioning as well as the obvious one of height.

My own preference is for a Brooks. I have a relatively new B17 on my utility bike and my butt is never sore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monster Pete (Post 15115533)

It does depend on your riding position. On a racing bike, more of your weight is on your arms, and you're generally pedalling harder, both of which reduce the weight supported by the saddle. Conversely, on an upright city bike, you tend more towards sitting back on the saddle, and on a touring bike, you won't be pedalling hard for long periods of time, so you would want a more supportive saddle. On my commuter bike, I use a fairly hard, sprung saddle. The lack of padding on the saddle allows your 'sit bones' to take your weight more directly, and the springs take up some of the road shocks that would otherwise be damped out by padding. 'Back in the day', a lot of bike saddles had some form of springing.

This is how I was about to respond.

Google images shows me that Carrera Subways are often set up with the bars level with the saddle, or even a little lower than the saddle. OP - If you have a similar setup, your weight should probably be more heavily balanced on your pedals and bars than on a more upright bike where you have more weight on the saddle. I think the advice that your sit bones should be in contact with your saddle and keeping your softer tissue free from contact with excessive padding is a good idea.

I have had the exact same problem for years and have tried many saddles and many adjustments to no avail. Now, I have recently found MY solution to this issue. I got one of those high tech Ride Out Saddles, http://www.rideouttech.com/. Boy oh Boy what a great feeling saddle, nothing else I ever found rides like these. They are used by Police and Campus Security everywhere as they have to be on their bikes for 8 hours at a time. Worth looking into if your interested. They look different but they are actually very small in size. They look miniature when installed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack Hammered (Post 15115350)

Leebo, I also like your term 'sit bones' :-). Made me laugh.

No laughing matter. "Sit bones" is a commonly used term for the part of your pelvis that you sit on. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberosity_of_the_ischium). Having a saddle which puts all of your saddle weight straight onto these bones will solve most soreness problems. Of course distributing more weight to your hands and feet can also help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Commodus (Post 15115360)

A pro fit is going to be like $200. The OP just wants to ride to work and back, it's not necessary. A bit of experimenting and he'll be all set.

True, but the poster that you were responding to wasn't talking about a full scale 'fit'. My local Specialized shop didn't charge me a thing to measure my sit bones (which comprised of sitting on some wooden block with foam covering and then measuring the distance between points after I stood up) and I hadn't bought my bike from them.

??? If I see one more involved measurement system for determining the distance between sit-bones I will blow chunks. The last one I actually tried was: cardboard... the cardboard was supposed to crush exactly where my sit-bones were... uh... no, it didn't. Neither did the aluminum foil on carpeted stairs... proprietery systems measure your sit bones for their saddles... then I got smart... I got my trusty dusty tape measure and put the end on one of my sit bones! I felt for the other sit bone and... ... 100mm. Apparently thats about standard for a dude, which I am. EASY PEASY. Do it several times to be sure. Now you can shop for saddles knowing just how wide you are in universal metric units. The end.

H