Different bikes, different saddles?
 

I have a road-style touring bike (Kona Sutra, great name!) and a 29er mountain bike and on both, I have been using the saddles that they came with which are very similar in shape, both made by WTB. For the most part, I've been happy with the saddles as they are but lately, I've been doing longer rides with the 29er, taking it out to camp (depending on my starting point, it is a 66 or 72km ride) and I've been suffering with saddle sores (zits) showing up a couple of days after the rides and some chafing. I'm wondering if I need a different saddle for the 29er than the one that I'm currently using which is probably fine for shorter rides but may be the source of the problem for the longer rides. The touring bike is ridden on the drops so a more lean-forward position whereas the 29er is ridden in a more upright position.

Does anyone else have 2 (or more) different bikes with 2 (or more) different shapes of saddles that are purposely suited for the body position used on the different bikes?

All my bikes have different saddles, mostly because that's how things worked out. But the saddle was also chosen with that bikes riding position and style factored in so it was best or most comfortable for that particular bike.

BTW- the type of sores your describing might not be from the saddle as much as your clothing. The more common complaint about saddle issues relate to pressure point pain, not to friction.

In any case, you shouldn't feel locked into anything, and need to experiment and find what works for you, with the "for you" being key.

I agree with what FB says on both counts. If your riding positions/style are different on different bikes, a different saddle might be in order.

I'd also tend to lean towards clothing as being the main culprit with chafing unless the saddle has seams in a bad spot. Some "Chamois Butt'r" or Astroglyde for those longer rides could solve the problem too.

I have that one old saddle that came with my vintage Bianchi when I bought it that I'm really comfortable with. I used to swap it from bike to bike because I couldn't find another saddle as comfortable ( I must have 7 or 8 saddles on the shelf that I bought, tried and didn't like) But it was not as comfortable on my old MTB winterbike than it is on any of my 3 road bikes.

Fortunately I have now found saddles that are very comfortable for all my bikes.

More upright = more platform at the back, less upright = more triangle shape & less platform at the back. The less bulky design allows for your legs to move more freely to a more fully extended position. A more upright position has your legs less vertical & more at an angle, so the V part is short & you have a 3 shaped bit on the back to hold your sit bones.

I took a week to get used to the much less padded breezer seat vs my old cruiser comfort seat, but when i tried putting the comfort seat on the uptown, it blocked my ability to properly extend my legs while pedaling. It has the stock seat on there now & no issues.

Hope this helps.

- Andy

Yep. My commuter has a wide gel saddle where as my fun bike has a narrow, minimally padded saddle. I used to have the narrow saddle on my commuter, but it wasn't that comfortable.

I use Brooks B-17 on all my commuter bikes and a WTB Pure V on my MTB.

Clothing makes a huge difference on some saddles, I wear compression shorts from WalMart and use Chap-Guard Plus udder cream on my private parts. Udder Cream is inexpensive and I buy it at a Tack store, $20.00 for 5 lbs and lasts a long time.
It is also good to clear up existing saddle sores if you have them, just keep your privates very clean and I hand wash my compression shorts after every ride.

I really don't need any protection when I ride my Brooks B-17 saddle though, but still use the compression shorts and UC if I am going on long rides just to be safe, nothing worse than having a sore a$$...lol

Brooks Flyer with B-17 top works well for almost all bikes. If you have an MTB, the reintroduced Brooks Conquest is a great choice.

I'm with NormanF and xuwol7. Every bike seems to work great with a B17.

I try to set up all my bikes with similar positions - in terms of saddle to bar drop, saddle to bar reach, and saddle height. Some will have more drop but they are all within a 3" range, roughly. (E.g. my mountain bike has the same drop from saddle to the bar, as my average road bike has from saddle to bar tops.) My theory is that I'm used to a certain body position, especially hip angle, and will do better if I stay in that position.

I like B17s a lot but only have them on two bikes. They are expensive, heavy, don't like rain (a real issue where I live), and don't like being crashed (on a mountain bike, for instance).