intransit1217

I'll try going up a gear or two to engage the legs more, see what happens.

79pmooney

Google "bike saddles" and "bike seats". "Bike seats" gets 5X more hits. I have never been corrected as I purchased a Terry Fly or Selle Italia and those definitely don't fit your definition. I have no trouble with "saddle" like I have no trouble with "Campag". But "seat" and "Campy" are easier, universally understood and far more in line with an egalitarian sport.

If this means I cannot be in your club, oh well. I'll get by.

And on the seat stuff - I have found that as my body changed in my 40s, the traditional Italian seats I rode for decades no longer worked. I now must have a cutout or groove or pay real consequences, both during and after rides. (The Terry Flys I love are almost exactly the Selle Italias I loved so much, but with cutout.)

Ben

KonAaron Snake 

For heaven's sakes. He's not on Google...he's on a bike nerd forum where the correct term is used. Every person on this forum has referred to it as a saddle...so clarification was helpful. The saddles that you listed, the selle and the terry, are also not seats. They are saddles. They are hard shell saddles. They are saddles because a bicycle is designed such that the weight is also disbursed through your arms and legs.

Your accusation of elitism with the club comment is misguided. My comment was meant solely to clarify word usage for a new user. The difference between campag and campy is just an argument over how the brand's title should be shortened. It is not a difference of definitions. Your attempt at an analogy fails. I use Campy because it's easier to say and type.

A better analogy would be telling a person unfamiliar with baseball that a bat is not called a stick.

exarkuhn15

Just buy a leather saddle and be done with it. Brooks are the best, but I've had good luck with my Velo Orange one as well.

They do exactly what you want - support the sit bones, give a bit under your weight, and don't apply pressure to sensitive areas.

After using them, I won't ever buy anything else. They're the best. (Those Brooks Cambiums look nice, but same basic premise with a different material.)

erig007

The only saddles that don't put pressure on the perineum are noseless saddles for what i know since there is no material for it to have contact with. Everything else will. Be it 10% or 20%.

exarkuhn15

Ok, but we're talking about the real world, here; no need to get stuck on a simplification. If he wants something that does not put undue pressure on sensitive areas, my suggestion still stands. Firm/leather saddles generally don't apply pressure to sensitive areas in the way that super squishy saddles do.

Joe Minton

mountainwalker:

Let me be blunt: You need to reduce or, better yet, eliminate the pressure of your body weight on the soft tissue starting from the base of your penis going forward. You need a saddle that does not push on you "There." No other sitting implement I know of asks one to apply body weight to his b**ls and base of his d**k. Why must anyone sit on the equivalent of an ax handle.

Find a seat, er, saddle that does not do that. The Adamo series has already been mentioned. I have two of them ("Prologue" version) and they were a revelation; all the pain stopped because I no longer sat on my scrotum and perineum. I now use a Cobb "JOF Randee" on one bike and the Prologue on the other. No pain. None.

There are other saddles and I have $pent money on several of them, but, the separate fingers of the Adamo and Cobb are absolutely the best, for me at least. I replaced the Prologue with the Randee on my road bike because it is narrower and completely eliminates pressure on my hamstrings.

I am 73 years of age (that means I'm really old) and have a normally swollen prostate which probably makes me even more sensitive to my soft bits getting squashed. However, 50 yrs ago I raced and had the same problems; hamstring and perineum discomfort. I went from a Brooks B17 to the B15 Swallow and got rid of the hamstring pain. Since, to my knowledge, there were no other options at the time I learned to get up off the saddle a lot and live with the considerable perineum pain of a long training ride.

Saddle comfort is complicated: saddle height, fore/aft positioning, tilt, width and shape all matter. But --- if you feel pressure on your soft parts as you describe it, you need to get that pressure off and a saddle designed to do that is what you likely need.

Saddle makers are beginning to catch on and are making perineum-relief models now. Please consider what I've learned and shared here; research what's out there and get some test rides. Also, look at the fitting YouTube videos by John Cobb; he designed the basic Adamo configuration when he worked there and, of course his own company's.

None of us has to ride with the pain of bashed ba**s. There's no excuse for it and don't let anyone tell you to just toughen up.

Joe -- end of rant ;o)

wolfchild

I have been using WTB Speed V saddles for many years and have them on all of my bikes.

kickstart

Despite what some erroneously claim,

Some types of bikes and their saddles are meant to be sat on like a seat. Depending on how one sets up their bike and how they prefer to ride decides if they would be better off with a posting saddle or a sitting saddle.

There's more than one "correct" way to ride.

GuyDebord

Look at the Selle Italia SLR Superflow, it made me ditch my titanium brooks swallow! Any one wants to buy one?

cyccommute 

If you are talking about upright bikes and not recumbents, you will find that those kinds of bikes and those kinds of saddles are the ones that generate the most complaints.

And, yes, there is more than one way to ride a bicycle but if you want to do it relatively pain-free, there is a right way and a wrong way. Giant tractor seats (not saddles) or putting huge marshmallows on the saddle is the wrong way to go.

deeth82

Just my two cents:

I've had plenty of experience with a LOT of cheap saddles, and eventually graduated to Velo Orange leather saddles, and then to Brooks. I can say that, for me (6'1", 220lbs, 38" x 32" pants measurement), there is one saddle for my "halfway" riding style (halfway between "upright" and "down in the drops") that has worked better for my wide rear end on the cheaper end of the spectrum, and one on the more-expensive end of the spectrum.

Cheap: Velo Bio:Logic Men's Saddle. Inexpensive and spaced apart just enough for my sit bones to rest comfortably...also note that this saddle is not super-squishy, which is a plus...none of that sliding around on your soft tissues mess. Even with the simplicity of this saddle (It's still on my MTB), I still wear padded shorts for longer 10+ mile rides off-road. Priced around $25.

More Expensive: (Note that I didn't say "Most Expensive") Brooks B17 Flyer. After deciding to attempt a test of leather saddles, I started with the Velo Orange Models 3 & 5. For the cheaper price, I still say they're a decent entry-level pair of saddles...that being said, the first time I sat my rump down on a Brooks Flyer, I was in love...not only is the leather more pliable than the VO saddles, the texture of the leather is smooth, which seems to help when the rider is in motion a lot more. With proper care, these saddles can last a LOT longer than four or five of the Velo saddles mentioned above. The only downside, IMO, is the amount of care you have to take with a leather saddle versus vinyl/plastic...most people don't even give a second thought to their plastic saddles when it's raining, and whether they should cover them up/protect them from the elements (or from thieves).

I started out wondering why people would spend so much on saddles, and now I'm officially a convert...I have two B17 Flyers, one on each of my Schwinn Racers, and I intend to add more leather saddles as my stable grows. Listen to @cyccommute and others, OP...if you're not riding with a perfect 90-degree angle of upright-ness (for which I would recommend a Brooks B67...I have one on my beach cruiser), a lot of your comfort (or lack thereof) will come from the techniques you use while riding (or lack thereof). Learn to float off the saddle during horrendous bumps/dips, and take advantage of the long, smooth hauls to rest your rump.

kickstart

I totally agree there are terrible upright seats, but there are also good ones that have been in continuous production for over a century because they work. its simply a matter of matching the correct saddle style to a bikes geometry, and cyclists riding style. One can't dismiss a type saddle because it doesn't work for the wrong application or was done on the cheap.

fietsbob

Nose less ones .. .??

67Vert

A saddle is a seat.
Saddle - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Saddle: a seat on a bicycle or motorcycle

Saddle | Define Saddle at Dictionary.com
Saddle: a similar seat on a bicycle, tractor, etc.

saddle - definition of saddle in English from the Oxford dictionary
Saddle: A seat on a bicycle or motorcycle.

Thus the terms seat post, seat stay, seat tube etc.

Darth Lefty 

My own experience is that for rides that are shorter and/or slower and/or on more upright bikes, a wider and more padded saddle is appropriate. They don't put a Romin or a Taupe, er, Toupée, er, Toupé on a stationary exercise bike or on a bike-share or rental bike.

On a fast bike where your legs are beneath you instead of in front of you, and your weight is forward on lower handlebars, the harder saddles work better. You have less weight on your butt to begin with and pedaling lifts it off.

Don't discount that your butt gets used to the abuse, too. When I'm off bikes for a few months, the first couple weeks back on are always really painful. If I find myself in enough pain when setting out, I go back and get the truck, and take a walk after work instead.

I didn't like the Brooks B17. At all. I'm not alone but we are a minority.

deeth82

The OP definitely needs to see that, so that it can reinforce the fact that what works for one may definitely not work for the other. No argument here.

Also, good points above about the types/geometries.

If I may ask, what turned you off to the Brooks? Just didn't feel right? Texture? And what saddle do you typically have on your bike(s)?