I'm interested in 2 ladies' saddles, but have no "real life" experience with either, just internet-shopping.

Can anyone with experience in the area tell me about the differences between the Selle Italia Diva and the Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow? I'm only going to buy one - (only have the budget for one!) and I'm not sure what to base the choice upon, they look so similar.

I think what I'm looking for, again coming without real experience, is a ladies' saddle, at least 140-145mm seat area, with a cutout center. And I kind of think a narrowish nose. And I like white.

Here's the saddle I have now, though in brown leather (Bontrager Suburbia FIT): It's super cute but I can't say I love it. I think it's too wide for me at the nose. I'm getting more used to it as I ride more, but I can't help thinking there's a better fit out there. It's not especially comfortable where the thigh joins the underside of the torso in the pubic area, and there's been some mashing & smashing of tender female parts. Sidenote - I can't imagine how men do it!

Also... I read in an ancient thread about a women's specific forum. Is that no longer in existence? I don't see one.

Diva


Lady Gel Flow

I just purchased my wife a Terry Liberator X Gel saddle. She has only been out for a 15 mile ride on it, but said that it felt great and much better than the saddle that came on her new Jamis Allegro Comp. They also offer a 30 day comfort return policy.

No hole in the center, but (or perhaps because of) the Fizik Vitesse * is a unisex-women's saddle with a narrow nose..

a performance saddle will be densely though thinly padded.

* I have several , black was harder to find, the Ti rail ones seem to be stocked in white , in distributors catalogs'

https://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos...as06/fizik.jpg

These were more padded, and have been discontinued ..

https://www.fox-zweiradtechnik.ch/thu...Vitesse_CP.jpg

Buy a brooks. You will never go back.

I'm a guy. I had four tandems with 3 female stokers (I married one) all wanted different seats. Women vary more in width. You need to try them. The saddle you choose also has to do with your weight, your power and how you ride.
I ride only Brooks now, and I agree for comfort - after 2,000miles , they are hard to beat. My wife didn't like the brooks and is narrow hipped and uses a wider guys saddle.

Maybe. I like Brooks; I have four "Professional" saddles and two B-66 saddles. My wife doesn't like them. She prefers the Terry saddle.

But by all means try Brooks. Wallingford Bike has a six month, unconditional return policy on their Brooks saddles.

https://www.wallbike.com/brand/brooks

I'm female and I now swear by my Brooks.

There is a woman's forum... PM a mod and they'll let you in.

Check if a bike shop around you has a device to measure your sit bone, as lots of saddles come in diffrent widths there is no one size is perfect for all

I ended up getting neither. I went to my LBS and ended up getting a Selle SMP TRK - the men's version. I compared the men's and lady's and the differences as I could see, were the men's was longer (which doesn't bother me at all), and the women's was a tad wider in the back. 177 vs 160mm. 160 is fairly wide for a men's saddle anyway.

Took it out for a 13 mile ride yesterday, which is long for me, and it was a whole new experience. My sit bones were, for the first time, fully engaged in the sitting process! Now I'm kind of interested to know how the lady's saddle feels in comparison, but I don't feel like the men's saddle is a bad fit. Of course, now I have to get hardened off to bouncing around on a different part of my anatomy, but at least it's the correct part.

I'll be taking it out for a ride again today.

Hmm...upon further reflection, I am not so sure.

Yesterday I didn't notice any pubic bone pain on my ride. Today I climbed on the bike, within 2 pedal strokes it was "Oh dear GOD." Didn't even make it to the end of the driveway. Maybe I'll put my original saddle back on for today, but I suspect that won't help as the damage is done, so to speak, and I need to give it a rest for a day or two.

did you have some miles on your old saddle? Sometimes it takes a bit to get used to riding but if you had time on your old saddle with no problems it could be your sit bones are wider hard to tell