Do all the measuring and name calling you wish. The only way to discover which saddle will work for you is to ride them. Some are very sensitive to saddle choice and some are hard ass. YMMV

But at least Bill and Carl have a base figure to work from.


It gives you a start point and allows you to eliminate some saddles from the test list.

+1

While sit bone width may not be the end-all, be-all..don't make the good the enemy of the perfect.

I rode a Concor Supercorsa saddle for 3+ decades and had no issues..mine measures 132mm wide, though it 'specs' out at 140mm. About 5 years back it was no longer comfortable. I measured my sit bone width (140mm, we didn't know about it way back when..), tried a couple 155-160mm saddles and I'm back to comfortable.

I could have taken the 'perfect' approach of just trying random saddles, but at what time & cost?

I don't know much about anatomy, but I understand Kontact's point from experience. I've always ridden bikes with the handlebars significantly lower than the saddles, which causes me to lean forward quite a bit. On those bikes, I am perfectly comfortable on saddles about 143mm wide, like the Specialized Toupe. Last year, I bought my first bike with the handlebar almost level with the saddle, which puts me in a more upright position; none of my old fave saddles worked. I had to get a saddle that is significantly wider - about 160mm.

It really doesn't serve as much of a base for the reasons I explained. Effective seating area on saddles vary widely, as does the effective pelvic contact width.

Eliminating saddles from your search that might be more comfortable because of an ill conceived formula may prevent you from even trying the saddle you would be most comfortable on.

Easily done. Just ride 'em. A far better means of choosing something that you are going to become very intimate with than any formula or test.

Any good shop should let you ride the saddle you purchased and bring it back for exchange or store credit if it doesn't work out. (No, not all shops are doing this yet, but the numbers are growing. Portland has a shop that takes this to a new level. They have a saddle "library"; literally. Shelves of about 2 dozen saddles. $25 gets you a library card and you can take out a saddle, ride it for two weeks, return it and take out another. Find one you like and they will give you a new boxed on and credit your card money toward it. (Gladys Bikes.)

Sit bones are not the only issue for comfortable saddles that work. We are all as different down there as our faces are different. (No, I haven't looked. But I have been observing the saddles people find comfortable for the past 50 years. Wow! are they different. The Brookes seat that are raved about by many are a** torturers for me. I had a high quality Brookes copy on my commuter years ago. When that bike got stolen it was sad except that I got to ride my favorite Selle Italias again. Hallelujah! A few years later I stared to see my body change, Those seats no longer worked. Now it is seats that are not all that different from the Selle Italias - and I believe made by them - but with the cutout, Terry Flys.)

Ben

Kontact, what if any is the relationship of the bike long term usage and sciatica? Does it have to do with the "fitting" and thus in part with the saddle selection? How much of sciatica condition is aggravated by bicycle riding?

I am by no means an expert on sciatica. Saddles themselves should have no direct effect because of where the sciatic nerve is. You would need a particularly wide saddle to come close to here the nerve resides in the back of your leg:

https://www.spine-health.com/video/s...-anatomy-video

However, sciatica is primarily associated with lower back vertebrae. A good fit and a good saddle should allow you to sit with a lower back angle that is helpful for sciatica, rather than needing to assume a bend that will make things worse. I've seen claims that cycling can even help with sciatica. Physical therapists are getting pretty good with cycling related stuff - use your health insurance.

One thing people do miss in getting fit are insoles. Most foot numbness comes from the way cycling shoes and cycling collapse the arch. Propping the arch brings many people relief from sciatica-like numbness in their feet.

I tried one of the fitting devices at my local bike shop and they had me at 138 I believe. I tried a Specialized Romain seat at that width and felt like I was rocking over the sides of the saddle. I ended up with the same seat at 144mm and it feels perfect, I have a couple of those seats now on different bikes. Specialized has a 30 day return policy on seats so they are a good way to go, so that you get it right. Cheers

Most saddle companies have some sort of trial period, as do many shops.