chandltp

I've been searching for the perfect saddle for long rides and I've come up short.

I stumbled across the Zefal at Walmart and decided to give it a try. It's comfortable for my daily commutes, but today I went on a longish ride (74 miles) and I'm pretty sore. Is this the nature of gel seats, or will my butt get accustomed to it?

For some background, I've done some longish rides (66 miles being the longest) on the original saddle on my Trek 7000 and the only problem I've ever had is numbness, which is why I've been looking for another one.

I've gone through the Terry Liberator, Brooks B17, and Brook B67 and I haven't been able to get comfortable on any of them. I got measured for a Specialized saddle, and I'm contemplating that, but there's no satisfaction guarantee like the other ones I've tried, so I'm a bit hesitant.

I have a 100k coming up next weekend, plus a 13 mile ride each way. Should I leave my bike as is, since it's only 14 more miles, or keep looking?

kaliayev

Gel saddles are the worst.

unterhausen

yes, gel is not a solution to the problem you are suffering from. Anything that gets in the way of motion is going to end up hurting you sooner or later. I find that I can ride almost any saddle for 80 miles, so I'm reluctant to buy anything without a longer ride. Many bike shops have test saddles. I would try to find a shop with fizik test saddles, they're orange. I have a fizik Alliente, most comfortable saddle I've ever used. It has very little padding, but it feels like a hammock. The cheapest Alliente costs $100, so it was an investment, but I tested it on a 200k and 300k ride before I purchased one.

Machka 

I managed gel saddle for a while, but it wasn't long before I was in agony when I rode. My sciatic nerve all the way down my left leg was killing me. So ... I switched to a Brooks and I've been fine since.

A question ... when you tried your B17, did you tilt the nose up?

akansaskid

This. And maybe loosen the tensioner a skosh if it was new-out-of-the-box.

Bo Scaiffer

The problem with gel saddles is that they not only don't fix any problems, but eventually the gel gets flattened or squished to one spot making it even more uncomfortable.

zzzwillzzz

the new set is lime green

chandltp

Yes, I had the nose up. I don't know how to explain it, but even a 2 mile ride was excruciating. Yea, my butt was sore, but there was an uncomfortable spreading sensation when I sat on it. And for some reason, it didn't solve my numbness issues so it wasn't worth trying to work through the pain because I wasn't any better off. The B67 did, but after a while the sides felt like they were digging into my legs.

So, you've convinced me to get ride of my gel saddle that I have now. Should I try a new saddle before my 100 k next week, or go back to my original saddle that I at least know my enemy?

chandltp

I looked on the Fizik site and I can't find a store locator on their site. I only have a couple of bike shops in town, and I'm pretty sure I've never seen a Fizik saddle, but I'll call around and ask.

Edit: I found the store locator, but I'm out of luck with having any remotely close to me.

Anyone have thoughts about the Specialized saddle and their Ass-O-Meter success rate?

Carbonfiberboy 

Some folks can ride anything. I also can't ride a Brooks. I have had periods where I've gone through a zillion saddles to find one that works. My current saddle is Performance Bike's Forte Classic saddle. It's cheap and perfect for me. I measure for a 143 Specialized. Their Ass-O-Meter and different width saddles are great innovations. Which doesn't mean that a Specialized will work for you. I tried them all. A couple worked for distances up to a century, but caused friction sores. Just my personal butt shape, nothing against the saddles, which work for many people. Their Toupe was the best of the lot for me.

I'd ride the known enemy, but keep experimenting on others in the meantime. For numbness, stand for 1 minute out of 10, by the clock. Which doesn't replace having the right saddle, but it does keep you operational. It's also good for your legs.

One can't tell that a saddle is perfect until after at least the 3rd hour. So you'll have to take each candidate saddle on a ride that could turn out to be a long one, being prepared to cut it short if your butt is really miserable. That's the reason you shouldn't take a new saddle on an important ride.

The solution to numbness can be quite complicated. IME the Terry didn't work for you because the saddle is soft enough, and the slot small enough, that the slot closes up some under your weight. That analysis argues for either a harder saddle or one with a wider slot, or both. The problem that I ran into was that a harder saddle often meant that the edge of the saddle caused friction sores. The problem with a wider slot is that it makes the whole saddle wider, which also caused friction sores. So the solution for me was to look for a more T-shaped saddle, with a wider slot where the saddle was wider, yet still a narrow nose. I can't ride a pear shaped saddle at all. YMMV.

CHAS

I rank saddles in the following order

1. Selle Anatomica
2. SMP Pro
3. Specialized Toupe non-gel

chandltp

Hmm.. I measured for a 155 (adjusted from the actual of 132). I'm thinking the Fore Classic may be a bit narrow, but I like the price

I put my original saddle on yesterday and I forgot how much pressure it put on my sensitive parts. But I know I've done up to 66 miles and I wasn't begging to get off the bike, so it will work for my ride.

I'm still on the fence, but I'm considering trying the Specialized saddle after I'm done with my Labor Day ride.

njkayaker

I'm not going to comment on the suitability of gel seats (there are enough people to do that) but I will say that people often need time to get accustomed to being on a bike for long amounts of time, regardless of the seat they use.

Richard Cranium

Everyone rides with a "gel seat" - unless of course you are some kind of real hard ass. - Yuk yuk - get it - hard ass?


You can choose "gel gloves" as well - but where will you be if you did not alternate your grip on the bars on a very long ride?

Now I "sit in" on my bicycles like any veteran rider does. But if I am out on a ride for hours, you can bet I'm changing the areas I sit on ever so slightly. I think gel saddles do this "automatically" in the short run, but then "backfire" in the long run when you need to "find the spot" to sit and you can't.

(another quality forum answer supplied at no charge by Dr. Dick Cranium)

Wanderer

I find Brooks, and Specialized Body Geometry seats very comfortable.

Why not try to reinstall the Trek seat, and tilt the nose down level, or slightly (very slightly) down from whre it was before - so far it was the best for you.

If you lived closer, I'd let you try my BG seat......

chandltp

That's where I'm at now. If I tilt it down any further, after a month or so I develop a semi-permanent numbness in my left hand because I have too much weight on my hands.

Carbonfiberboy 

Great thing is you can send saddles from Perfomance back. I wash them up very carefully, saving all the packaging, re-ziptying, etc. Costs you postage is all. I tried at least 6 saddles from them, including a couple SMPs (worst of the lot for me and $200). One has to have some serious space between the legs for an SMP.

chandltp

I didn't see that. I'll have to check that out. I've spent about $60 in return shipping so far, but that's still better than having a $55 Specialized seat I can't use and have nothing to do with.

Editted to add: What kind of bike are you riding the Forte Classic saddle on, just for reference. The Trek 7000 is almost straight upright, so if you're on a road bike I'm guessing my experience with the seat may be poor.

chandltp

I'm looking at the Forte Men's Softail Saddle since it's the closest to the 155 they spec'd me for a Specialized. Any thoughts on why I shouldn't get it?

chandltp

I ordered the Forte Men's Softail. Hopefully that one will fit the bill.

VaultGuru

Bottom line...gel gets hot with friction and compresses quickly. Try a lot of saddles before you buy one

The Smokester

How about a Brooks Team Professional?

Catrin

I had to give up on Brooks and eventually found THE saddle in the Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow - they also have a male version called, intuitively enough, the SI Man Gel Flow. It might be worth trying out!

Machka 

I tried that saddle ... very painful experience. I could not ride more than 100 km with it... my butt hurt and my lower back was in agony. The saddle was way too flat for me ... and the hole was not good. But I know one other woman who seemed to be comfortable on it.


I was a big sceptic about Brooks saddles. I couldn't imagine how a saddle that hard could be comfortable. But after developing sciatic pain from my gel saddle, and after trying several others that just didn't work (like the Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow, a Specialized, and several others), I decided to give the Brooks a go. I ordered my first Brooks from Wallingford Cycles, who offer a 6-month guarantee on their saddles ... if it isn't working for you after 6 months, you can send it back.

When I first tried it, it hurt! My whole first week with the saddle was a disaster. I thought I would have to send it back. Then Rowan, who was just an acquaintance at the time, suggested I tip the nose up. Out of desperation, I did ... it couldn't make the situation worse than it was ... and on my next ride, the saddle didn't feel too bad. Two weeks later I rode a 1000 km randonnee with it, and about 400 km into that 1000K ... the saddle broke in, quite suddenly. It was very comfortable from that point on. I had about 50,000 km on the saddle when it was stolen ... along with my bicycle.

I've got a brand new green Brooks B-17 with copper rivets and titanium rails now. The nose is tipped up, and I did 25 km on my first ride, which is about 20 km longer than my first ride on that first Brooks. So the break-in process begins again. I don't expect it to be broken in for a while ... it's still winter here so it is hard to get out on long rides. But if I can do 5 hours on that saddle each week, I should have it broken in in about 8 weeks or so. It does take time, but if you're patient ... it's worth it!

Incidentally, Rowan and I are riding a borrowed tandem these days. It had a saddle very much like that Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow on it ... horrible! Lower back pain, agonising nerve pain down the right leg, butt pain. After Machak was stolen, Rowan gave me a partially broken in Brooks B-17 which was on my new titanium (until the new green Brooks arrived). Being partially broken in made it easier for me to take it the rest of the way, and I even rode a 300K with it after about a 2 km test ride. We exchanged the bad saddle on the tandem for that Brooks, and what a difference!! So much more comfortable. I could see us doing some long events with that tandem now.

chandltp

That was my experience with the B17. No matter what I did, I couldn't get comfortable, and to top it off, my numbness wasn't solved so back it went.