San Pedro

I have been thinking to get a new saddle, the Specialized Toupe that came on my Allez is starting to get weak I think, and I'd like to replace it. After looking at saddles online, I'm a little daunted, by choice and price. I tried a Specialized Romin Evo Pro (I think pro), which was comfortable, but I found the nose too wide, and my thighs kept rubbing against the saddle.

Does anyone have a suggestion on a saddle with a cutout, a slim nose, and under or around $100?

chainwhip

"Does anyone have a suggestion on a saddle with a cutout, a slim nose, and under or around $100?"


No experience with Spec's Romin or Toupe, but I've had good luck with a Selle San Marco like this one.
Might want to check the sit bone width.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bicycle-Roa...53.m1438.l2649

TrojanHorse

Way back when I was testing saddles (which is probably what you should do) I hated the Toupe and loved the romin evo. I forget the specific model name but there are a few fizik saddles that share the same basic "look" as the toupe, and I also hated them, which means you should check them out. Try the Arione, you can probably find them on ebay all day long. My new bike came with an Antares on it and I hate that even more, but the nose appears to be wider so you may not like it either.

Carbonfiberboy 

The foam or gel or whatever in every Spesh saddle I've had went very quickly, only a few 1000 miles. My butt would develop a depression in the stuff and then would start to hurt. Very disappointing.

I have 3 Selle Italia MAN saddles and am very happy with them. Slim nose, as specified. I have the same problem. Diva version for females.

canklecat

I've been satisfied with the Selle Italia SLS Kit Carbonio, in 131mm width, no perineum relief cutout. Got it in February, just over 500 miles so far on rides of 20-40 miles. Paid only $20 or so on closeout from an Amazon vendor who had only one left.

I like it well enough I'd consider the upgraded versions of the same Selle Italia in the SLR Flow models with perineum relief cutout. But I haven't had any discomfort there from pressure.

Just a wee bit of ache on the sit bones after some rides on bumpy pavement and chipseal, but that's due in part to lack of saddle time in most of January-February due to flu -- only 200 miles a month both months, and only 300 miles so far in March. And I'm wearing my thinnest, minimally padded AeroTech Pro shorts. With the Pearl Izumi shorts with fancypants 3D sculpted padding, no problems. And, really, when I say tiny bit of ache I mean I can just tell that I've ridden a bike. Soaking in a hot bathtub of Epsom salts relieves any pain. It's not a saddle sore, no chafing, etc. Nothing that couldn't be cured with another set of shorts and a little more saddle time.

But, frankly, the Fizik is a better buy than the upgraded Selle Italia SLR Flow. Unless I could find the SLR Flow on sale under $100 I'd probably go for a Fizik Antares. Similar style, shape, padding, etc. Almost everyone I know who rides Fizik likes 'em. Only one fellow had problems with it and switched to an ISM TT/tri type saddle.

San Pedro

I'll maybe try some Fizik saddles. The LBS I bought my bike at has Specialized and Fizik test saddles, the LBS near my work has Fizik, and maybe some SMP hidden in the back. I'm just not too hot about trying out saddles if I'm not going to want to pay the price they costs. While, I might be happy to spend all my money on bike stuff, my wife doesn't quite see things the same way as I do.

KraneXL

Impossible to say since bottoms are so different. The best you can get are suggestions on specific designs, materials and/or form factors. Bottom comfort is also a combination of seat design, height/angle and fore/aft positioning. Even a perfect saddle can still may not feel right if one of these things are not in perfect alignment.

Like shoes, bike manufactures really need to pool their talent and come up with a better way for consumers to narrow their choices. My guess is, they really don't have much motivation to make any improvements here. Good luck.

fietsbob

find some that you can sit on, to find out what they feel like..


Over here The Merry Sales Imports Company in California has sources in Asia making look alike saddles within your price range ,
That are replicas of models that are exceeding what you are willing to pay...







....

WhyFi

Before buying another Toupe (going with what I knew would work), I was really tempted by the PRO (Shimano) Stealth Saddle -



It does have a wide nose, to be more usable "on the rivet," but it's a short saddle, so you may not have the rubbing problem... but who knows until you try?

canklecat

Follow up regarding the Selle Italia SLS Kit Carbonio I mentioned earlier...

The one minor nit I had was a very slight ache after some rides, right on the sit bones/ischial tuberosities. Again, not a saddle sore, no real residual pain, and the minor discomfort cleared up after a soak in a hot bath with Epsom salts. So, very minor nit. But I rarely have discomfort with any saddle and my butt isn't picky (my comfort hybrid and road bike came with women's saddles, which I rode for several months including long rides), so any discomfort gets my attention.

Wednesday I switched to some inexpensive Baleef padded liner shorts with 3D sculpted padding, very similar to my pricier Pearl Izumi. There was drizzling rain and I didn't want to dirty up my good stuff so I just wore a pair of Nashbar baggy shorts that were already needing a wash after a week of wearing 'em for chores around the house.

Even with the rain and soggy padded shorts I was quite comfortable on the SLS Kit Carbonio. No chafing between the thighs, so the long skinny nose is perfect for me (turns out my butt is much narrower than I'd realized, so even the usual 140-145mm isn't quite right for me). And no slight sit bone ache. I rode my usual short route, 20-25 miles on a roller coaster route with some chipseal and rough pavement.

I did make some minor fit adjustments before the ride: saddle 1/4" higher, because over the past month it felt like I could use just a wee bit more leg extension (and it felt better today); quill stem 1/4" lower (trying to get just a wee bit more aero without making my neck cramps worse). No adjustment to saddle fore/aft or tilt. We'll see after a few more rides.

Anyway, I'm satisfied enough I'd consider the flow (perineum cutout) version of the Selle Italia if I experienced any pressure on longer rides. But, again, the Fiziks seem pretty similar so those would do as well. And some Fiziks have a deep channel without a full cutout, which probably accomplishes the same thing.

And I may need to try some of AeroTech's shorts with their version of the 3D sculpted padding. The Pro shorts with minimal tan/black microfiber pad with very little loft is generally very comfortable on my more padded shorts, but may not be quite right for me on the Selle Italia.

KraneXL

Very good for you. But what did we really learn from that experience?

San Pedro

The Selle Italia Flow or super flow, I'd like to try. I also saw a Prologo sale with a very short nose that looked similar to the Shimano Pro saddle linked above that I want to try. Of course finding those saddles to try are tough. I'll have to look and see if there are any Fizik saddles at b the LBS with channels or cutouts when I next go. Like I said earlier, not much point in trying out anything over my limit if I can't buy it.

generalkdi

I ride a Prologo Zero 2 Nack, and love it. (I'm small and lightweight)

Most people I know didn't like a Selle Italia Flox/SuperFlow. But I never tried it myself.

canklecat

That I like the clattering sound my keyboard makes.

caloso

I love my Romin Evo. I agree that it felt pretty wide on the nose when I first tried it (coming from the classic Selle Italia Flite), but after about 100 miles of riding and microadjusting, it just disappeared.

eric1971

My current favorite saddle it the Flite Flow.

steinercat

I was riding a Selle Italia Gel when I got back to cycling. Anything over 30 miles and I was always wishing for something firmer.

I switched to a Flite Flow this season, and it’s been a revelation!

chip1

Are you sure the Romin you tried was an Evo model and not the standard older version? I heard the latter's nose was too wide which was part of the reason why Specialized updated the model with a slightly slimmer nose. I don't know if this is true as mine still has a wide nose but it never bothered me.

Specialized also makes Power, which certainly has a short nose. If Romin Evo didn't work for me this would've been my next choice.

canklecat

Good to know about the Flite Flow. I'll keep that in mind if I develop any perineum pressure discomfort on longer rides with the SLS Kit Carbonio. So far I've been surprised how comfortable a minimally padded saddle can be, at least with the right shorts.

Part of it is improved leg strength compared with the past couple of years. I'm not sitting so heavily in the saddle now. Also, I'm not shifting around trying to find a sweet spot, a huge improvement over my more padded saddles. With those I was constantly shifting around trying to find the most efficient spot for power and never quite finding it. I was losing too much efficiency in the squishy padding. But it took a couple of years (coming from almost zero fitness) to get to that point where I could appreciate a well designed firm saddle.

dim

I have 2 Brooks Cambium C17 Carved ....



very comfortable especially for long rides (you don't even think about the saddle when you ride)

another saddle that I get on with for long rides is the fizik arione flex wing:

gettingold

I have several Brooks saddles I like a lot, but the one that I would most recommend based on the OP's concerns is the C15. Narrower than the C17 or B17, it breaks in quickly and has a cutout. Less maintenance than the leather saddles. Very comfy.

Whizzer283

+1 on Brooks C17

San Pedro

Right now I'm riding a Power Arc saddle, but have only had time to do one ride in it. Right now I'm thinking of just going with the Ronin Evo saddle. My Toupe saddle is probably just as wide and I never thought about it. The price is steep for me is my main problem.

Riveting

Specialized Power saddle. They come in multiple widths. Go to an LBS that has the ability to measure the width of your sit bones, probably with a memory foam block (like I had done). And hopefully that same LBS has a trainer set up in store that you can test out the saddles on.

GeneO 

Really like my specialized Phenom Experts. Pretty comfy for longish rides.