Hi folks, wanted to swap out my saddle for something more comfortable without spending a lot of money. Budget is $40-$50, less is good too. Bike is used for longer recreational rides. Thanks!

Your question is very broad. If there were only 1 or 2 saddles that were comfortable, there wouldn't be the thousands upon thousands available in the market place that there currently are.

For starters: How long have you been riding? What is the duration of your rides? What kind of bike do you have? What is your weight distribution? All on your sit bones like an omafiets or on your feet & elbows like a Time Trial bike? How wide are your sit bones? How wide is the seat? What clothing are you wearing? Underwear?

Edit to add: https://sheldonbrown.com/real-man.html

That's exactly the problem. There are "thousands upon thousands available in the market place" and I don't want to buy one and discover it sucks once I start using it. Was hoping for someone with experience with a particular saddle to recommend one. I'm just a regular rider, 20-50 miles at a time, just for fun and exercise. I usually wear padded shorts. The bike is an 80s steel Trek 420.

The problem is everyone has a different preference. I've had cheap saddles that were very comfortable and expensive ones that I hated. You won't know until you ride it for a while, unless you know exactly what you like.
Some shops have loaner saddles. If you are in a club many members might have saddles that they don't use. I have 4 or 5 in the garage.

Go to this page and look around.
Specialized Rivo Sport Saddle (Black) (Chromoly Rails) (155mm) - Performance Bicycle (performancebike.com)

Velo is a good maker of inexpensive saddles. I ride Velo copies of the Fizik Arione and really like them. I recently visited a wealthy friend who has expensive bikes, all with Ariones, and rode one of his mountain bikes for a few hours and the saddle felt the same as the Velos I use.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/304212840164?hash=item46d47f8ee4%3Ag%3AsToAAOSwjh5hhCiW&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4D0SGnhuYRexody2oaZqrU0 du%2BX2SzNP3xeKY04Y2FQZHP4bIsW1KDaKWojrcCY52Ca9Cr6GryUuZr1oYuhU09pE22RCDn%2B7RDQ%2FNWX5P0O0209Gifdby sbBd6IzZcCcbdtdQndVuzoTogrjPMERY648a07Ia%2Ft3W5E7QySsSHW0Y5%2BBYknD4EWyDNy1OdQqkdVhmJ90pdKjJQUtVR%2B F7fnmCgiZUEVJNFIr10Zif3Jm7NBLjisLVuQ%2F%2BiQw9lB3p0kxOXFqcwl%2FmO5ZnNufDxTJc6xaSutnxJb%2Fyhh2X0yr%7C tkp%3ABk9SR8ysq8_QYg&LH_ItemCondition=1000


Great price on a vg condtion Arione
https://www.ebay.com/itm/20445605185...Bk9SR9K0hdDQYg

Many (most?) saddles from major mfrs. come with a return policy--most up to 30 days if the saddle is like new (maybe use elec.tape on the rails when trying it out.) A few saddles that have gotten decent reviews (haven't tried all of them) are: WTB Speed saddle with chromoly rails.
Terry Liberator or Fly-again, the chromoly railed version is less $$. I am currently using a Serfas Dorado (older version) on my road bike and it is comfortable for me. Just as not two butts are the same, neither are any 2 saddles. What you DON"T want to do is get an overly padded saddle--so that as the sides compress, the middle doesn't feel like it's pushing up where it shouldn't be. And of course, read the return policy, in case your decision turns out to be the wrong one. A decent well fitting chamois is going to help so don't overlook that either.

You clearly don't see the problem with this logic.

You may want to at least identify your current saddle, post a photo of it, and describe what you like and/or don't like about it.

saddle width is critical, but that Rivo that big john posted a link to should be very comfortable. I find Specialized saddles very comfortable.

It's a Specialized Henge. Bought it NOS from a bike parts hoarder guy near my house. It's a mountain bike saddle, so that might be part of the problem..didn't know that when I bought it. Hits me all wrong in my lower pelvis bones.

https://www.specialized.com/pe/en/he...=228193-155702

You Henge really isn't a road bike saddle. It's more for the trail and for slow riding with some extra padding for trail bumps (if I understand the description).

Padding is usually a bad thing for long rides on a road bike if it is so much that your saddle feels very cushy during a 30 minute ride. Whether or not it has a cutout, the size of the cutout and/or whether the saddle is flat from rear to nose or has a rise in the rear can make a deference. And all of use here probably have a different preference for those things. Therefore..... lots of different saddles out there for you to find the match for your butt.

You might prefer a leather hammock saddle like a Brooks or Selle Anatomica. I just don't think I could ever get use to them though. Nor could I get over having to oil them and love on them every so often. <grin>

But if you just started riding or have been on a break for a while, then it can take a few weeks for your butt to break in. But if you are getting sores, then you probably have the wrong saddle or are wearing the wrong bibbs or shorts.

Sorry but only your ass can tell you what makes it comfortable. The search for the 'perfect' saddle is as personal as any quest for the Holy Grail can get. I've got 5 bikes in my stable and they all have the same saddle *Fizik Classic Arione" and I've learned how to recover them. I found my unicorn, have fun looking for yours.

maybe someone close will lend you a different one to try out. If you lived close I would let you try one I recently replaced it is a new Selle Italia dispositivo di tortura.
a photo of the actual saddle and a photo of the loose translation..

Have you ever had your saddle adjusted for you both in height, setback/set forward and angle? If so what is wrong with your current saddle after it was adjusted for you? If not try that first.

When someone asks what is wrong with your current saddle "it is uncomfortable" doesn't give anyone any useful information. Be descriptive about what is going on so someone could potentially help you. I would also recommend talking about what sort of position you are in on the bike and what your sit bone width is and other useful info that would help.

Otherwise no useful recommendations can be made. There are a lot of saddles out there and generally just going cheap won't solve a problem that hasn't been articulated.

Great example that everyone's butt is different. I saw the Selle pic and thought 'that looks like a comfy saddle'.

To the OP; my recco is the Charge spoon saddle. $35ish and great deal...if it fits.

I bought a seat off Temu for a bike that doesn't get rode a lot that is surprising comfortable

This is hardly descriptive. Let's explore this like a deposition:

1. When does it get uncomfortable? As soon as you set off, or after a certain distance and/or time.
2. Do you slide forward or backward on the saddle?
3. Like veganbikes asked, have you ever had a fit with this saddle?
4. If not, have you tried positioning it differently?
a. If you move it forward or backward by 5 mm, how does it feel?
b. If you change the tilt by a couple of degrees, how does it feel?
5. Have you ever felt comfortable on another saddle? If so, what bike did you try that saddle on?

When I got into road bikes in 2009 my bike came with a saddle that everyone on this forum described it as an ass hatchet. Based on reviews it was on my short list to replace. After buying the bike, shorts, water bottles & cages, shoes, pedals, etc. I did not have the money to replace the ass hatchet. It was uncomfortable at first but after a month or so of riding I liked the ass hatchet. So when I had some extra cash I did replace the ass hatchet with the same saddle in a different color. Still have it. It sold at the time for around $30. My point is what a lot of people will say is a terribly uncomfortable saddle may not be for you or vise versa.

I read a lot of good things about the Charge Spoon, and decided to try one. I liked it enough that I bought another one. It consistently gets good reviews, but of course your sitbones have to agree. If you don't like it, return it.

Charge Bikes Spoon Saddle, CrMo - Black/Black Logo + 3M Reflect

Prime Primavera line as long as your seatpost can accept carbon rails their Primavera Carbon Saddle and Primavera Carbon Shorty are insane values for their comfort, weight, and quality.

They run for about $120 or so but sometimes there are sales. I run the long nose on my aero bike and the shorty which has more padding on my Aethos

I would start with measuring saddle width. Too wide would cause chafing and limit movement, too narrow gets you into ass hatchet territory. Which one does it sound like you have? Flatter wings or downward sloping wings (the wider area at the back of the saddle) can impact perception of width, as well.

It already sounds like you’ve determined that there’s too much padding on your current saddle.

If you’re sitting more upright, maybe a flatter saddle; if you’re in the drops, maybe a slightly more ‘wave’ shaped saddle when viewed from the side.

I have three saddles on four bikes, all are within a few mm of 145mm wide (my sweet spot). Two of the saddles have a fairly high amount of cushion for a road saddle (Selle Italia Onda and Prologo Kappa Space), but not super fluffy or heavy. The Ondas have a slight dip/soft spot in the middle, good for rolling the hips forward to get into the drops, the Prologo doesn’t, but I’ve set the angle such that it’s not really a problem. The third saddle is a Selle Italia Flite. This is the firmest, flattest saddle that feels least comfortable when initially getting on the bike, but isn’t too bad after a dozen or so miles. I would consider replacing the Prologo with one if it dies (occasional creaking from the saddle makes me think the shell has come loose from one of the rails).

If you’re not caring much about weight, I’d suggest splurging on a Brooks saddle, as they have a reputation for being both comfortable and lasting forever. Otherwise, try answering the top three questions and go from there. Btw, eBay is your friend when it comes to bike saddles - a lot of options, new and lightly used from ppl who didn’t like what their bike came with.

It's been mentioned but let's highlight it.
Get 'measured' for saddle width at a good bike shop - you're in the Greater Chicago area, good bikes shops are numerous.
Then give the shop a 'budget' - a shop which allows you to 'try & buy', or has a loaner program.
A few $ here and there are minimally important if you can find a saddle/shape which allows you to have your best, most comfortable ride.
What any one of us like, may not work for you, or be great - no way to say...
One of my favorites is a Specialized MTB saddle - Phenom... some other Spesh 'road' saddles don;t work as well.
saddle position and adjustment can have a huge effect...
Sometimes Local Bike COOPs have a box full of saddles which are very economical, so buying is less costly and you can experiment.
But get measured for what might be the best saddle width for you...
Ride On
Yuri
EDIT: A Spesh Henge came on my gravel bike. Haven't ridden it that much. Usually one gravel ride for every 8-9 road rides; UNTIL 2 weeks ago... Have now been using this bike exclusively for the past 300 miles.- all the rides for the past 16 days.
I'm finding it's not the best saddle design for me... I'm gonna throw on another saddle which has a good history with me, and see how that feels - it could be me or it could be that a Henge doesn;t suit me...