restin84

I have recently been experiencing pain down my leg and at the top of my right buttocks. Some of the research I've been doing on this specific pain is pointing towards piriformis syndrome. I believe the problem started with running but cycling can add a little extra pain and discomfort. I have also read that the saddle can aggravate this condition.

Currently, I have a Cannondale Synapse 6 that has a stock saddle. I'm looking to upgrade the saddle but I'm not quite sure what is better or worse than the saddle that comes on this bike as I can't find much information on this specific saddle(cannondale stage?).

What price should I be paying for a good saddle? Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to pick the right saddle?

JohnDThompson 

Saddles are very much a personal preference. Mine is for the Brooks "Professional" as I can ride it all day without problems. Other people may disagree, and if you're a weight-weenie even the titanium rail Brooks is not svelte.

Some shops have loaner saddles you can try before you buy. This is probably your best option.

Ghost Ryder

Some shops offer fittings for saddles, along with test saddles.
This is a good option cause it will narrow down your search once you find out your size.
I personally love my Fizik Arione TT2, I have narrow sitbones so this one works great for me.
The extra padding on the nose, & the seamless stitching is wonderful when sliding into different positions on this saddle.

Search saddle, there quite a few new threads with lots of suggestions, & info.

@ Mods:
We should sticky a saddle thread, or merge the best into one sticky.

milkbaby

+1 finding a good shop with a saddle demo program, one that lets you keep the saddle for a little while, not just for a parking lot ride.

Failing that, you can buy used saddles on the cheap on ebay and usually sell them for about the same price you paid as long as you don't get into any bidding wars.

lesdunham

I found my lifetime saddle a couple of months ago. Selle SMP, ergonomicly and anotomicly it is perfect for me. Many miles on a Selle Italia, Titec, and other stock saddles. They are a personal thing and I can only tell you my experience. Hope you find yours soon.

JustinNY

I just purchased a specialized romin Evo comp gel. I don't have it yet so I can't comment, but it comes overwhelmingly recommended by people of this forum and others. I'll report back, but if you do some searching you'll have a tough time finding a bad word spoken about it

fstshrk

I just switched from Bontrager Inform RL to Fizik Aliante. I like the Fizik so far, but the comfort is very sensitive (for me anyway) to saddle height and angle. Before you do anything else. You may try lowering the saddle 3mm and then see if it feels better. Just make sure you mark the original seatpost height so that you don't lose your previous position.

popeye

The best saddle (only saddle) that has worked for me is the cheap ebay CF Merek. No padding, no pain.