That's pain in your "taint." That's really bad. Not going to get better, just worse. Probably nothing to do with the padding or lack of it, just the saddle shape. Everybody's different. That's the reason there are so many different saddle shapes and styles. You just have to try several different saddle shapes and find one that doesn't hurt. First you find one that it feels good to sit on, right out of the box. Then you work on distance. You can't really tell if it's going to be perfect until the 3rd hour. Most bike shops will allow you to return a saddle in perfect condition, in the original packaging. Performance Bike has an excellent program. When doing a saddle search, I've ordered three at a time from them, returned those and ordered another three, etc.

You could ask at your lbs if they have any test saddles or 'take offs' that you could try. There are also a couple online shops that will demo saddles. But most people go through a few before they find one that fits right.

20 miles is a pretty big ride after two years off, IMO. Try half hour jaunts for a couple of weeks, then try 90 mins or so.

Mine has lived through several torrential downpours ... they are not quite as fragile as all that.

Was it wider than your current one?


Go try some saddles that resemble the shape of the one you had.

I don't know, I think my Selle Italia SLR saddle started to flex more in the middle after a couple hundred miles. Others have reported this as well. FWIW, my buddy's GF forced him to get a Brooks and he's been hating it for several hundred miles already.

We don't get many torrential downpours, just 300-ish days of drizzle per year :)

Ideale ridden in daily rains and stored in damp garage started growing things on a few occasions, would get all sticky while riding it in the rain, etc. Just not exactly "ideal" for my usage :)

Tell him to tip the nose of his saddle up.

And to lower the whole saddle ever-so-slightly.

Wasn't too bad, just wanted to end it because of the saddle.



Also i think ill end up going to performance bikes, and jenson USA to test out some saddles.

how do you tilt the saddle? Or are you supposed to do it on a seat post that has a bolt to let you tilt?

Thanks for the tip.

Yes, tilt adjustments are made with the seatpost. Some have only one bolt, others two. Either way, loosen the bolt[s] and you should be able to adjust fore-aft and tilt.

You need to get measured. Find a shop with an assometer (yes really) sounds like you have wide sit bones and the saddles you are using is falling between them. You need something wide enough to support your sit bones. You really dont want weight distribution on soft tissues. The assometer is a pressure sensitive pad that will show where your sit bones are when you sit on it. bontrager shops and specialized shops normally have them. you sit on the pad for a minute, get up and the shop tech. can measure the indentations left in the pad to size you for a saddle. It provides a good starting point, you still need to try some saddles to find a shape that will work with your particular ass. Good luck, good hunting.

Your friend may want to raise the Brooks back up again (ever-so-slightly) once the sitbone divots start forming. There can be a bit of adjustment required to get the saddle in just the right position. :)

I think Machka has pretty much covered it.

there is the Fizik Kurve line of saddles. The Kurve is designed to flex under you , and is in someways a modern day Brooks http://bikehugger.com/post/view/fizik-kurve-concept

You pick the particular one, Bull, Snake and Chameleon depending on your anatomy and riding style.

That said, seats are really a personal preference matter.

I've have good luck with this one:
http://media.performancebike.com/ima...-BLK-ANGLE.jpg
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes...400195__400195

The back half of it has a little flex and give. A bit wider than most higher-end road saddles (at 150mm). Good price right now, and hard to beat the return policy if it doesn't feel right.

I have a 145mm butt and have a Performance Forte Classic on all my bikes.

I second going to a store and getting measured. After looking around for different saddle options I settled on the Toupe, went to the nearest Specialized dealer becuase I knew they would measure me for the right fit. Really glad I did, I never would have bought the right size saddle on my own.

looked promising, until i saw the price...

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll check it out!

I have tried them a while ago, pretty good! I'll make sure to test them out at performance.

I only know of one specialized dealer about 45 mins away...and they're not very nice (or helpful) people. :(

Do i tilt the nose of the saddle up, or down to put more pressure on your sit bones?

also am i fitting my saddle correctly?

forward and back, i move to where my knees are directly above the ball of my foot while clipped in

saddle height: I go up to where i have a 10 degree (or what i think is 10 degrees) bend in my knee with my foot parallel to the floor

If you're talking about a Brooks saddle, tilt the nose up to sit more firmly on your sitbones.

If you're talking about some other saddle, I think the usual starting place is flat.



Try this ... put your heel on the pedal. When the pedal is at the bottom of the pedal stroke, you should have a very slight bend in your knee. It should not be fully straight.

And the front of the knee should be about where the spindle of the pedal is, when the pedal is in the 3:00 position. Use a plumb bob.


You might need to make slight adjustments from there, but that's a good starting place.

I tend to prefer my saddle (Brooks) as dead-level as I can get it. If you are not sure how you will prefer it, level is at least a good neutral starting point to adjust from.

You might want to give this saddle a shot.
http://www.amazon.com/Selle-SMP-Extr...ddle+smp+selle

it's wide, extra padding and seamless - meaning I don't even think about what I'm sitting on. From the get go and I weigh 275 lbs. before this saddle, I was constantly shifting my position, standing etc just to take the pressure off. A tad heavier than most, but at my weight who cares. Also very inexpensive compared to most other saddles. I found one for $68 on sale.

also what's the difference between men's and women's saddles? are women's just wider?

After a few hours of having your ass on fire you'll pad it with $100 bills. The saddle won't seem so expensive then.