After 6 years of cycling, I still haven't found the right saddle. I recently tried the Selle Italia SL Kit Carbonio from Nashbar. I've decided after 150-ish miles that this saddle was "Handcrafted in Italy" by the Marquis de Sade. I just reinstalled my Fizik Arione Versus, which I'm not terribly fond of either.

I would say both, but if not Saddle first.

My experience is buy name-brand expensive shorts *on sale*.
They give better fit, better insert, better support and last longer.

I have seen expensive Made in Italy saddles copied. You can buy inexpensive saddles that you will find comfortable.

But they're not light. Even the titanium-rail versions are much heavier than modern CF saddles. But if I need to ride on it all day I don't mind the extra weight knowing I'll still be comfortable at the end of the day.

You forgot "CAAD 10"

I am where the OP was 9 years ago; "really getting into cycling this year". After about 6 months, I have finally developed some strength and endurance, and lost enough fat in my ass to look OK in a pair of tight fitting bike shorts. I have been wearing a lightweight pair of regular everyday shorts, with Under-Armor breathable underwear. The saddle (a men's Serfas Gel Reactive) of my road bike (bought used) is now starting to crumble the foam inside it, so it is time to replace. So spandex bike shorts and a new saddle are now my shopping list. I ride for fun and exercise; not for competition.


My questions:

Some of the new saddles I am considering have a ventilation slot along the middle. If I get snug bike shorts with a crotch pad or crotch liner, does that defeat the purpose of the ventilation slot? I see many other riders that have a significant amount of padding built into their shorts, such that it looks like they are walking around carrying a load of doodoo in their adult diapers. I often use my bike for small errands around town, going into stores, etc. so I would be embarrassed to have that look, so any padding I want would be in the saddle. Some shorts have a thin chamois crotch liner to prevent chaffing, but does that extra layer defeat the purpose of the vent slot? (I am in southern California where temperatures are often in the 80-90 deg range.)


Other saddles I am considering have a channel/groove along the center line to relieve pressure on the pelvis. That groove then makes the overall thigh-to-thigh width of the saddle wider, increasing the chaffing. True or false?


Should the covering of the saddle be "slippery" enough to let the spandex fabric of the shorts slide across it, or should it grip the spandex and let the inner surface of the shorts rub on the skin?


Do most male riders wear a jock strap?


Thanks for your help!

Selle Italia have a sizing guide tool that you can use online to figure out what type/size would suit you best and it is reasonably accurate for most.

I have a Selle Italia Carbon Superflow SLR that weighs only 122g so hardly any padding to speak of and it is very comfortable on 200km+ rides. So saddle type and size is very important and padding need not be much at all.

My preferred clothing is Castelli and Santini, both make comfortable kit across their ranges. The combination of a correctly fitting saddle, a good bike fit and decent clothing allows for all day on the bike.

I'm not at all clear on what you mean by 'ventilation slot'. The grooves and slots I've seen aim to reduce pressure on the pubic nerve and artery. As to increased chafing, maybe, maybe not. If you want an outline of how people rid on saddles, ismseat.com used to have some good documentation. They use it to sell their own saddles, but the info is useful for any purchaser.

It would help if you described the problem you're trying to fix, unless your budget can support both shorts and seat.

Fit is crucial for both, and fit for something that has to be as close to perfect as possible is highly individual. You may have to try out both from multiple vendors.

The cut out is to relieve pressure in the perineum area so you can hopefully avoid ED, numb nuts, and other issues. It is not for ventilation. The cut out can be a channel or all the way through. It makes a big difference for a lot of people.

Women benefit from the same type of relief channels although the shape may be different and the construction of the saddle may be different as well.

The padding in bike shorts will not affect the saddle cut out, but you will often find in nicer shorts that the padding mimics the saddle shape. They are designed to work together.

“Ventilation” in the shorts comes from the wicking nature of the materials used.

For longer distances, wear bike shorts with a pad. They should fit somewhat tight to take advantage of the compression and avoid chaffing. You will find a benefit. Don’t worry about the diaper look. On short rides around town, wear regular shorts.

You don’t want your bike shorts moving across your skin. That’s how chaffing occurs. Don’t worry about whether the bike shorts slide across the saddle. It’s all commando under the bike shorts. Everyone does it.

FWIW on saddles and shorts.

1. I put a saddle, selle san marco something or other on my last build about 3 years back. It's got the cut out in the middle, I've always had problems there with various saddles. Honestly this thing, for me, is great, better than great even. I got it dialed in and can ride and never give the saddle a thought, really excellent. Of course, anyones mileage may vary here.

2. Shorts = someone said get name brand on sale or closeout. I strongly agree, years back i would get better line Performance brand (or whoevers in house brand), the chamios was always junk. In shorts you seem to get what you pay for.

thanks for listneing.

It is true before we even talk about replacing your saddle or getting new shorts, there's plenty of reasons that cause saddle discomfort than the saddle or shorts itself.

For instance, causes of saddle discomfort other than the wrong choice of saddle or wrong shorts:

- Saddle is too high
- Saddle too low....NOPE! A too low saddle won't give you saddle discomfort, but too high saddle will so the problem is far more likely it's too high.
- Saddle is adjusted too far forward. Adjusting the saddle all the way back on the other hand, will improve comfort. Note, moving the saddle to the back may require you to lower the saddle too.
- The handlebar / drop bar is too far away from you. Either your bike frame is too big or too long for you or the stem is too long.
- The saddle tilt angle is not level on top. Take it to level adjustment and observe. If you're getting lower back pain, tilt the saddle nose a little bit downward, if you're feeling too much pressure on your hands, tilt the saddle nose a little bit up.
- Not pacing your rides properly. If you suddenly went much farther than your typical rides, you'll need to ride slower, slower than the speed you do on 20 miles. At least until you start getting used to longer rides then you can increase speed again.
- Not standing occasionally to pedal off the saddle. Even Pro racers do this. You don't need to stand for long periods. 10 seconds at a time will do.
- Not drinking nor eating enough - this is a common problem to those with little experience on longer rides.

As you can see, there can be many reasons for saddle discomfort. Some of them seem unrelated to saddle discomfort but believe me they do. I've learned it through experience, some painful experiences. You can fix yourself many of the things I mentioned above in case you really don't want to be pro-fitted.

If you're doing doing something new or your body isn't used to or posture is "unnatural", you'll experience reduced blood flow in many parts of your body and that can cause discomfort in parts with reduced blood flow, including the area where you sit on the saddle.

You responded to a 9 year old post.

What the eff

Considering SMP saddles with a full length cutout. They have sizing guidelines. At 135 lbs or less, I use the models in the narrow width group and standard padding, which is the stratos model. Larger riders will usually need one of the wider models. I use high quality bibs too. My current bibs are pro corsa. They occasionally go on sale for less than the current price. They run small. Even I need a medium.

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...-bibshort?sg=1