any thoughts on specialized saddles?
 

thinking about getting a new saddle. the one that came on the used bike i picked up isnt very comfortable and i want to find something that is.

i'm thinking about heading up to the LBS to get the ol sit bones measured. they are a specialized dealer so i'll probably take a look at what they have in stock.

anyone have any thoughts on the quality, durability, or value (what you get for your money) on specialized saddles?

Their saddle are on point, one of the best in the industry.

I agree with this statement.
All my spesh saddles have been great

Ive tried a pile of saddles and on every bike I plan to ride more than 20mi at a time I have a specialized saddle. They know what they're doing.

Try a Romin, it's their newest and IMO their best.

They're great if they work for you. They're an azz hatchet if they don't.

Well that's true with every good saddle.
Specialized/butt compatability depends also largely on riding position. Many spesh saddles are made for aggressive very open hip angle positions. If your position is not as agressive and as forward rotated spesh might not be the thing for you. If this was the case for me I would go with a brooks

I've got Specialized Avatar saddles on two of my bikes, one of the old design from a couple years back and one of the current design (very similar), and both are extremely comfortable. I ride in athletic trunk underwear with jean or trekking shorts quite a bit and even without a chamois, I find the Avatars better than anything else I have used. That said, remember that saddle fit is a very personal thing and you have to find what works for you, not what is the most popular or frequently recommended.

I ride a Romin and have a bid on another (e-bay). been through countless saddles and specialize has some of the best. The Toupe is also a common favorite. High quality, did homework.

I have a romin evo and out of the 14 saddles I have tried over the past 5 years, this has been by far the best.

I tried several specialized saddles, toupe, romin, phenom, avatar, ... and ended up with a Fizik Aliante. I don't think you can buy a saddle based on its brand name.

I got a romin evo recently and it's been great.

Getting the right saddle fit for your sit bones is important as well as getting the right set up on your bike. I have been riding a Toupe recently. I went from the 143 to the 155, which is a bit better for me. I also have been tweaking the angle, which has improved it as well.

I also replaced the seat on my new bike with a Toupe. From what I understand the Romin is the full-on racers' position saddle.

surprised at all the specialized love. hated my toupe. i guess they work for you or they don't.

I didn't like the look of the Toupe so went for a Phenom. It's listed as being for road or XC with an aggressive riding position. I never considered my riding position to be particularly aggressive but the guy in the Specialized store said I had a fair amount of drop between the saddle and the handlebars. I wanted something with a bit of padding, didn't want to spend a lot (being a Clyde there's no point me paying through the nose for a CF saddle) so it was a tossup between the Phenom and the Avatar. In the end I went with the Phenom because they didn't have the Avatar in my size and the Phenom looked like it would be comfortable.

So far I've done about 30 miles on it and like it, hopefully before long I'll be taking in a longer ride or two to make sure.

What did you like better?

a terry fly ti. they look different now than when i bought mine 5 years ago, but hopefully that's just the cover..

Replaced my stock Prologo saddle on my CAAD10 with the 155 Specialized Avatar Comp Gel last week. The LBS service really sold me on it after taking my measurement and showing me a few options(Toupe, Romin) but recommended the Avatar when I mentioned I was mainly hurting on just longer rides . 80 mile ride today and it felt much better than the stock saddle but I guess nearly anything would have been an improvement.

Specialized really hit a home run, with their Body Geometry line of saddles. Most are quite comfy.....

I also ditched the Prologo saddle on my CAAD10. However, I went with a Specialized Romin Evo Comp. Even on 4-5 hour rides the saddle isn't an issue. I would definitely recommend my saddle to others.

One thing I learned about specialized saddles is the angle that you set it at can be the diffrence between hating and loving the same saddle.

The Specialized saddle I have is comfortable on very short rides.

I tried five saddles before settling on the Specialized Milano Gel. Four years and 15,000 miles later, it still looks and rides like it was nearly new. May not need it for years but I went back and bought a second one as a spare. Highly recommend this saddle.

Try a LBS with the Selle Italia measurement system, not just a Specialized sit bone measurement. Also read what the Cervelo web site engineers say about saddles.

They are not that special.