ArizonaAdam

I"m 250 miles into this week and am planning to ride again tomorrow. Longest week I've ever had before this is 200.

My behind is sore. I have never loved my stock saddle but it has been passable for the last 2000 miles.

What's the standard? I know it's subjective and everyone has a different bone width. I also know I may have just ramped up too fast.

I don't need a perfect answer, I just need a direction to go in.

Thanks!

bigfred 

The "best" saddle is the one that fits "you". No one can tell you what that will be. You must discover the answer for yourself through trial and error.

However, there is also a widely accepted limit of increasing one's mileage by no more than 10% per week. And, even that can be excessive if repeated for many weeks in a row.

ArizonaAdam

So, where to start the trial and error? At $100+ a pop, that's an expensive test ride.

bigfred 

We really need a "Which saddle?" sticky at the top of each forum.

Selle Italia, Fizik, and Specialized have trial saddle programs with dealers. Look for the display boards of brightly coloured "test" saddles. They won't have all the models, but, usually cover the popular basics.

There are also the various "ass-o-meters" that measure the width of your sit bones. And, then there's Fizik's "Spine" concept which suggests saddle shape is more closely determined by ones flexibility. Both of these are open to debate. But, they can provide a starting point.

Then, there's the decission about whether some form of center pressure relief is effective or not for you. It isn't for me. I've found most of the saddles with a channel or cut out to be less comfortable than their solid topped cousins. But, others have had the opposite experience.

And, padding. Some find less, more comfortable than more. Gel, foam, a flexible shell if hardly any at all. Personally I lean toward firm. The soft and plush gel saddles I've demo'ed are good for the first hour or two, but, then the inability to redistribute pressure leads to ever increasing discomfort.

Get your sit bones measured. That will provide you with some idea of the width you may favour. Then, assess your flexibility in comparison to Fizik's spine concept. That will provide you with a shape starting point. Then, start trialing saddles.

This is an area where LBSs have a huge advatage over mailorder. Try before you buy and spend your dollars locally for the opportunity and support they have provided.

seymour1910

do you have any shops in your area that has a test saddle program? They let you ride it for a bit to test it. That time varies from shop to shop. One of the shops in my area has a seven day trial and another not far away will let you ride a test saddle for weeks. Look into this for your area.

IthaDan 

No such thing.

Homebrew01

A shop near me suggested I bring in my bike and I could put on some saddles and take them for test rides. Seems like a good idea, but I haven't done it yet.

rdtompki

No offense OP, but there are many hundreds of threads that establish the futile nature of this question.

Zerg

Exactly.

ArizonaAdam

This sub forum is so easily offended I just don't care. Keep your garbage responses to yourself.

ArizonaAdam

Thanks.

I've not seen a test program in the shops I frequent. I'll have to call around.

bigfred 

Then, learn to use the search function and/or think for yourself, instead of expecting us to spoon feed you.

ArizonaAdam

This is how you get to 4500 posts in 2 years while adding nothing of substance.

bhchdh 

You can try a Brooks from Wallingford, and return it if it's not right for you.

https://www.wallbike.com/warranty-and-other-information

* 6 Month UNCONDITIONAL SATISFACTION GUARANTEE - new BROOKS and BERTHOUD saddles. Return your new saddle at any time within six-months of the ship date for a full refund of the price of the saddle. Shipping will not be refunded unless there is a manufacturing defect that would make the return a factory warranty issue.

ArizonaAdam

Wasn't taking to you. Appreciated your response.

dmcdam

Who is easily offended? If you even tried to search the forum you'd see this poster is bang on. There is no standard or anything close to a consensus on saddles.

Or did you really just want to tell everyone you've already clocked 250 miles this week?

gc3

I know the answer to your question. But now I'm not gonna tell....

longbeachgary

Try a San Marco Regal. I have a spare that I could let you try out.

bhchdh 

You can tell me. I promise I will keep it to myself.

bianchi10

Let me start by saying it is a good thing to learn the search, since there are truly thousands of threads about this subject. That being said, who cares! You aren't the first and you wont be the last to ask this question.

I understand where you are coming from because finding a saddle was the most frustrating thing about cycling for me. No matter how many people you ask, no matter what question you ask or how you ask it, nobody can give you an answer that leads you to a general rule of thumb "best" saddle. This is what I found so frustrating. The ONLY way you can find something that will work for you is simply trying different shaped saddles out.

Here is what I suggest (Coming from a guy who has gone through 14 saddles in 5 years), find a local bike shop that has a saddle test program. You can simply call around till you find one. They usually consist of paying $20-$30 that will get applied to a purchased saddle. Until you purchase a saddle, you have a set period of time (sometimes 1 week, some do a month) to test a saddle. then bring it back and try another shape. Keep record of what shapes and widths you try. This will help you narrow down your search. For instance, if you try a specialized Romin evo pro 143mm wide, but it doesnt fit, make note that (Maybe, for instance) your could feel your sit bones were sitting on the edges of the saddle (this would mean you have wide sit bones and in this situation should try a 155mm. Just because the 143mm didn't work out, dont assume that the 155mm option wont either). Maybe you liked or disliked the "cradle" or saddle that has a "Dip" in the middle. Maybe the saddle felt like it had too much or not enough padding. Then maybe after you try a 155mm, you felt it was better in width but you didn't like the shape. Try a wider, more flat saddle like a fizik antares. If you go to your notes and see that you like a 155mm saddle, that helps narrow down your choices by knowing your sit bones would not like narrow saddle options like selle italia SLR saddles, which are around 131mm. That immediately cuts out a good amount of saddles to look at and will narrow down your saddles to look for.

I will warn you that it can be very frustrating. Be patient and really give some time to the saddles you test. You may start out on a saddle and the first 5 miles are painful, but then your body settles onto it and it becomes very comfortable. Other times you may sit on it (This happened to me so many times) and think...THIS IS IT, but after 20 miles it will hurt so bad, you ride home standing up. Also know that if you find a saddle you like, you may change your mind a year down the road. As I mentioned, I went through a lot of saddles. I tried the Fizik arione and didn't have any issues for almost 6 months. It was comfortable, Flat (Which meant I could move around on it a bit) and didn't cause any sores. 6 months later I felt that it was just too hard for me, but I liked the shape, so after researching a bit, I opted out for the fizik Tri 2 saddle, which was meant more for tri athletes, but had basically the same shape, but more padding. I rocked that for almost a year, but the last 3 months of riding it become painful. I started to take notes about how it would feel and realized that it was too narrow for me. My sit bones were literally hanging off the edges of the saddle. It sucks when you dont know what to look for until you do, because sometimes you go a long time doing something wrong until someone tells you or you learn for yourself! I tried the specialized sit bone test which tells you approximately what width you should be on and I was right in the middle of a 143mm and 155mm. I went with a 143mm and again for about 8 months, it was great but wanted to try the 155mm. I did so and for the first time I was able to feel that I had actual sit bone support.

The things that really helped me was to understand the differences between shapes. Some people like flatter saddles which as I said above, this allows you to move around and change position a little bit on rides where you start to feel the need for a change. Saddles like the the fizik Aliante and Specialized Romin Evo have that "cradle" or "dip" which doesn't give you the ability to have multiple riding positions, but some people, like myself prefer it.

Its all about finding the right shape for your body. Hope that helps.

3alarmer 

.........................

3alarmer 

..........htfu. You're welcome.

IthaDan 

Hey man, don't get all huffy about my stupid answer to your stupid[ly] oversimplified question. I don't think I'm alone in glazing over as soon as I see a thread asking for the 'best' of anything.

Real answer: find a local fizik dealer and borrow one of the green test saddles.

slowride454

I ride 3 different types of saddles depending on the bike. My mountain bike has a WTB Silverado, which is very flat. This lets me move around very easily and surprisingly this saddle is quite comfy for trail/gravel rides up to 100 miles. My Roubaix has a Romin Evo Gel and my Soma Double Cross has a Selle Anatomica Titanico X. Here is a little secret as well, your shorts play a huge role in how the saddle feels. I have a set of Descent bibs that I ride for all of my century rides on the Specialized. If I wear the same bibs on the leather saddle, I'm only good for about 40-50 miles before I start to get uncomfortable. For long rides on the leather saddle I wear bibs with less padding.

Silvercivic27

Koobi. They have a 30 day guarantee so if you don't like it, send it back and they'll give you a full refund. If you're riding that much, you should get a PRS Alpha or PRS Century if you're light.