Sit bones & saddle widths
Shadowduck
Posts: 845
I'm considering investing in a new saddle, but I need a little advice.
Firstly, conventional wisdom seems to be that the width of saddle you need depends entirely on the width of your 'sit bones'. This is kind of borne out by the fact that my current saddle (WTB Rocket V) feels just a wee bit too narrow; the saddle is about 130mm wide and my sit bones measure 5 - 10mm wider than that.
What I'm concerned about is that I'm gradually losing weight. I'm down to 15 stone from just shy of 16 and expecting to lose another stone / stone and a half. This weight loss will presumably have no effect on the width of my sit bones, so does that mean the size of saddle that will be comfortable at 15 stone will still be the right size at 13.5? It seems a little counter-intuitive, given that my backside will be noticeably smaller!
The other problem I have is the lack of a decent LBS to try saddles at. Unless someone can tell me differently, the nearest reasonable bike shop to the Oldham / Rochdale area is Edinburgh Bicycle in Manchester, which is a bit of a trek. So I may be stuck with mail order (as usual) but it seems to be quite difficult to find out the widths of saddles without holding one in your hands. Is there anywhere online I can get this information? Or can anyone recommend a reasonably priced saddle which is about 150mm wide and doesn't look like it's designed for a horse to sit on?
Firstly, conventional wisdom seems to be that the width of saddle you need depends entirely on the width of your 'sit bones'. This is kind of borne out by the fact that my current saddle (WTB Rocket V) feels just a wee bit too narrow; the saddle is about 130mm wide and my sit bones measure 5 - 10mm wider than that.
What I'm concerned about is that I'm gradually losing weight. I'm down to 15 stone from just shy of 16 and expecting to lose another stone / stone and a half. This weight loss will presumably have no effect on the width of my sit bones, so does that mean the size of saddle that will be comfortable at 15 stone will still be the right size at 13.5? It seems a little counter-intuitive, given that my backside will be noticeably smaller!
The other problem I have is the lack of a decent LBS to try saddles at. Unless someone can tell me differently, the nearest reasonable bike shop to the Oldham / Rochdale area is Edinburgh Bicycle in Manchester, which is a bit of a trek. So I may be stuck with mail order (as usual) but it seems to be quite difficult to find out the widths of saddles without holding one in your hands. Is there anywhere online I can get this information? Or can anyone recommend a reasonably priced saddle which is about 150mm wide and doesn't look like it's designed for a horse to sit on?
Even if the voices aren't real, they have some very good ideas.
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Comments
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According to the salesman at my LBS, the saddle is related to your bone width, not the size of your arse. He tells me that some 'lardy' riders have needed narrower saddles than other more svelte individuals. My wife and I were having our bone width measured when he revealed this piece of info. Of course, it could have been just good salesman patter.0
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Oldham Cycle Centre 87 Lees Road, Oldham OL4 1JW 0161-624 82600
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Weight, or lack of it, has no effect on sit-bone position as your bone structure is fixed no matter how your size varies. Your shoulder-blades do not get further apart if you put weight on or get closer together if you diet.
If 130mm is 5-10mm less that your sit-bone measurement there's a good chance that you'll need a 143mm saddle. IIRC the standard sizes are 130, 135, 143, 150 and 'sofa'
although you may find other, specialist sizings. Get a proper measurement of your backside if you can and test a saddle before you buy as sizing is only part of the comfort formula.
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.Now living happily at http://www.uk-mtb.com !!0 -
Anton de Lacey wrote:Oldham Cycle Centre 87 Lees Road, Oldham OL4 1JW 0161-624 8260
Isn't this now called Surosa Cycles - part owned by Mandy Jones an ex World Champion.
http://www.surosa.co.uk/0 -
Ooooh, didn't know there was a shop on Lees Road - I'll have to drop in next time I'm out that way.
After reading the advice and getting my darling wifey to measure my arris, I think I may need the 150mm width (no comments from the cheap seats please!). Don't suppose there'll be a that much of a difference between 143 and 150mm anyway... About 3.5mm a side at a guess!
I've found the WTB Laser V Comp is cheap (£13.99) at Wiggle at the mo and looks identical to the Rocket V apart from it's 150mm wide instead of 130. I'm happy with the Rocket apart from the width so I've decided at that price to just order a Laser and see how it goes.
Thanks for all your help!Even if the voices aren't real, they have some very good ideas.0
